WRITING THE QURAN ANDRES PECTING THE MU SHAF

9 WRITING THE Q URAN AND RESPECTING THE MUSJ:IAF Know that the Mighty Quran was compiled during the lifetime of the Prophet

WRITING THE QURAN AND RESPECTING THE MUSI:IAF 'Ali ibn Ab! Talib, the rest of the Companions, and the others [tabi'in] (God be well pleased with them all). Wiry the Quran Was Not Completely Written Down Beforehand It was only because of the coming of new revelation and the ab­ rogation of the revelation already recited that the Prophet

ETIQUETIE WITH THE QURAN Writing the Musbaf is a Recommended Innovation The scholars agree that it is recommended to write down the Qu­ ran in a musbaf; to beautify and make clear its writing; and to be precise in its calligraphy without writing the letters in an elongat­ ed or oblique manner. Scholars have recommended to include the dots (on the letters] and vowelize [the words of the Quran], since this guards against errors and alterations. As for al-Sha'bi and al-Nakha'i disliking dotting [the letters], they did so at the time only out of fear that some alterations would occur. But this is no longer feared today; so there is noth­ ing to disallow [such dottingJ, for it cannot be disallowed based on it being some kind of innovation, since it is considered a good innovation. And this is true with other similar matters, such as re­ cording knowledge, building schools and Sufi lodges, and the like. And God knows best. How and Where Quran Is Written It is not permissible to write down the Quran with something filthy. The Shafi'is opine that it is offensive to write the Quran on the wall. With regard to this matter, we previously mentioned the opinion of 'Ata'. We also mentioned that if [a passage of the Qu­ ran] is written on something edible then there is no harm in eating it, but if it is written on wood, it is offensive to burn it. Safeguarding and Respecting the Musbaf Muslims have consensus that it is obligatory to protect and re­ spect the musbaf. Our Shafi'i companions and others have said that if a Muslim places [a musbaf] -God Most High is our ref­ uge-in a garbage receptacle, he becomes a disbeliever. They said that it is unlawful to use the musbaf as a headrest; indeed, it is unlawful to use any book of knowledge as a headrest. If someone is presented with a musbaf, it is recommended that he stand. Since it is recommended to stand for the meritorious scholars and elite, it is even more appropriate with regard to the 1 1 2

WRITING THE QURAN AND RESPECTING THE MUSI:IAF Quran. (I presented evidence that it is recommended to stand in a monograph I composed on this topic.) We related in the Musnad of Darimi with a rigorously authen­ ticated chain of narrators that Ibn Abi Mulayka said that 'Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl (God be pleased with him) would place the mu$baf on his face and say, "My Lord's Book! My Lord's Book!"2 The Mu$baf and Non-Muslims It is unlawful to journey to hostile lands with the mu$baf if it is feared that it will fall into their possession, based on the well­ known hadith in the Sabibayn that the Messenger of God

ETIQUETTE WITH THE QURAN but it is weak. If [ verses of the] Quran is written on a board, the board then assumes the ruling of a musbaf, whether the amount written is little or much. It is unlawful to touch the board [when one has minor ritual impurity] even if it is part of a verse written for the sake of study. Major Ritual Impurity Our Shafi'i companions have two opinions regarding someone in the state of minor or major ritual impurity or menstruation touching the pages of the musbaf with a stick or something like it. The most obvious opinion is that it is permissible, and our Iraqi companions were CErtain of it, since this does not constitute actu­ al touching or carrying. The second opinion is that it is unlawful, since it is regarded as holding one of the pages, and a page is like the entirety [of the Quran]. If one wraps his sleeve over his hand and turns the pages [of the musba(J, it is still unlawful without any disagreement. Some of our Shafi'! companions were mistaken by conveying two opin­ ions about this. The correct opinion is CErtain of its unlawfulness, since turning pages takes place by the hand, not the sleeve per se. Writing the Quran While One Is Ritually Impure It is unlawful for someone who writes a musbaf while in the state of major or minor ritual impurity to actually carry the pages or to touch them while writing. If he does not carry them and does not touch them, there are three opinions: ( l ) Writing is permissible (and this is the sound opinion); ( 2) it is unlawful; and (3) it is per­ missible when in the state of minor ritual impurity but unlawful when in the state of major ritual impurity. Touching Books Containing the Quran The sound opinion is that it is permissible for someone in the state of minor or major ritual impurity or menstruation to touch or carry the following since they are not considered to be a musbaf: ( 1 ) a book of fiqh or some other field of knowledge that contains verses from the Quran; (2) a garment embroidered with Quran; 1 14

