Revelation & Scripture before the Quran God's Communication with Man Man denies God Creation is Material Evidence for God Man's Pride Guidance for Man The Messengers The Names of the Prophets and their Number The Names of the Scriptures and their Number The Contents of the Former Scriptures The Final Revelation
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The speech of Allah, sent down upon the last Prophet Muhammad, through the Angel Gabriel, in its precise meaning and precise wording, transmitted to us by numerous persons (tawatur), both verbally and in writing. Inimitable and unique, protected by God from corruption The Arabic word 'qur'an' is derived from the root qara'a, which has various meanings, such as to read, to recite. The revelation from Allah to the Prophet Muhammad is referred to in the Qur'an itself by the name qur'an (recitation) as well as by other names, such as e.g. furqan (criterion, see Al-Qur'an 25: 1). tanzil (sent down, see Al-Qur'an 26: 192). dhikr (reminder, see Al-Qur'an 15: 9). kitab (scripture, see Al-Qur'an 21:10).
In the Qur'an the precise wording is from Allah, while in the hadith qudsi the wording is given by the Prophet Muhammad. The Qur'an has been brought to Muhammad only by the Angel Gabriel, while hadith qudsi may also have been inspired otherwise, such as e.g. in a dream. The Qur'an is inimitable and unique, but not so the hadith qudsi. The Qur'an has been transmitted by numerous persons, (tawatur) but the hadith and hadith qudsi often only by a few or even one individual. There are hadith qudsi which are sahth, but also others hasan, or even da'if, while there is no doubt at all about any aya from the Qur'an. Another point is that a hadith qudsi cannot be recited in prayer.