(Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to the Questions of the Visitors to his Facebook Page "Fiqhi")
Answer to Question
To: Raheeq Em Yousif
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh... I would like to inquire about a Shari'i ruling because I am confused... Is it permissible for a menstruating woman to read the Quran via the internet and mobile phone?... I hope for an answer... Wassalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi.
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
To answer the question, three matters must be clarified:
Oral recitation of the Quran (i.e., not from a Mushaf), touching the Mushaf and reading from it, and carrying a computer or mobile phone that contains a Quran program and reading from it:
1. As for the menstruating woman reading the Quran orally, it is a matter of disagreement among the jurists (fuqaha); some of them forbid it and some of them permit it. What I find most correct in this matter is that it is not permissible for a menstruating woman to recite the Quran by articulating the words. Al-Hakim narrated in Al-Mustadrak from Suleiman bin Harb and Hafs bin Amr bin Murrah, from Abdullah bin Salama, who said: "I and two other men entered upon Ali (ra)..." and Ali (ra) said:
كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقْضِي الْحَاجَةَ، وَيَقْرَأُ الْقُرْآنَ، وَيَأْكُلُ اللَّحْمَ، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ يَحْجُبُهُ عَنْ قِرَاءَتِهِ شَيْءٌ لَيْسَ الْجَنَابَةُ
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would relieve himself, recite the Quran, and eat meat; nothing would prevent him from reciting it except Janabah (major ritual impurity)."
Al-Hakim said this Hadith has a sahih chain of transmission, and Al-Dhahabi authenticated it. It is clear from the Hadith that the Messenger ﷺ used to recite the Quran orally except when he was in a state of Janabah, meaning it is not permissible for the one in Janabah to recite the Quran. What applies to the one in Janabah also applies to the menstruating woman regarding the recitation of the Quran.
- Therefore, what I find most correct is that a menstruating woman should not recite the Quran.
2. As for the one in Janabah or a menstruating woman touching the Mushaf, it is not permissible. It is prohibited (haram) due to the saying of Allah the Almighty:
لَا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا الْمُطَهَّرُونَ
"None touch it except the purified." (Surah Al-Waqi'ah [56]: 79)
And due to the noble Hadith narrated by Imam Malik in Al-Muwatta from Abdullah bin Abi Bakr bin Hazm, that in the letter written by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to Amr bin Hazm:
أَنْ لَا يَمَسَّ الْقُرْآنَ إِلَّا طَاهِرٌ
"None shall touch the Quran except one who is pure."
In another narration by Malik in Al-Muwatta with the full name of Abdullah as follows: (from Abdullah bin Abi Bakr bin Muhammad bin Amr bin Hazm...), and narrated by Al-Tabarani in Al-Kabir and Al-Saghir from Salim bin Abdullah bin Umar with the wording: (from Suleiman bin Musa, I heard Salim bin Abdullah bin Umar narrating from his father, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "None shall touch the Quran except one who is pure").
- Therefore, what I find most correct is that it is prohibited for a menstruating woman to touch the Quran and read from it.
3. As for carrying a computer or mobile phone that contains a Quran program, the jurists have previously researched a matter I would like to begin with, which is carrying the Mushaf if it is in a box or a pouch (khariytah)... and the jurists have differed on this:
(The Hanafis and Hanbalis held that there is no harm if the one in Janabah or the one without wudu carries the Mushaf in a case, or with a separate barrier, because he is not touching it, so he is not prevented from it, just as if he carried it among his luggage. This is because the prohibition mentioned is against touching, and there is no touching here. The Hanafis said: If he carried it in a cover not sewn to it, or in a pouch—which is a bag—or the like, it is not disliked... The Malikis and Shafi’is, and in one narration from Ahmad, held that this is not permissible. The Malikis said: The one who is not pure may not carry it even on a pillow or the like, such as a Quran stand (kursi), or in a cover or case. Similarly, the Shafi'is said in their most correct view: It is not permissible for him to carry or touch a pouch or box containing a Mushaf if they were prepared for it. However, touching or carrying a box prepared for luggage that happens to contain a Mushaf is not prohibited).
It is clear that there is a jurisprudential disagreement in this matter. What I find most correct is that it is permissible to carry a mobile phone without being in a state of purity even if it contains a Quran program, because it does not take the ruling of the Mushaf. The reality of storing the program in the mobile phone's memory is not like writing. Furthermore, the mobile phone contains many programs other than the Quran program and is used for matters other than reading the Quran, so it does not take the ruling of the Mushaf. Two cases are exempted from this:
First: When the Quran program is running and the Quranic text appears on the screen of the device:
In this case, the written text takes the ruling of the Mushaf because it is a form of writing the text. It is prohibited to touch the screen on which the text is written except for the one who is pure, because it is equivalent to writing on paper, scrolls, or skins upon which the Mushaf is written. Accordingly, if the owner of the mobile phone wants to read the Quran present in it by opening the screen, it is not permissible for him unless he is pure. Similarly, if the screen is open to the Quranic text, he is not permitted to carry it unless he is pure.
As for if the mobile phone is not open to the Quranic text:
In this case, it is permissible for the one in Janabah to carry it even if the Quran is stored in its programs, because the legal premise (manat) of the mobile phone—if the Quranic text is not visible on it—is different from the legal premise of the Mushaf.
Second: If the mobile phone contains nothing but the Quran program where it appears on the screen for reading; in other words, if this phone is not used except for reading the Quran and has no other program. In this case, it is not permissible for the one in Janabah to carry it.
This is what I find most correct in this matter, and Allah is All-Knowing and All-Wise.
Wassalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh
Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah
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