The Difference Between Qur''aan & Hadeeth

Islaam is very clear on the concept of God and the concept of Prophet so that there is no confusion or ambiguity in the minds of Muslims between the two. Islaam distinguished between a) The word of Allaah brought by the angel Jibreel (Gabriel) as revelation, known as the Qur''aan; and b) The words of Prophet Muhammad which are known as the Hadeeth.

This separate identity of Allaah and His creation is very vital if you study the history of old religions and Islaam ensured that they were not mixed. How was this done?

How Was The Integrity Of The Qur’aan Insured?

The companions on the instruction of Prophet Muhammad , wrote down the words of Allaah as revealed and also kept them in memory, so as to ensure that from the time of revelation until now the word of Allaah remains pure and untainted. However, the Prophet commanded the companions not to write down the hadeeth during the early period of Islaam, and the wisdom behind this was not to mix the hadeeth with the word of Allaah. It is very important for Muslims to understand the differences between the hadeeth, hadeeth Qudsi, and the Qur''aan.

There is another important aspect to hadeeth. The actions and sayings of the Prophet provided clarification of the meanings of Qur''aan. When inquired about the character of Prophet Muhammad , his wife Aisha replied, His character is the Qur’aan. This indicates that Prophet gave further explanation of the Qur''aan with what he said or did during his lifetime. For example, the Qur''aan mentions prayer and the hadeeth or the Sunnah shows Muslims how and when to do it. The following details will help clarify the matter further.

Defining The Types Of Hadeeth

The meaning of Hadeeth is news, report or narration. They are reports about the Prophet in the following:

What he said (qaul)
What he did (fi’ l)
What he approved in other people’s action (taqrir)
There are also reports about him i.e. what he was like (sifa)
There is agreement among most Muslim scholars, that the contents of the sunnah are also from Allaah. However, these were expressed by the Prophet Muhammad in his own words or actions. They are the words and actions of a human being transmitted by the companions and family members , who memorized the words or closely observed the actions of Prophet Muhammad for the benefit of the Muslim Ummah.

Hadeeth Qudsi

Qudsi means holy or pure. There are some reports from Prophet Muhammad where he relates to the people starting with a statement "Allaah (said) says