Does the Quran contain all of Allah's revelations? (Sunni view)

Question

Source: islamhelpline.com

Hadith-e-Qudsi is a term used which signifies that the meaning of the hadith is from Allah Subhanah, and the words are related from the Messenger of Allah (saws), unlike the Quran where the meaning and the words are both from Allah Subhanah.

Does this mean that the Quran does not contain all of Allah's revelations received by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?

So basically, what I am asking is this. Were all the revelations received by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) recorded in the Quran, i.e. all the different forms of revelations received, i.e. via the Angels, via dreams etc, where they ALL recorded in the Quran? Or were some of them not recorded in the Quran, where the remaining were recorded in hadith form?

Sunni view please.

Answer 1

Brother, Revelation is of multiple types in terms of where it is placed:

1. The Qur'an: The Qur'an is the verbatim Word of Allah as it was revealed to the Messenger (SAWS). This can be thought of as the Words of Allah as He spoke them and told Angel Jibril (AS) to convey them, and these Words were conveyed as is by Jibril (AS) -- as they were spoken by Allah Himself -- to Prophet Muhammad (SAWS), who then conveyed it to his Companions (RAA), and through whom the rest of this ummah received this revelation.

   These Words of Allah are without any interpretation of any angel or human, and are the direct Speech of Allah as they are to be conveyed to mankind. However, the Qur'an is not just the Words but is also comprised of the order in which each and every verse appears. The Qur'an in this formal order was recited by the Messenger (SAWS) in the final year of his life and is what comes to us through the Sahabah (RAA).

2. Hadith Al-Qudsi: These too are the verbatim Words of Allah but they are not part of the Qur'an; however they too fall under the category of Revelation.

3. Sunnah of the Messenger (SAWS): These are the words, actions, approvals (tacit or explicit), and habits of the Messenger (SAWS) that fall under the sub-category of Sunnah within Revelation.

   The Sunnah is the Qur'an as practiced by the Messenger (SAWS) because we have to understand that Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) was given the dual task of both receiving the formal Revelation of Allah and also making it clear to his Companions (RAA), and naturally, via them to us, the rest of the ummah: "And remember the favor of Allah upon you and what has been revealed to you of the Book and wisdom by which He instructs you." HQ 2:231 The Qur'an often is the "what" while the details or the "how" are contained in the Sunnah.

   The Sunnah of the Messenger (SAWS) too is part of the Revelation as Allah tells us very clearly: "And whatever the Messenger has given you - take; and what he has forbidden you - refrain from." HQ 59:7 There are numerous such verses that very clearly exhort the Muslims to obey the Messenger (SAWS) since "he does not speak of his own inclination." HQ 53:3 This very clearly means that the explanations of the Messenger (SAWS) too are part of Revelation. To clarify this point further, the Mother of the Believers Ayesha (RAA) was asked about the Messenger's (SAWS) life and she replied "haven't you read the Qur'an?"

The Medium of Revelation may be different; for example, sometimes the Messenger (SAWS) received Revelation directly from Jibreel and sometimes via dreams, and so on and so forth.

In all cases it is incumbent upon all Muslims to believe in the entire Revelation from Allah, regardless of whether it is the Holy Qur'an or the Sunnah of the Messenger (SAWS). Another aspect of the life of the Messenger (SAWS) is that there is not a single part of Revelation that was not faithfully conveyed by him to mankind. It's just that the forms of Revelation are different.

HTH.

Answer 2

أَفَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ أَبْتَغِي حَكَمًا وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ إِلَيْكُمُ الْكِتَابَ مُفَصَّلًا ۚ وَالَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمُ الْكِتَابَ يَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ مُنَزَّلٌ مِّن رَّبِّكَ بِالْحَقِّ ۖ فَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُمْتَرِينَ

Sahih International Translation

[Say], "Then is it other than Allah I should seek as judge while it is He who has revealed to you the Book explained in detail?" And those to whom We [previously] gave the Scripture know that it is sent down from your Lord in truth, so never be among the doubters.

[Surat Al-'An`ām:114]

And:

وَمَا مِن دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا طَائِرٍ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيْهِ إِلَّا أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُم ۚ مَّا فَرَّطْنَا فِي الْكِتَابِ مِن شَيْءٍ ۚ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يُحْشَرُونَ

Sahih International Translation

And there is no creature on [or within] the earth or bird that flies with its wings except [that they are] communities like you. We have not neglected in the Register a thing. Then unto their Lord they will be gathered.

[Surat Al-'An`ām:38]

And

الر ۚ تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ

Sahih International Translation

Alif, Lam, Ra. These are the verses of the clear Book.

[Surat Yūsuf:1]