Ruling on a menstruating woman reciting the Qur'an from memory
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Q142: The questioner, Umm Badi' from Riyadh, asks: What is the ruling on a menstruating woman reciting the Qur'an from the mushaf, or reciting it from memory? Also, what is the ruling on reciting it in an exam while menstruating, or reciting a portion of verses in certain subjects, such as tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and others, if the matter requires reciting verses for grammatical parsing, explanation, or the like?
A142: One who is in a state of major ritual impurity, whether from janabah (major ritual impurity) or menstruation, is prohibited from reciting the Qur'an, neither from memory nor from the mushaf. In fact, it is not permissible to touch the mushaf even if one does not read from it, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as in the hadith of 'Amr ibn Hazm:Muwatta Malik 15:1 Therefore, touching the mushaf for one who is in a state of major or minor ritual impurity is not permissible; this is due to this hadith. This is in agreement of the four Imams, that one in a state of ritual impurity is not permitted to touch the mushaf without a barrier. As for reciting from memory, one who is in a state of minor ritual impurity has no objection to reciting the Qur'an. As for one who is in a state of major ritual impurity, it is not permissible for him to recite the Qur'an, neither from the mushaf nor from memory; except for the menstruating woman in
a case of dire necessity, in the case of exams, if she fears that she will miss the exam, then there is no objection to her reciting the Qur'an to take the exam, to the extent of the necessity. Likewise, if she has memorized verses or surahs from the Qur'an and fears forgetting them, because the period of menstruation or post-natal bleeding is long, then there is no objection to her reciting the Qur'an to review it and not forget it. In these two cases, there is no objection to the menstruating woman and the woman with post-natal bleeding reciting the Qur'an, out of necessity, either for the sake of the exam or out of fear of forgetting. As for anything other than this, the issue is subject to scholarly disagreement, and the majority are of the opinion of prohibition, so the safest course for her is to avoid reciting the Qur'an, because there is no need or necessity for it. However, if she recites something from the Qur'an, not with the intention of recitation, but with the intention of dhikr (the remembrance of Allah), reciting a verse or part of a verse for the purpose of dhikr, which is dhikr that corresponds to the Qur'an or some of its verses, then there is no objection to this, because she did not intend recitation, but intended dhikr or supplication with it. Likewise, grammatical parsing; if she parses, this also does not fall under the ruling of recitation. If she parses some words, this does not fall under the ruling of recitation, so there is no objection to that. And Allah knows best.
A142: One who is in a state of major ritual impurity, whether from janabah (major ritual impurity) or menstruation, is prohibited from reciting the Qur'an, neither from memory nor from the mushaf. In fact, it is not permissible to touch the mushaf even if one does not read from it, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as in the hadith of 'Amr ibn Hazm:
no-one should touch the Qur'an unless he was pure
لا يمس القرآن إلا طاهرa case of dire necessity, in the case of exams, if she fears that she will miss the exam, then there is no objection to her reciting the Qur'an to take the exam, to the extent of the necessity. Likewise, if she has memorized verses or surahs from the Qur'an and fears forgetting them, because the period of menstruation or post-natal bleeding is long, then there is no objection to her reciting the Qur'an to review it and not forget it. In these two cases, there is no objection to the menstruating woman and the woman with post-natal bleeding reciting the Qur'an, out of necessity, either for the sake of the exam or out of fear of forgetting. As for anything other than this, the issue is subject to scholarly disagreement, and the majority are of the opinion of prohibition, so the safest course for her is to avoid reciting the Qur'an, because there is no need or necessity for it. However, if she recites something from the Qur'an, not with the intention of recitation, but with the intention of dhikr (the remembrance of Allah), reciting a verse or part of a verse for the purpose of dhikr, which is dhikr that corresponds to the Qur'an or some of its verses, then there is no objection to this, because she did not intend recitation, but intended dhikr or supplication with it. Likewise, grammatical parsing; if she parses, this also does not fall under the ruling of recitation. If she parses some words, this does not fall under the ruling of recitation, so there is no objection to that. And Allah knows best.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.