Re: The words of Allah…
What is Hadith Qudasi?
Qudsi means “holy or pure.” There are some reports from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in which he relates to the people what Allah says, but this information is not part of the Qur’an. Such a report is called a hadith qudsi, for example:
Abu Hurayrah reported that Allah’s Messenger said,“Allah Almighty said: If My servant likes to meet Me, I like to meet him, and if he dislikes to meet Me, I dislike to meet him.”**
Though the content of a hadith qudsi is based on a saying of Allah, its wording is the Prophet’s. This, in fact, is a crucial point of distinction between Qur’an, whose wording is Allah’s, and hadith qudsi. Further, the Qur’an was brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) only by the Angel Jibreel, while a hadith qudsi may also have been inspired otherwise, such as in a dream. Being a part of Hadith, Hadith Qudsi also shares the same points that differentiate Hadith from the Qur’an.
**
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1158658459291&pagename=Zone-English-Living_Shariah%2FLSELayout
Difference between Hadith Qudsi and Hadith Nabwi
While the common factor between al-Hadith al-Qudsi and the Qur’an is that both contain words from Allah which were revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), they are nevertheless distinct from each other as pointed out hereunder:
1. The Holy Qur’an contains the verbatim words of Allah, while al-Hadith al-Qudsi contains the message of Allah conveyed to the people by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in his own words.
2. The Holy Qur’an is inimitable and unique, but such is not the case with al-Hadith al-Qudsi. This is so because the latter is not the verbatim word of Allah.
3. The Holy Qur’an is recited in every prayer but al-Hadith al-Qudsi cannot be recited in any prayer."
The above quotation is excerpted, with slight modifications, from: http://www.jamiat.org.za/isinfo/mishkat2.html
Elaborating on the differences between Hadith Qudsi and Hadith Nabawi and between it and the Qur’an, we’d like to cite for you the following:
"A Hadith Qudsi (plural Ahadith Qudsiyyah) is a statement where Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) reports a statement and he refers it directly to Allah. The regular Hadith or what is generally known as a Hadith Nabawi is a Hadith where one of the Companions reports the Prophet’s statements, his deeds, or things that happened in his presence and he approved of them. There are more than one hundred Ahadith Qudsiyah. They are very beautiful and deal mostly with spiritual and ethical subjects.
Sometimes, people ask questions about the difference between the Qur’an and the Hadith Qudsi. They say that the Qur’an is the world of Allah and Hadith Qudsi also refers to Allah’s words, then how do they differ? The scholars of Hadith have mentioned five main differences between the Qur’an and the Hadith Qudsi:
1. The Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) verbatim, i.e. its words and meanings are both from Allah. The Hadith Qudsi was not a verbatim revelation, its words are from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
2. The Qur’an was revealed via Angel Jibreel while Hadith Qudsi may have been inspired by other ways, such as in the form of a dream.
3. The words of the Qur’an are miraculous or inimitable (mu’jizah) while the words of the Hadith Qudsi are not of this nature.
4. The Qur’an is recited in formal prayers (salah) but the Hadith Qudsi cannot be recited in prayers.
5. One is not allowed to touch the Qur’an in the state of Janabah (post-sexual impurity), while there is no such prohibition for touching the books of Hadith Qudsi."
Taken from, Ibrahim Izzuddin and Denis Johnson-Davies, Forty Hadith Qudsi, Beirut, Damascus, 1980.
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503543628