◈ Evidence for the Prohibition of Touching the Qur’an Without Purification ◈
✍ Written by: Qari Usama bin Abd al-Salam ḥafiẓahullah
❀ Ruling on Touching the Qur’an Without Wudu: From the Qur’an and Hadith
✿ Proof from the Noble Qur’an
Allah Almighty says:
لَا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا الْمُطَهَّرُونَ
[Surah al-Wāqiʿah: 79]
“None shall touch it except the purified.”
✧ Tafsir of the Mufassirīn:
◈ Imam al-Ṭabarī رحمه الله said:
“Only the one who is pure—i.e., free from impurity and defilement—may touch the Qur’an. This is also the position of a group among the Salaf.”
[Tafsir al-Ṭabarī 23/282]
◈ Imam al-Qurṭubī رحمه الله said:
“This verse indicates that only a pure person may touch the Qur’an, as stated in a narrated Hadith.”
[Al-Jāmiʿ li Aḥkām al-Qur’ān 17/205]
✔ This verse clearly establishes that only those in a state of purity (ṭahārah) may touch the Qur’an—meaning those not in a state of major or minor impurity.
✿ Proof from the Noble Hadith
➊ Hadith of ʿAmr ibn Ḥazm رضي الله عنه:
“أَنْ لَا يَمَسَّ الْقُرْآنَ إِلَّا طَاهِرٌ“
“That no one should touch the Qur’an except a purified person.”
[Muwaṭṭaʾ Mālik 1/199, Sunan al-Dārimī 2/527, Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq 1/341, Sunan al-Bayhaqī 1/88, Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān 3/72, Musnad Aḥmad 4/136]
✔ This statement appears in the written letter of the Prophet ﷺ to ʿAmr ibn Ḥazm رضي الله عنه, and has been graded ḥasan (sound) and ṣaḥīḥ (authentic) by Hadith scholars.
➋ Narration of Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ رضي الله عنه:
“كنا مع النبي ﷺ، فقال: لا يمس القرآن إلا طاهر.”
“We were with the Prophet ﷺ, and he said: No one should touch the Qur’an except a purified person.”
[Al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ li al-Ṭabarānī, Hadith 5081; Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān 3/72]
✔ These narrations clearly prove the prohibition of touching the Qur’an without wudu.
✿ Proof from the Sayings of the Companions
➊ Salman al-Fārsī رضي الله عنه said:
“لا يمسّ القرآن إلا المطهرون.”
“None may touch the Qur’an except the purified.”
[Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah 1/121, Hadith 1466]
➋ Abdullah ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما said:
“لا يمسّ المصحف إلا الطاهر.”
“None may touch the Mushaf except a purified person.”
[Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah 1/121, Hadith 1467; Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān 3/72]
✔ These statements affirm that the Sahabah unanimously held that it is not permissible to touch the Qur’an without wudu.
✿ Position of the Imams of Hadith and Fiqh
➊ Imam al-Nawawī رحمه الله said:
“There is consensus among Muslims that a person in a state of minor impurity may not touch the Mushaf.”
[Al-Majmūʿ Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab 2/80]
➋ Imam Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr رحمه الله said:
“The fuqahāʾ from among the Sahabah and Tabiʿin agreed that none may touch the Mushaf except one who is purified from hadath (impurity).”
[Al-Tamhīd 17/349]
➌ Imam Ibn Qudāmah al-Ḥanbalī رحمه الله said:
“It is not permissible to touch the Mushaf except for one who has wudu. This is the view of ʿAlī, Ibn Masʿūd, Saʿd, Ibn ʿAbbās, ʿAṭāʾ, Ṭāwūs, al-Shaʿbī, al-Nakhaʿī, al-Ḥakam, Ḥammād, Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, Isḥāq, and Abū ʿUbayd.”
[Al-Mughnī 1/193]
➍ Imam al-Shāfiʿī رحمه الله said:
“No one may touch the Mushaf except one who is in a state of purity.”
[Al-Umm 1/45]
✔ These statements reflect a unanimous agreement among the four Imams and majority of Hadith scholars and jurists that touching the Qur’an without wudu is not allowed.
✅ Conclusion
Based on the above Qur’anic verses, Hadith, statements of the Companions, and unanimous scholarly opinions, the following points are clear:
① Surah al-Waqiʿah (79) explicitly declares that only the purified may touch the Qur’an.
② Authentic Ahadith clearly prohibit touching the Qur’an without wudu.
③ The Sahabah had ijmaʿ (consensus) on the prohibition.
④ The Imams of Hadith and Fiqh are unanimous in this ruling.
➡ Therefore, anyone who considers it permissible to touch the Qur’an without wudu holds a view contrary to the Shar‘i evidences and the consensus of the Ummah, and such a position is invalid and rejected.
