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Etiquettes of Reading
and Handling the Qur'an al-Kareem
It is unlawful (haraam) for someone not in the state of wudu
to carry a Qur'an, even by a trap or in a box , or touch it, whether its
writing, the spaces between its lines, its margins, binding, the carrying
strap attached to it, or the bag or box it is in.
The opinion expressed in Fiqh al-Sunnah that it is permissible
to touch the Holy Qur'an without ritual purity is a deviant (shadh)
view contrary to all four schools of jurisprudence (fiqh) that is
Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali and is impermissible to teach (except
to teach that it is deviant).
It is permissible to carry books of Sacred Law (Shari'ah), hadith,
or Qur'anic tafsir, provided that most of their text is not Qur'an.
One should not use saliva on the fingers to turn the pages of the Holy
Qur'an.
When one fears that a Holy Qur'an may burn, get soaked, that a non-Muslim
may touch it, or that it may come into contact with some filth, then one
must pick it up if there is no safe place for it, even if one is not in
the state of wudu or is in need of the obligatory bath, though performing
the dry ablution (tayummum) is wajib if possible.
It is haraam to use the Holy Qur'an or any book of Islamic knowledge
as a pillow.
Imam Muhammad ibn Ahmad Qurtubi
says in al-Jami' li ahkam al-Qur'an
Taken from Reliance of the Traveller
It is the inviolability of the Qur'an:
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not to touch the Holy Qur'an except in the state of ritual purity in wudu,
and to recite it when in a state of ritual purity;
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to brush one's teeth with a toothstick (siwak), remove food particles
from between the them, and to freshen one's mouth before reciting, since
it is the way through which the Holy Qur'an passes;
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to sit up straight if not in prayer, and not lean back;
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to dress for reciting as if intending to visit a prince, for the reciter
is engaged in an intimate discourse;
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to face the direction of prayer (qiblah) to recite;
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to rinse the mouth out with water if one coughs up mucus or phlegm;
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to stop reciting when one yawns, for when reciting , one is addressing
one's Lord in intimate conversation, while yawning is from the Devil;
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when begining to recite, to take refuge from in Allah from the accursed
Devil and say the Basmala, whether one has begun at the first surah
or some other part one has reached;
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once one has begun, not to interrupt one's recital from moment to moment
with human words, unless absolutely necessary;
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to be alone when reciting it, so that no one interrupts one, forcing one
to mix the words of the Holy Qur'an with replying, for this nullifies the
effectivness of having taken refuge in Allah from the Devil at the beginning;
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to recite it leisurely and without haste, distinctly pronouncing each letter;
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to use one's mind and understanding in order to comprehend what is being
said to one;
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to pause at verses that promise Allah's favour, to long for Allah Most
High and ask of His bounty; and at verses that warn of His punishment to
ask Him to save one from it;
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to pause at the accounts of bygone peoples and individuals to heed and
benefit from their example;
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to find out the meanings of the Holy Qur'an's unusual lexical usages;
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to give each letter its due so as to clearly and fuLly pronounce every
word, for each letter counts as ten good deeds;
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whenever one finishes reciting, to attest to the veracity of ones's Lord,
and that His messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) has delivered
his message, and to testify to this, saying: "Our Lord, You have
spoken the truth, Your messengers have delivered their tidings, and bear
witness to this. O Allah, make us of those who bear witness to the truth
and who act with justice": after which one supplicates Allah with
prayers.
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not to select certain verses from each surah to recite, but rather
the recite the whole surah;
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if one puts down the Holy Qur'an, not to leave it open;
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not to place other books upon the Holy Qur'an, which should always be higher
than all other books, whether they are books of Sacred Knowledge or something
else;
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to place the Holy Qur'an on one's lap when reading; or on something in
front of one, not on the floor;
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not to wipe it from a slate with spittle, but rather wash it off with water;
and if one washes it off with water, to avoid putting the water where there
are unclean substances (najasa) or where people walk. Such water
has its own inviolability, and there were those of the early Muslims before
us who used water that washed away Holy Qur'an to effect cures.
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not to use sheets upon which it has been written as bookcovers, which is
extremely rude, but rather to erase the Holy Qur'an from them with water;
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not to let a day go by without looking at least once at the pages of the
Holy Qur'an;
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to give one's eyes their share of looking at it, for the eyes lead to the
soul (nafs), whereas there is a veil between the breast and the
soul, and the Qur'an is in the breast.
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not to trivially quote the Holy Qur'an at the occurrence of everyday events,
as by saying, for example, when someone comes, "You have come hither
according to a decree, O Moses" [Holy Qur'an 69:24],
or, "Eat and drink heartily for what you have done aforetimes,
in days gone by" [Holy Qur'an 69:24], when food is brought out, and
so forth;
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not to recite it to songs tunes like those of the corrupt, or with the
tremulous tones of Christians or the plaintiveness of monkery, all of which
is misguidance;
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when writing the Holy Qur'an to do so in a clear, elegant hand;
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not to recite it out aloud over another's reciting of it, so as to spoil
it for him or make him resent what he hears, making it as if it were some
kind of competition;
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not to recite it in marketplaces, places of clamour and frivolity, or where
fools gather;
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never to use the Holy Qur'an as pillow, or lean upon it;
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not to toss it when one wants to hand it to another;
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not to miniaturize the Holy Qur'an, mix into it what is not of it, or mingle
this worldly adornment with it by embellishing or writing it with gold;
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not to write it on the ground or on walls, as is done in some new mosques;
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not to write an amulet with it and enter the lavatory, unless it is encased
in leather, silver, or other, for then it is as if kept in the heart;
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if one writes it and then drinks it (for cure or other purpose), one should
say the Basmala at every breath and make a noble and worthy intention,
for Allah only gives to one according to one's intention;
and if one finishes reciting the entire Holy Qur'an, to begin it
anew, that it may not resemble something that has been abandoned.
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