Is It Permissible to Recite from the Mushaf During Salah?

✦ Source:
This article is derived from the book Tuhfa Hanafiya by Maulana Abu Sohaib Dawood Arshad حفظه الله, which is a well-reasoned response to the book Tuhfa Ahl-e-Hadith authored by the Deobandi scholar Abu Bilal Jhangvi.

Issue of Recitation from the Mushaf During Prayer​

Jhangvi Sahib states that the Ahl al-Sunnah consider it impermissible to recite the Qur’an by looking into the Mushaf during prayer, whereas the non-Muqallids consider it correct.
(Tuhfa Ahl-e-Hadith, p. 54)

Response:​

① Firstly:​

On page 53 of Tuhfa Ahl-e-Hadith, Jhangvi Sahib has written that Ahl al-Sunnah consider the Sahabah رضي الله عنهم to be the criterion of truth — end of quote. In the issue under discussion, the practice of Umm al-Mu’minin ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها is as follows:

“عن عائشةؓ كانت تقرأ في المصحف وهي تصلى”
That is, ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها used to recite from the Mushaf during Salah.
(Musannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq, Vol. 2, p. 420, Hadith No. 3930)

In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, it is stated:
“كانت عائشة يومها عبدها ذكوان من المصحف”
That is, her servant Dhakwan used to lead her in prayer by reciting from the Mushaf.
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Vol. 1, p. 96)

Imām Abū Bakr ibn Abī Mulaykah reports:
“ان عائشه اعتقت غلامالها عن دبر فكان يؤمها في رمضان في المصحف”
ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها had a servant whom she later freed, and he used to lead her in Tarawīḥ prayer during Ramadan by reading from the Mushaf.
(Musannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah, Vol. 2, p. 338; Fatḥ al-Bārī, Vol. 2, p. 147; Kitāb al-Maṣāḥif by Ibn Abī Dāwūd, p. 192)

Hāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar affirms that the chain of narration for this narration is authentic.
(Taghlīq al-Taʿlīq, Vol. 2, p. 291)

② Opinion of the Early Scholars:​

When Imām al-Zuhrī رحمه الله was asked about leading prayer while reading from the Mushaf, he replied:
“قال ما زالوا يفعلون ذلك منذ كان الاسلام كان خيارنا يقرون في المصاحف”
Since the advent of Islam, our virtuous elders used to recite from the Mushaf.
(Qiyām al-Layl, p. 168, Maktabah Athariyyah Edition)

This opinion is supported by:

• Imām Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib
• Imām al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī
• Imām Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn
• Imām Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Anṣārī
• Imām Mālik
• Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal رحمهم الله أجمعين

For details, refer to:

• Qiyām al-Layl, p. 168
• Musannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah, Vol. 2, p. 338
• Musannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq, Vol. 2, p. 420

Rebuttal to Jhangvi Sahib:​

Jhangvi should clarify whether these mentioned Sahabah and Tabi'in — the jurists of Madinah and leading scholars of the Ummah like Imām Aḥmad and Imām Mālik — are considered part of Ahl al-Sunnah or outside of it? If he considers them to be the pillars of Ahl al-Sunnah, why then does he exclude the Ahl-e-Hadith?

This detailed evidence proves that the difference of opinion on this issue does not justify labeling Ahl-e-Hadith as outside Ahl al-Sunnah — this is ignorance.

③ Secondly:​

Just as Mukhtar ibn Ubayd claimed prophethood under the guise of love for Ahl al-Bayt — a matter elaborated by ʿAllāmah Shahrastānī in al-Milal wa’l-Niḥal, Vol. 1, p. 132 — and the Shīʿah adopted cursing the Sahabah in the name of loving ʿAlī رضي الله عنه, in a similar way, the Ḥanafiyyah, under the banner of jurisprudence, have shown opposition towards the Qur’an.

Consider these two disgraceful examples:

Disrespectful Views from Ḥanafi Jurists​

Example 1:
ʿAllāmah Zayn ibn Najīm al-Ḥanafī (d. 971 AH) writes:
“ولو نظر المصلى الى المصحف وقرأمنه فسدت صلاته لا الى فرج امراة بشهوة لان الاول تعليم وتعلم فيها لا الثاني”
If a person looks at the Mushaf and recites from it during prayer, his Salah becomes invalid. However, if he looks at a woman’s private part with desire, his prayer does not become invalid — because recitation is an act of teaching and learning, unlike the latter.
(al-Ashbāh wa’l-Naẓāʾir, p. 224, HM Saeed Karachi Edition)

Reaction:
From this disgusting analogy, readers can themselves assess the level of reverence these jurists had for the Qur’an. They claim that looking lustfully at a woman’s private part does not invalidate prayer, yet they declare reciting from the Qur’an to be invalid and prohibited.

Example 2:
Fatāwā Qāḍī Khān states:
“والذي رعف فلاير قادمه فاراد ان يكتب بدمه على جبهته شيئا من القرآن قال ابوبكر الاسكاف يجوز قيل لوكتب بالبول قال لوكان فيه شفاء لا باس به”
If someone has a nosebleed and wishes to write something from the Qur’an on his forehead with that blood, Abū Bakr al-Iskāf says it is permissible. And if he writes with urine, he says, “If it brings healing, there is no harm.”
(Fatāwā Qāḍī Khān, Vol. 3, p. 404)

This same fatwa is repeated in:

• Fatāwā Sirājiyyah, p. 75
• al-Baḥr al-Rāʾiq, Vol. 1, p. 116
• Ḥamwī Sharḥ al-Ashbāh wa’l-Naẓāʾir, Vol. 1, p. 108
• Fatāwā Shāmī, Vol. 1, p. 210
  and other Ḥanafi books from the 4th to 12th centuries.
  

Fatāwā ʿĀlamgīrī confirms:
“فقد ثبت ذلك في المشاهير من غير انكار”
This fatwa is confirmed by renowned scholars without any denial.
(Fatāwā ʿĀlamgīrī, Vol. 5, p. 356)

Condemnation by Barelvi Scholar:​

The well-known translator of the Barelvi school, Mawlānā Ghulām Rasūl Saʿīdī, strongly refutes these fatwas, stating:
“I say that anyone who writes Surah al-Fātiḥah with blood or urine puts his faith in danger. Even if one is certain of healing through this, it is better for him to die than to commit such an act. May Allah forgive the jurists who uttered such a heinous view due to their obsession with drawing out fine distinctions.”
(Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Vol. 6, p. 557, Farid Book Stall, 1995)

ʿAbd al-Majīd Sharqpūrī from Bristol, UK, praises Saʿīdī's courageous stance, stating:
"This ruling appears in nearly half a dozen Ḥanafi books. When I asked most scholars about it, they remained silent due to the fatwa being authored by great jurists. Saʿīdī broke this silence for the first time."
(Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Vol. 1, p. 66, 5th Edition, 1995)

Conclusion:​

Just as Saʿīdī bravely refuted the aforementioned deviance, you too should boldly reject the claim that reciting from the Mushaf during prayer invalidates it. Accept the validity of this practice in light of the Sahabah’s example. Don’t blindly follow jurists as if they are infallible. Accept what is correct and reject what is false.

Ultimately, as Saʿīdī broke the deadlock and spoke the truth, so should you. Reevaluate the entire Hanafi jurisprudence, separate truth from falsehood, and make it a provision for your Hereafter. May Allah guide you. And if you don’t have the courage to do so, then completely abandon Hanafi jurisprudence and adopt the Qur’an and Sunnah. I assure you — this is the path to Paradise.

❖ For more detailed arguments on this topic, please refer to the sources cited above.