A woman has many vessels bearing noble verses of the Qur'an and some of the well-known supplications, and it was said to her that using them or possessing them is forbidden and it is obligatory
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The questioner : I have many vessels bearing noble verses of the Qur'an and some of the well-known supplications. Some people told me: Using them or possessing them is forbidden, and I must burn them. So I burned them out of fear of the punishment of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). After I burned some of them and tore up some of the others, I did not know where to put the remains. Should I bury them or throw them in the trash? I ask for guidance in this matter. May you be rewarded.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. The answer to this question is that these papers which contained verses from the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and which you burned on the advice of some people, you can also complete burning them and then bury them, because that is more effective in avoiding their desecration. Unless you tear them up completely so that nothing of the words remains, in which case that suffices in place of burning them. However, she mentioned that she burned papers containing supplications. Regarding papers containing supplications, there is a distinction: if they are prescribed supplications, then preserving them or keeping them is better so that they can be benefited from. If they are not prescribed supplications, then destroying them is obligatory by burning or tearing them up completely. Someone might ask: Why did you distinguish regarding supplications? Or why did you distinguish regarding papers containing supplications and not distinguish regarding papers containing verses of the Qur'an?
The questioner : Very well.
The Shaykh : The answer to this is to say: If papers containing verses of the Qur'an were left, this would be exposed to their desecration if they remained neglected like this. And if they are hung on the walls, hanging verses on the walls is not among the prescribed matters that the righteous Salaf (may Allah be pleased with them) did. The one who hangs them is not free from certain conditions. The first condition: that he hangs them seeking blessing from them, and this is not prescribed. This is because seeking blessing from the Qur'an in this manner is not reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) nor from his Companions. And what is not reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that is adopted as an act of worship or as a means of seeking nearness to Allah is not prescribed, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Ahzab 33:21] [Al-Hadid 57:24] Or else, he adopts them as a means of protection, believing that if he hangs these verses, they will protect him from the devils. This also has no basis in the Sunnah or in the practice of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and the righteous Salaf. And there is a danger in it, which is that a person relies on them and does not do what he should do, such as reciting the verses that contain protection and caution against the accursed devil. Because his soul will tell him: Since you have hung, for example, the Verse of the Throne in your house, it suffices you from reciting it. Since you have hung Surat al-Ikhlas and the two chapters of seeking refuge, it suffices you from reciting them. And this undoubtedly diverts a person from the correct path of seeking protection and caution through the Noble Qur'an. So these are two conditions.
The third condition: that he hangs these papers containing the Qur'an for the sake of remembrance and admonition. And if it is estimated that there is benefit in this at some times, there is more harm in it. That is because many gatherings have these verses of the Qur'an in them, but the people of the gathering do not benefit from them. It may be that the one who hung a paper containing the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Hujurat 49:12] finds the people in that same place backbiting one another and not benefiting from this verse. And the fact that the verse is above their heads forbidding backbiting while they are backbiting people is similar to being in the category of defiance and not caring about what Allah has forbidden. So perhaps you will find in some gatherings a paper containing the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Ahzab 33:41-42] and yet no one pays attention to it, or raises their head to it, or remembers Allah, or glorifies Him. And this is common. Thus, admonition and remembrance through these verses that are written on papers and hung is little. And also, reminding and admonishing in this way was not known in the time of the righteous Salaf. And there is no doubt that their guidance is better than our guidance and closer to the truth than ours. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih al-Bukhari 3651 For this reason, we approved the action of this woman who burned the papers she had containing verses from the Book of Allah, and we distinguished regarding the supplications.
The questioner : Very well.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, Shaykh Muhammad. Does this apply to hadiths, O honorable Shaykh?
The Shaykh : In my view, hadiths are less severe than the noble verses. But with this, if people were to turn away from them, that would be better. And if they remain, there is no harm. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. What about proverbs and the like?
The Shaykh : No, there is no harm with them, because they are not generally the speech of Allah or His Messenger. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. The listener N A B from Jeddah as well.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. The answer to this question is that these papers which contained verses from the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and which you burned on the advice of some people, you can also complete burning them and then bury them, because that is more effective in avoiding their desecration. Unless you tear them up completely so that nothing of the words remains, in which case that suffices in place of burning them. However, she mentioned that she burned papers containing supplications. Regarding papers containing supplications, there is a distinction: if they are prescribed supplications, then preserving them or keeping them is better so that they can be benefited from. If they are not prescribed supplications, then destroying them is obligatory by burning or tearing them up completely. Someone might ask: Why did you distinguish regarding supplications? Or why did you distinguish regarding papers containing supplications and not distinguish regarding papers containing verses of the Qur'an?
The questioner : Very well.
The Shaykh : The answer to this is to say: If papers containing verses of the Qur'an were left, this would be exposed to their desecration if they remained neglected like this. And if they are hung on the walls, hanging verses on the walls is not among the prescribed matters that the righteous Salaf (may Allah be pleased with them) did. The one who hangs them is not free from certain conditions. The first condition: that he hangs them seeking blessing from them, and this is not prescribed. This is because seeking blessing from the Qur'an in this manner is not reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) nor from his Companions. And what is not reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that is adopted as an act of worship or as a means of seeking nearness to Allah is not prescribed, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:
There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day
لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الآخِرَAnd whoever turns away - then indeed, Allah is the Free of need, the Praiseworthy.
وَمَنْ يَتَوَلَّ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُThe third condition: that he hangs these papers containing the Qur'an for the sake of remembrance and admonition. And if it is estimated that there is benefit in this at some times, there is more harm in it. That is because many gatherings have these verses of the Qur'an in them, but the people of the gathering do not benefit from them. It may be that the one who hung a paper containing the saying of Allah the Exalted:
or backbite each other
وَلا يَغْتَبْ بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضًا(41) O you who have believed, remember Allah with much remembrance (42) And exalt Him morning and afternoon.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءامَنُوا اذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ ذِكْرًا كَثِيرًا * وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًاThe best people are those living in my generation, and then those who will follow them, and then those who will follow the latter
خير الناس قرني، ثم الذين يلونهم، ثم الذين يلونهمThe questioner : Very well.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, Shaykh Muhammad. Does this apply to hadiths, O honorable Shaykh?
The Shaykh : In my view, hadiths are less severe than the noble verses. But with this, if people were to turn away from them, that would be better. And if they remain, there is no harm. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. What about proverbs and the like?
The Shaykh : No, there is no harm with them, because they are not generally the speech of Allah or His Messenger. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. The listener N A B from Jeddah as well.