touching Qur'an, tafsir etc. without wudu

good question. so what does or does not constitute the qur'anic text which cannot be touched except in a state of ritual purity?

is the 'shakl' itself sufficient? or has permanence got anything to do with it?

does a digital text (pixels) fall under the same hukm?

speaking about ink-and-paper and permanence - what if someone wrote an ayah, using pure water, on a large tree leaf? or these?

it seems that the perception about virtual/digital visual material is that - somehow - it's not physical/substantial.

it's a shadow or light or whatever. and hence not real.

but the common denominator in all these different scenarios is the shakl and it's purposeful/deliberate formation (as against accidental).

so...

 

when you touch the phone screen, you can navigate because your touch actually "presses" the image (or button) that is displayed. just check out any application that says "go to surah", "go to Ayah" etc. similarly, the words of the Holy Qur'an can be expanded (zoomed in), by "touching" what you "see".

so the 'touch" screen is actually a necessary component for the smart mobile - it's not just a glass shield for what is displayed.

 

the question is even deeper: do you consider only the "ink-on-paper" as huruf?

 

excellent point sidi.

If I remember correctly, hanafis allow touching/carrying a mushaf if it's covered in something which is external and easily 'detachable/removable'.

In that case, gloss would not be a sufficient cover since it is not easily separable from the copy.

In case of a phone/tablet, especially the touchscreens, there is no such easily separable barrier between the huruf being touched and the skin, unless there is a protective scratch guard etc.

On the other hand, the huruf are not permanent either.

Which brings us to the question, would it be permissible to touch if the huruf are projected on a wall/screen using an LCD projector?

 

it is standard sunni aqidah. you will find the same in bahar e shariat.

 

Let me know what you think of the article.

 

As Salāmu ʿAlaykum Wa Raḥmatullahi Wa Barakatu,

Shaykh Abu Adam clarifies this in his article "The Qur’aan and Aļļaah’s attribute of Speech"

Exerpt:


'Abuu Ĥaniifah on the meaning of “the Qur’aan is not created.”
Abuu Ĥaniifah, who is definitely among the Salaf, explains that the meaning of “the Qur’aan is not created” is that Aļļaah’s eternal attribute of speech is not created. In his book Al-Fiqh Al-Akbar, he said:

“The Qur’aan is the Speech of Aļļaah (Taˆaalaa), written on pages (muşĥafs), preserved in hearts, recited on tongues, and revealed to the Prophet r. Our utterance of the Qur’aan is created, and our recitation of the Qur’aan is created, but the Qur’aan is not created[21].” [22].

He means by “the Qur’aan is the Speech of Aļļaah” that the word “Qur’aan” refers to Aļļaah’s eternal speech that is not letters (thus not language or sounds – as letters are symbols that represent sounds.) I.e. there is no difference between saying “Aļļaah’s attribute of Speech” and “the Qur’aan;” they are synonyms. He makes this clear when he says a few paragraphs later:

“Aļļaah speaks, but not like our speech; we speak by means of instruments (vocal cords, limbs, etc.) and letters, but Aļļaah speaks without instruments or letters. Letters are a creation, and Aļļaah’s Speech is not created[23].” [24].
In conclusion, Abuu Ĥaniifah says, “the Qur’aan is the Speech of Aļļaah,” and “Aļļaah speaks without instruments or letters,” then he emphasizes this further by saying, “Letters are a creation, and Aļļaah’s Speech is not created.”


[23]الفقه الأكبر (ص. 6): ويتكلم لا ككلامنا ونحن نتكلم بالآلات والحروف والله تعالى يتكلم بلا آلة ولاحروف. والحروف مخلوقة وكلام الله تعالى غير مخلوق.

[24]Ibid., 1:6.'

 

the question then boils down to an age old issue of whether letters and sounds are qadim (and consequently, are ink and paper and the hands that write them...)

surely, one should solve the problem whether qur'an is the "ink on paper" or something else; and then what exactly is not allowed to "touch".

can you "touch" a Divine Attribute?

wAllahu a'alam


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ps: i think `urf has to figure somewhere here.

 

in post #21 brother abu hamza gives the anatomy of a mobile screen.

the question you should ask: "is printed paper so simple as "ink on paper?" or does it also have layering?
such as coating, laminating, etc finishing processes? [coated paper is not the same as coated finishing]

---
do spare a look at this:

https://agooddaytoprint.com/page/paper-coatings-faq

http://the-print-guide.blogspot.ae/2012/03/choosing-right-print-coating.html
http://www.printingforless.com/Aqueous-Coating-for-Printing.html
http://archive.fsea.com/article.asp?ID=51#.V1EzMr68Dvk
http://printwiki.org/Coating
https://www.summitprintingpro.com/resources/paper-coatings.html
http://printwiki.org/Binding_and_Finishing
-----
according to this theory of layers, it is permissible to touch a laminated mus'Haf - or say a high quality glossy print (which usually is a result of coated finishing).

 

the question is: 'the letters and words and writing on paper fromed by ink; are these qur'anic verses per se?'

 

Via Mufti Monawwar Ateeq:

5. Touching verses of the Quran in one's mobile without purity (taharah) is allowed due to two reasons a) what you are touching is not 'the quranic verse' but it is the screen and b) the words are in reality electrical rays.

6. If the Quran is saved inside the phone and is not visible on the screen, one can take the mobile phone to the toilet just as a hafiz of the Quran is carrying the Quran in his heart yet enters the toilet. There is no harm in this. However one must refrain from taking the mobile to the toilet if the wallpaper or screensaver contains religious images or words. Downloading Islamic apps on to your phone and carrying them in your pocket is allowed however one must check with reliable alim which application is not reliable as there are many groups creating apps in the name of Islam but are in fact destroying people's views. Knowledge directly taken from an alim, a first hand source, is the best, proper and genuine way of learning.

https://www.facebook.com/shaykhmonawwar/posts/464106630299866

 

This position is also held by mufti nizamuddin.

 

My question was heuristic in nature. Brother, where is the 'actual text'?

 

If the screen acts the barrier between the person and the actual text then where is the actual text?

 

My understanding is books Other Than the Qur'an Al Kareem can be touched without Wudu if there is NOT 50% or more Qur'anic Verses. I think this may be the position held in the Shaifi'i Madhab and is from Reliance but it needs to be checked. Allah Knows Best

 

Qurān on the phone/tablet etc, the glass screen acts as the barrier between the person & the actual text.

If i remember correctly, there was another brother eager to ask a question so the shaykh didn't have time to give a comprehensive answer with full tahqīq, & neither was it explained properly, but from what he gathered, he said it's permissible but better not to.

 

a friend posed this question to Shaykh ul-Islām Madnī Miya a few years ago, he said it's permissible but better to refrain from doing so.