The Divine Hadith

In the Hadith studies, the Divine hadith means a Prophetic saying, the meaning of which belongs to God, may He be glorified and exalted. It is a saying of God narrated by His Messenger but not included in the Qur’an.

In these narrations, the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, informs that the meaning and content of that saying belongs to God by stating, “God said:”

The differences between the Divine hadiths and the Qur’anic verses are as follows:

1. The word and meaning of the verses of the Qur'an are from God. The meaning of a Divine hadith is from God. The words used to express the meaning of the hadith belong to the noble Prophet.

2. Muslims observe the prescribed Prayers by reciting the Qur’anic verses, however the Divine hadiths are not recited during the prescribed Prayers.

3. The unanimity of consensus is necessary for the certainty of the Qur’anic verses, however there is no such necessity for the certainty of the Divine hadiths.

The topics of the Divine hadiths are usually related to the greatness of God, the vastness of His mercy and the abundance of His blessings, and the virtues of worship and good morality.

“The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, has stated: 'Indeed, God has said: ‘I have declared war on anyone who shows enmity to a friend of Mine. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything I love more than what I have made obligatory on him. My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory worship until I love him. And once I love my servant, I become (virtually) his ear with which he hears, his eye with which he sees, his hand with which he grips and his foot with which he walks. (His hearing, seeing, grasping, and walking take place in accordance with my will and commandments). If he were to ask Me for something, I would give it to him. If he were to ask Me for refuge, I would give him refuge.’”¹⁾

Just because the hadith is Divine does not mean that it is authentic in every case. The Divine hadith indicates that it is attributed to God regarding its source. The hadith should be examined in terms of soundness criteria.

There are some narrations that are conveyed as Divine hadiths, but are not accepted as authentic in terms of soundness criteria:

“I was a hidden treasure; I wanted to be known. That is why I created the creatures. And they gained knowledge about Me, and they recognized Me.”²⁾

These two hadiths are fabricated narrations according to the criteria of the Hadith studies, that is, they were narrated as hadiths even though they are not hadiths. Although their contents express a truth, it is not certain that these statements belong to our noble Prophet.

“Our noble Prophet is a great Prophet. He is the Spirit of the Master of Humankind. In Sufi terms, he is the hero of “the Initial Identification.” “Law laka lama khalakhtu’l-aflak.” He is the locus of manifestation of the Divine hadith, “If you did not exist, I would not have created the skies and the universe.” This hadith is not authentic in terms of hadith criteria, but the meaning of this statement is true, because if that instructor did not exist, no one would have understood anything in this life. So the meaning of this hadith is as follows: ‘O My Messenger! The reading of these books and the explanation of their meanings have been realized by the help of You. So you are the distinct expounder and the lucid exposition of everything, with the Qur’an in your hand. Your are “the final cause.”³⁾

“Had it not been for that wonderful, superior person, peace and blessings be upon him, who makes known the universe and its Creator, this beautiful universe would not have existed, for we could not have understood its meaning.”⁴⁾

“Any Tradition accepted by those authorities after much scrutiny has the certainty of tawatur,⁵⁾ even if it had only one chain of transmitters, for such people were so familiar with the Prophet’s Traditions and exalted style that they could instantly spot and reject one false Tradition among 100 reports. Like an expert jeweler recognizes a pure diamond, they could not confuse other words with those of the Prophet. However, such meticulous authorities as Ibn al-Jawziya were so excessive in their criticism that they considered several authentic Traditions to be false. This does not mean that the meaning of every false wording is wrong; rather, it means that the wording does not belong to the Prophet.”⁶⁾

Other Languages

¹⁾

Sahih al-Bukhari, Riqaq, 38.

²⁾

Al-Ajluni, Kashfu’l-Khafa, 2/132, 164.

³⁾

M. Fethullah Gülen, Sohbet-i Cânan (Kırık Testi-2), İstanbul: Nil Yayınları, 2011, p. 58.

⁴⁾

Bediüzzaman Said Nursî, Mesnevî-i Nûriye, İstanbul: Şahdamar Yayınları, 2007, p. 20.

⁵⁾

Continuous testimony, unanimity of consensus.

⁶⁾

Bediüzzaman Said Nursi, The Letters, New Jersey: The Light, 2014, pp. 123–124.