by Asma bint Shameem
ANSWER It is highly recommended to have wudhu when reciting the Qur’aan.
However it is not mandatory.
Yes it’s absolutely true that the we should treat the Qur’aan with utmost respect.
But in order for us to say something is “mandatory” in our Deen, there MUST be EVIDENCE in the Qur’aan and/or authentic Sunnah to back that up.
When we look at the Qur’aan and the authentic practice or teachings of the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam, we see there’s no such evidence that makes it MANDATORY to have wudhu or be in a state of purity when reading the Qur’aan.
So it’s MUSTAHABB or RECOMMENDED to have wudhu out of respect for the Word of Allaah.
But it’s NOT mandatory.
🍃 Shaykh Saalih Al-Fawzaan said:
“It is permissible for a person to recite the Qur’aan without having wudhu if he recites from his memory. This is since nothing prevented the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alayhi wa Sallam from reciting the Qur’aan except for Janaabah
(sexual impurity). He Sal Allaahu Alayhi wa Sallam would recite the Qur’aan whilst in a state of wudhu and without it.” (Q&A on the Qur’aan)
🍃 Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Naasir al-Barraak said:
“It is well known that it is NOT ESSENTIAL to be free from minor impurity when reciting Qur’aan from memory, or even from major impurity, but purifying oneself before reciting Qur'aan, even from memory, is better, because it is the Word of Allaah and it is more respectful towards Him to only recite it when in a state of purity.”
Our Deen is EASY Alhamdulillaah and Allaah is Most Merciful.
If wudhu was obligatory, when reading the Qur’aan, think of how hard it would become for people to recite the Qur’aan and remember Allaah!
There are people who are memorizing the Qur’aan and they spend literally HOURS on it.
How difficult it would be for them to keep making wudhu!
And there are people who suffer from gas problems, and other issues of purity.
How would they read the Qur’aan?
Would it be fair to them that they can’t read the Qur’aan unless they have wudhu?
Besides all that, a person cannot always be in wudhu.
But he may want to recite some Qur’aan from memory or read it whenever it’s convenient for him.
It would be illogical then to put this condition of wudhu before you could recite the Qur’aan.
Alhamdulillaah Islaam is easy and Islaam is most practical.
🍃 Allaah says:
“Allaah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you”
[Surah al-Baqarah 2:185]
🍃 The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
“The best of your religion is that which is easiest, the best of your religion is that which is easiest.” [Ahmad (3/479); hasan]
🔺How about “touching” the Mus-haf without wudhu?
So although we can read the Qur’aan without having wudhu,
there’s a difference between READING the Qur’aan without wudhu and TOUCHING the Qur’aan without wudhu or in the state of impurity.
So it’s allowed to “read” the Qur’aan without wudhu.
In fact you can even read it during your menses.
(There’s no evidence in the Sharee’ah that we cannot read the Qur’aan during Menses)
As for touching the Qur’aan without wudhu, there’s a difference of opinion among the scholars.
The majority of the scholars say that wudhu is a MUST when touching the Qur’aan.
But others say that there’s no evidence to prove that.
Obviously it’s much BETTER that we have wudhu when we touch the Qur’aan to be on the safe side.
That’s why there’s no problem to READ the Qur’aan from a cellphone or other electronic devices because that’s NOT the Mus-haf.
🍃Shaikh al-Fawzaan said regarding this issue:
“It does not require wudhu because the cellphone is not a Mus-haf and does not take the rulings of the Mus-haf.
Also for the one reading from his heart, it is allowed for the one who has minor impurity.
As for major impurity, then he does not read the Qur’aan. Not from the Mus-haf nor from his heart until he makes ghusl.”
❓What about the Aayah from Surah al-Waaqi’ah❓
Yes there’s an Aayah in the Qur’aan that says:
“None touch it except the purified.”
(Surah al-Waaqi’ah: 78-79)
But the ulama explain that this refers to the Qur’aan that’s preserved in al-Lawh al-Mahfoodh, the Preserved Tablet. And not the Qur’aan (Mus-haf) that we have.
In any case, the aayah is NOT a “command” from Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala; rather it’s just a “statement of fact”.
🍃 Someone asked Shaikh al-Albaani about this Aayah and said:
“Does the word al-Mutahharoon (the purified) refer to the believers or those who have wudhu?”
Shaykh al-Albaani said:
“The intended meaning of it is neither this nor that.
Rather it refers to the angels and it is a statement from Allaah the Mighty and Majestic concerning the angels; and it does not refer to this Qur’aan [in our midst].
It refers to that which is in the Preserved Tablet. So none can touch the mus-haf, which is in the Preserved Tablet except the purified and they are the angels brought near [to Allaah]…
As regards the mus-haf that is in our midst [today], it can be touched by the righteous and the evil doer, the believer and the disbeliever. Therefore, our Lord is not referring to mankind absolutely regardless of whether they are righteous or evil doers.
Rather, what He meant, as we have stated, is the angels….
There are narrations from some of the Companions that they used to avoid touching the Qur’aan without wudhu.
This action of theirs indicates that what is best for someone who intends to touch the Qur’aan or read the Qur’aan [is to perform wudhu]. However, to assert that it is prohibited for a woman who is not in the state of purity, not to speak of a man, to touch the Qur’aan, then there is no proof for that at all”
(Silsilah al-Huda wan-Noor, Tape 001, fatwa no. 08)
So do try and have wudhu when you touch and read the Qur’aan, unless it’s difficult etc.
And if you’re on your menses, then turn the pages with gloves or a pencil etc.
🔺What about books of tafseer and other such books❓
As for duaa books, tafseer books etc., the ulama say you can touch these books because along with the Qur’aan, they also contain other than that which is the Qur’aan.
So the rulings dont apply.
🍃 Proof:
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam would send letters to the disbeliever rulers inviting them to Islaam.
These letters had Bismillaahir- Rahmaan-nir-Raheem written on it, along with the rest of the message that the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam sent these rulers.
The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam knew that these disbelievers will touch the letter although they’re not ‘pure’. Yet he wrote Allaah’s Name on them.
And there are other proofs.
And Allaah knows best.
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