ISLAM
The Quran, Hadith and Hadith Qudsi — Do Not Confuse Their Sources
Many people place the Quran, Hadith and Hadith Qudsi together as though they all originate in the same way.
They do not.
To understand them precisely, look at WHERE EACH ONE ORIGINATES.
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1. THE QURAN ORIGINATES FROM THE CHARACTER OF MUHAMMAD ﷺ
Aishah رضي الله عنها said:
كَانَ خُلُقُهُ الْقُرْآنَ
“His character was the Quran.”
— Sahih Muslim, no. 746
The sequence is clear:
خُلُقُهُ → الْقُرْآنَ
His character → the Quran
Therefore:
MUHAMMAD ﷺ → CHARACTER → THE QURAN
Not:
THE QURAN → MUHAMMAD ﷺ → CHARACTER
Therefore, the Quran is not understood as an external book that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ later imitated.
The Quran originates from HIS CHARACTER THAT CAN BE WITNESSED.
Allah states:
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ
“And indeed, you are truly upon an عظیم character.”
— Al-Qalam 68:4
Therefore, when the character of Muhammad ﷺ is witnessed, that is where the Quran is read.
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2. HADITH ORIGINATES FROM THE COMPANIONS
Hadith follows a different path.
The Companions:
saw the Prophet ﷺ,
heard the Prophet ﷺ,
witnessed the actions of the Prophet ﷺ,
and then narrated them.
Therefore, Hadith originates through this sequence:
MUHAMMAD ﷺ
↓
THE COMPANIONS WITNESS
↓
THE COMPANIONS NARRATE
↓
HADITH
Hadith is a STORY OR NARRATION ABOUT WHAT WAS WITNESSED FROM THE PROPHET ﷺ.
That is why Hadith requires narrators.
Someone saw.
Someone heard.
Someone narrated.
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3. THE ROOT ح د ث MUST REMAIN CONSISTENT
The root:
ح د ث
carries the core meaning:
THE OCCURRENCE OF SOMETHING NEW WITHIN AN ORIGINAL STATE.
From the same root come:
حَدَث
a state or event that occurs
حَدِيث
something that appears or occurs and then becomes a story or report
مُحْدَث
something brought into existence or appearing later
Therefore, Hadith cannot be disconnected from this root.
Something occurs or becomes present.
Then it is narrated.
That is why Hadith is A NARRATION OF WHAT BECAME PRESENT AND OCCURRED IN RELATION TO THE PROPHET ﷺ.
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4. HADITH QUDSI ALSO COMES THROUGH THE COMPANIONS
Hadith Qudsi still follows the same path:
THE PROPHET ﷺ → THE COMPANIONS HEAR → THE COMPANIONS NARRATE
The difference lies in its content.
The Prophet ﷺ attributes the words to Allah.
For example:
قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى
“Allah Ta‘ala said…”
But whom did the Companions hear?
PROPHET MUHAMMAD ﷺ.
Who was speaking before them?
PROPHET MUHAMMAD ﷺ.
Whom did they narrate from?
PROPHET MUHAMMAD ﷺ.
Therefore, Hadith Qudsi remains:
HADITH
because it still comes through THE COMPANIONS’ NARRATION OF THE WORDS OF THE PROPHET ﷺ.
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5. DO NOT EQUATE THE QURAN WITH HADITH
The distinction is very clear.
THE QURAN
MUHAMMAD ﷺ → CHARACTER → THE QURAN
The Quran originates from THE CHARACTER OF THE PROPHET ﷺ THAT CAN BE WITNESSED.
HADITH
MUHAMMAD ﷺ → THE COMPANIONS WITNESS → THE COMPANIONS NARRATE → HADITH
Hadith originates from THE COMPANIONS’ NARRATIONS ABOUT THE PROPHET ﷺ.
HADITH QUDSI
MUHAMMAD ﷺ → THE PROPHET’S WORDS → THE COMPANIONS HEAR → THE COMPANIONS NARRATE
Hadith Qudsi originates from THE WORDS OF THE PROPHET ﷺ ATTRIBUTED TO ALLAH, which were then narrated by the Companions.
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6. THE CENTRE REMAINS MUHAMMAD ﷺ
Everything returns to the same person:
MUHAMMAD ﷺ
From his character:
THE QURAN ORIGINATES.
About him:
HADITH IS NARRATED.
From his words attributed to Allah:
HADITH QUDSI IS NARRATED.
Therefore, do not imagine three independent sources standing separately from one another.
The centre of witnessing remains:
THE PERSON OF MUHAMMAD ﷺ
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CONCLUSION
The Quran and Hadith are not the same in terms of the paths through which they originate.
THE QURAN
originates from THE CHARACTER OF MUHAMMAD ﷺ.
HADITH
originates from THE COMPANIONS WHO WITNESSED AND THEN NARRATED.
HADITH QUDSI
originates from THE COMPANIONS’ NARRATIONS OF THE WORDS OF THE PROPHET ﷺ ATTRIBUTED TO ALLAH.
THE QURAN ORIGINATES FROM THE CHARACTER OF MUHAMMAD ﷺ.
HADITH ORIGINATES FROM THE COMPANIONS’ NARRATIONS ABOUT MUHAMMAD ﷺ.
HADITH QUDSI ALSO ORIGINATES THROUGH THE COMPANIONS — BUT WHAT THEY HEARD WERE THE WORDS OF THE PROPHET ﷺ.