In some mosques, there are chairs with Qur'ans on them; is it permissible for a person to pray facing them and use them as a sutrah?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : In some mosques, there are chairs with Qur'ans on them; is it permissible for a person to pray with them in front of him? Does this involve dislike or not?
The Shaykh : I mean, he prays facing this chair?
The questioner : The ones that fold open.
The Shaykh : Two questions... I mean, he prays facing this chair?
The questioner : Yes, I mean he makes the chair his sutrah or in the direction of the qiblah, but there is a mushaf on it.
The Shaykh : ... This was not clear, and so I wanted to understand the question. He prays facing the chair, which is clearer in the end, and there is a mushaf on it. So if there were a cabinet with a mushaf in it, would the question be different, or is it the same?
The questioner : No, the situation would be different, meaning in the cabinet—for example—it might be possible.
The Shaykh : You answer the question, be at ease.
The questioner : If it is in a cabinet, it is not different.
The Shaykh : Do we not see in the mosques cabinets full of mushafs?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Is the question different, or does it remain on the ground?
The questioner : No, it is not different.
The Shaykh : Ah, so the point is that the prayer is toward the mushaf, not the point is toward the chair; the point is toward the mushaf. So whether this mushaf is on a chair or in a drawer, on a shelf for example, yes, I want to clarify so I know the answer. What is the driving force behind this question? Because Muslims know that the Qur'an is the speech of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and that what is between the two covers of the mushaf is the speech of Allah. So do you think the previous question, whether the mushaf is on the chair or on the cabinet or the shelf in front of us, is different if it were said: Is it permissible to pray toward the speech of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), or is it not different?
The questioner : The point, O Shaykh, is whether it is permissible to pray and prostrate in front of the speech of Allah, or is it not permissible? This is the summary...
The Shaykh : This is what we are proceeding with, this is what we are dealing with.
Another questioner : This... thing.
The Shaykh : Since the written speech in the mushaf is the speech of Allah, and the speech of Allah is one of His attributes, there is no doubt that it is permissible. Do you think praying toward the mushaf which contains the speech of Allah... is different from praying toward the Ka'bah which is the House of Allah? The Ka'bah is stone; yet we pray toward it. So it is even more fitting to pray toward the mushaf which contains the speech of Allah.
This question leads us to another question: Is it permissible to swear by the Qur'an? Of course, the answer is that it is permissible to swear by the Qur'an, but if we develop the question...
The Shaykh : I mean, he prays facing this chair?
The questioner : The ones that fold open.
The Shaykh : Two questions... I mean, he prays facing this chair?
The questioner : Yes, I mean he makes the chair his sutrah or in the direction of the qiblah, but there is a mushaf on it.
The Shaykh : ... This was not clear, and so I wanted to understand the question. He prays facing the chair, which is clearer in the end, and there is a mushaf on it. So if there were a cabinet with a mushaf in it, would the question be different, or is it the same?
The questioner : No, the situation would be different, meaning in the cabinet—for example—it might be possible.
The Shaykh : You answer the question, be at ease.
The questioner : If it is in a cabinet, it is not different.
The Shaykh : Do we not see in the mosques cabinets full of mushafs?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Is the question different, or does it remain on the ground?
The questioner : No, it is not different.
The Shaykh : Ah, so the point is that the prayer is toward the mushaf, not the point is toward the chair; the point is toward the mushaf. So whether this mushaf is on a chair or in a drawer, on a shelf for example, yes, I want to clarify so I know the answer. What is the driving force behind this question? Because Muslims know that the Qur'an is the speech of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and that what is between the two covers of the mushaf is the speech of Allah. So do you think the previous question, whether the mushaf is on the chair or on the cabinet or the shelf in front of us, is different if it were said: Is it permissible to pray toward the speech of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), or is it not different?
The questioner : The point, O Shaykh, is whether it is permissible to pray and prostrate in front of the speech of Allah, or is it not permissible? This is the summary...
The Shaykh : This is what we are proceeding with, this is what we are dealing with.
Another questioner : This... thing.
The Shaykh : Since the written speech in the mushaf is the speech of Allah, and the speech of Allah is one of His attributes, there is no doubt that it is permissible. Do you think praying toward the mushaf which contains the speech of Allah... is different from praying toward the Ka'bah which is the House of Allah? The Ka'bah is stone; yet we pray toward it. So it is even more fitting to pray toward the mushaf which contains the speech of Allah.
This question leads us to another question: Is it permissible to swear by the Qur'an? Of course, the answer is that it is permissible to swear by the Qur'an, but if we develop the question...
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.