The Ruling on Reciting the Qur'an Without Wudu

The questioner:
This is a letter from the listener Muhammad Yahya al-Ghazwani in Khumais Mish'at, from the Bawazir Library. He asks several questions. The first question says: Is it permissible to recite the Noble Qur'an when a person is not in a state of wudu? Please inform us, may Allah grant you success?

The Shaykh:
There is no harm in reciting the Qur'an while not in a state of wudu. Reciting the Qur'an is a form of dhikr (remembrance of Allah). Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to remember Allah in all his states. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to remember Allah frequently in all his times; he would glorify Allah, praise Allah, and remember Him a lot at all times, peace and blessings be upon him. And the Qur'an is a form of dhikr. So if one recites the Qur'an while not in a state of wudu, meaning from memory, from the heart, there is no harm in that. And one may recite while in a state of minor ritual impurity, not major, and there is no harm in his reciting purity, but not from the mushaf, rather from memory. As for from the mushaf, no; one does not recite from the mushaf except with purity. Because when it came in the hadith , and it is a good hadith, there is no harm in it, it has various chains, the hadith of 'Amr ibn Hazm that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) the Qur'an except with purity; one does not hold the Qur'an except while pure. And because the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them and grant them satisfaction) issued the ruling that one does not touch the Qur'an except while pure, meaning one does not read from the mushaf except while pure. The Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned this regarding them and the Companions, that they used to issue the ruling that one does not recite the Qur'an except while pure, meaning one does not touch the mushaf except while pure. And so said the four Imams and the majority that it is not permissible for one in a state of ritual impurity to touch the Qur'an, to touch the mushaf. As for reciting from memory, there is no harm, meaning reciting from memory, there is no harm in reciting the Qur'an. This is all if it is minor ritual impurity. As for if one is in a state of janabah (major ritual impurity), no; the one in a state of janabah does not recite the Qur'an, neither from the mushaf nor from memory. Because it is established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he did not refrain from the Qur'an except due to janabah. If he was in a state of janabah, he did not recite the Qur'an, peace and blessings be upon him. In a narration from him from the hadith of 'Ali, that he . This indicates that the one in a state of janabah does not recite the Qur'an, neither from the mushaf nor from memory. And so is the menstruating woman according to some scholars, and the woman with post-natal bleeding, because their state of impurity is major. And others among the scholars said that the menstruating woman and the woman with post-natal bleeding are not of the same kind as the one in a state of janabah, because their state of impurity lasts long and their period lasts long, and the matter is not in their hands; they wait for the blood to stop and purity to be attained, and then they perform ghusl (full ritual bath). As for the one in a state of janabah, the matter is in his hand; when he finishes his need with his wife, he is able to perform ghusl immediately, or tayammum (dry ablution) if he is unable to perform ghusl, and he is able to recite after ghusl, so ghusl or tayammum in the case of inability to perform ghusl is facilitated for him. Unlike the menstruating woman, when she is in her period, it is not facilitated for them to do that except after the blood ends, the blood stops, and purity is attained. So their excuse is stronger. For this reason, a group of scholars held that it is permissible for them to recite from memory without touching the mushaf. And this is a good opinion. Especially in cases of need, such as a female teacher or a student if she needs to do so, then there is no harm on them in reciting the Qur'an in cases of need, and there is no harm, if Allah wills, due to the lack of evidence. As for the hadith "Do not let the menstruating woman or the woman in post-natal bleeding recite anything of the Qur'an," it is a weak hadith according to the scholars.

The presenter:
But Your Eminence the Shaykh, some people may make an excuse and say: If the Qur'an is recited from memory and the person is not pure, meaning he has minor ritual impurity, and if he proceeds to recite the Qur'an from the mushaf, then purity is required of him. He may say that this purity is for the mushaf itself, for the paper, and not for the Book of Allah the Exalted, which is the Qur'an.

The Shaykh:
The answer is that the paper is honored to honor the Qur'an. The paper is honored to honor the Book of Allah written in it. So one does not read from it while not in a state of purity. One touches it to honor the one who carries the Book of Allah.

The presenter:
Yes.

The Shaykh:
And as for if one recites from memory, the Qur'an is in his belly. The Qur'an is in his belly; that does not harm him. Because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite in all states. And he is the role model, peace and blessings be upon him. And he is the teacher.

The presenter:
Yes.

The Shaykh:
And he told us: Do not touch the Qur'an except while pure. So we in this obey the command of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And we obey the ruling of the Companions. We carry the Qur'an in our hearts and we recite; that does not harm us if we are not in a state of purity. Unlike the mushaf, which is designated to carry the Qur'an in its pages. The words of Allah are written in it. So from honoring the words of Allah is that one does not read from this mushaf that carries it and is designated for it except with purity.

The presenter:
Also, he asks: Is it permissible.

The Shaykh:
Then, matters of taqwiyyah (matters based on divine text), faith is based on divine text, and worship is based on divine text. There is no room for opinion in them as long as the text has come stating that one does not touch the Qur'an except while you are pure. And the Companions issued this ruling. They are the most knowledgeable people about the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Companions are the most knowledgeable people about the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the most knowledgeable about the rulings of the Shari'ah. So if they issued this ruling, their ruling is more appropriate than that of others. Yes.

The presenter:
Yes.