"God, ever mighty and majestic is He, shall say on the Day of Resurrection: 'Where are those who have loved each other for the sake of My Majesty? Today I shall shelter them in My shade, on a day when there is no shade but My shade."
Muhammad, Hadith
I included this particular hadith (again, a saying of the Prophet) for a couple first reasons. First off, it's just a lovely, simple, sweet message, and one that any Christian would obviously understand. When push comes to shoves (or, in this case, neither a push nor a shove) at the end of the day have you loved each other? Beyond all the rules and requirements, doesn't it always just come down to this. Secondly, it introduces the concept of the hadith qudsi, or the divine hadith. We've talked a lot about the hadith, but within them there are a special class of sayings that, for lack of another word, simply carry more weight.
As Stephen Hirtenstein and Martin Notcutt explain in the introduction of Ibn Arabi's (and much more on him later) collection of hadith qudsi:
"In contrast, hadith qudsi (or hadith ilahi or rabbani, translated as 'Divine or Sacred Sayings' are a special kind of hadith, reporting a communication spoken by God Himself to the Prophet, who thus assumed the role of transmitter."
So, then how is a hadith qudsi different than a Quranic revelation? Again from the introduction:
"Although both Qur'an and hadith qudsi convey the word of God Himself, there are important distinctions to be made between them. For example, the Qur'an was revealed through the medium of Gabriel, and is inimitable; a hadith qudsi does not necessarily come through Gabriel, but may be revealed through inspiration or a dream. While a Muslim must recite portions of the Qur'an during prescribed prayers, it is not permitted to include hadith qudsi. An important difference also arises in the way each has been preserved and transmitted. The Holy Book, the Qur'an, was revealed to Muhammad (born AD 570) from his fortieth year. Parts of the Qur'an were uttered by Muhammad at different times during the course of twenty-three years, and on his instruction these were recorded by being committee to memory by many people, and by being written down . . . While some hadith were memorized and indeed may have been written down during the life of Muhhammad, this process was less systematic and organized than in the case of the Quranic revelations." Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, Divine Sayings: 101 Hadith Qudsi pp. 3-4.
Like the rest of the hadith the hadith qudsi provide more specific information that is referenced in much broader strokes in the Quran, but in this case have even greater authority.
Muhammad, Hadith
I included this particular hadith (again, a saying of the Prophet) for a couple first reasons. First off, it's just a lovely, simple, sweet message, and one that any Christian would obviously understand. When push comes to shoves (or, in this case, neither a push nor a shove) at the end of the day have you loved each other? Beyond all the rules and requirements, doesn't it always just come down to this. Secondly, it introduces the concept of the hadith qudsi, or the divine hadith. We've talked a lot about the hadith, but within them there are a special class of sayings that, for lack of another word, simply carry more weight.
As Stephen Hirtenstein and Martin Notcutt explain in the introduction of Ibn Arabi's (and much more on him later) collection of hadith qudsi:
"In contrast, hadith qudsi (or hadith ilahi or rabbani, translated as 'Divine or Sacred Sayings' are a special kind of hadith, reporting a communication spoken by God Himself to the Prophet, who thus assumed the role of transmitter."
So, then how is a hadith qudsi different than a Quranic revelation? Again from the introduction:
"Although both Qur'an and hadith qudsi convey the word of God Himself, there are important distinctions to be made between them. For example, the Qur'an was revealed through the medium of Gabriel, and is inimitable; a hadith qudsi does not necessarily come through Gabriel, but may be revealed through inspiration or a dream. While a Muslim must recite portions of the Qur'an during prescribed prayers, it is not permitted to include hadith qudsi. An important difference also arises in the way each has been preserved and transmitted. The Holy Book, the Qur'an, was revealed to Muhammad (born AD 570) from his fortieth year. Parts of the Qur'an were uttered by Muhammad at different times during the course of twenty-three years, and on his instruction these were recorded by being committee to memory by many people, and by being written down . . . While some hadith were memorized and indeed may have been written down during the life of Muhhammad, this process was less systematic and organized than in the case of the Quranic revelations." Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, Divine Sayings: 101 Hadith Qudsi pp. 3-4.
Like the rest of the hadith the hadith qudsi provide more specific information that is referenced in much broader strokes in the Quran, but in this case have even greater authority.
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