WRITING THE QURAN AND RESPECTING THE MUSIJAF (3 ) a gold or silver coin which has been engraved with [Quran]; (4) luggage whose contents include a musbaf; and (5) a wall, pas­ try, or bread engraved with it. There is also an opinion that this is unlawful. Garments Embroidered with the Quran The chief judge Abu al-I:Iasan al-Mawardi said in his book al­ l:Iiiwi: "It is permissible to touch garments embroidered with the Quran, but it is not permissible to wear them-without any dis­ agreement-since what is intended by wearing them is obtaining blessing through the Quran." This statement of his is weak. No one agreed with him about this from what I have seen. Indeed, Shaykh Abu Muhammad al-Juwayni and others were explicit that it is permissible to wear [such clothing], and this is the correct opinion. And God knows best. Commentary of the Quran It is unlawful [while ritually impure] to touch and carry a book of commentary of the Quran [tafsir] if the amount of the actual Quran exceeds that of the commentary itself. If the commentary is more, which is the majority [of tafsir literature], there are three opinions concerning this: ( 1 ) Touching it is not unlawful, and it is the soundest opinion; (2) it is unlawful; and ( 3 ) if the Quran is in a distinctive calligraphy-by being thick, red, or the like-it is unlawful, and if it is not distinctive it is not unlawful. If [the amount of commentary and Quran are equal], I say that it is un­ lawful to touch it. The author of al-Tatimma,4 one of our Shafi'! companions, said, "If we say that it is not unlawful, then it is offensive [at least]." Books of Hadith It is not unlawful to touch books of hadith from the Messenger of God

ETIQUETIE WITH THE QURAN verses from the Quran, it is not unlawful according to the Shafi'is, though it is considered offensive. According to the Shafi'is, there is an opinion that it is unlawful, and this is found in some books of fiqh. Something Whose Recitation Has Been Abrogated It is not unlawful to touch or carry something whose recitation has been abrogated, such as, "When a married man or a married woman commits adultery, their punishment shall be stoning as a retribution" and others. Our Shafi'i companions said that this ruling applies the same regarding the Torah and the Evangel. Touching While Having Inexcusable Filth It is unlawful-without disagreement-for someone with ritual purity but who has a spot of filth on h is body, which is not le­ gally excused, [such as drops of blood,] to bring the musbaf into contact with that spot of filth. But it is not unlawful with another part, according to the sound, well-known opinion that the major­ ity of our Shafi'i companions and other scholars have held. Abu al-Qasim al-Saymari, one of our Shafi'i companions, said that it is unlawful [to carry the musbafJ. Our Shafi'i companions declared h im mistaken concerning this, and al-Qadi Abu al-Tayy­ ib said that this statement of his is unanimously rejected. So in keeping with the well-known opinion, some of our Shafi'i companions said that it is offensive, but the preferred [opinion] is that it is not. In the Absence of Water or Earth If a person [with ritual impurity] does not find water and it is permissible for him to make dry ablution [tayammum]-wheth­ er his dry ablution was [in preparation] for Prayer or something elseit is permissible for him to touch the musbaf. Someone who finds neither water nor earth ! for ablution] may pray in whatever state he is in, but it is not permissible for h im to touch the musbaf because of his ritual impurity. We hold that it is permissible for I J 6

WRITING THE QURAN AND RESPECTING THE MUSJ:IAF him to pray only out of the necessity [of Prayer when time is run­ ning out]. If one had in his possession a musbaf with him and does not find someone to give it to for safekeeping and he is incapable of making ablution, it is permissible for him to carry it because of the necessity of safeguarding the musbaf. Al-Qadl Abu al-Tayyib said that it is not essential for him to make dry ablution [for the purpose of immediately safekeeping the Quran]. But what he said is questionable, and one should be required to make dry ablution. When Fearing Its Destruction If one fears that a musbaf will be burned, submerged in water, fall into filth, or land in the hands of a disbeliever, then he may take possession of it, even while in the state of ritual impurity, out of necessity. The Guardian's Responsibilities Is it obligatory for the teacher and the guardian of a youth who has reached the age of discernment to require him to have ritual purity in order for him to carry the musbaf and the study tablet from which he recites? Our Shafi'I companions have two well­ known opinions. The sounder opinion in their eyes is that it is not obligatory because of the ensuing hardship. Commercial Transactions It is valid to buy and sell the musbaf. There is no offense in buying the musbaf. Our Shafi'! companions, however, have two opinions concerning its sale. The sounder is that it is offensive, and it is the explicit opinion of al-Shafi'L Those who consider neither buying nor selling the Quran offensive include al-I:Iasan al-Baäri, 'Ikri­ ma, and al-I:Iakam ibn 'Utayba; and this is related from Ibn 'Ab­ bas (God be pleased with him). A group of scholars considered it offensive to buy and sell [the Quran]. Ibn al-Mundhir conveyed this from 'Alqama, Ibn Sirin, al-Nakha'i, Shurayh, Masruq, and 'Abdallah ibn Yazid. 1 1 7

ETIQUETTE WITH THE QURAN Strong aversion to sel ling [the Quran] is attributed to Ibn 'Umar and Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (God be pleased with him). A group of scholars considered buying [the Quran] to be a legal dispensation, while selling it is offensive. Ibn Mundhir conveyed this from Ibn 'Abbas, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, Ahmad ibn I:Ianbal, and Isbaq ibn Ra­ huyah (God be pleased with them all). And God knows best. I I 8