Source: Fatawa Aman Puri by Sheikh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Aman Puri
Question:
What is the ruling on burning worn-out pages of the Holy Quran?
Answer:
The Holy Quran is the true word of Allah Almighty. It is obligatory to respect it, and it is the duty of a believer to preserve and protect the Holy Quran. Disrespecting and insulting it is disbelief; however, if the pages of the Holy Quran become extremely worn and unfit for reading, they should be buried in a place where there is no possibility of disrespect. Alternatively, they can be thrown into an uninhabited well. If that is not possible, there is no harm in burning those pages, and they should be buried in the dust. This is because there is no intention to belittle the Holy Quran, but rather the aim is to protect and respect it. This is the opinion of the majority of Islamic scholars.
❀ Qadi Iyad, may Allah have mercy on him, writes:
"Know that whoever shows contempt for the Quran or the Mushaf or any part of it, or says any disrespectful word about them, or denies the Quran or any part or verse of it, or denies or contradicts any clear command or news contained in it, or knowingly affirms what the Quran has denied, or denies what the Quran has affirmed, or doubts any part of the Quran, is, according to the consensus of scholars, a disbeliever."
Reference: (Al-Shifa bi Ta'rif Huquq al-Mustafa: 304/2)
❀ Hafiz Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, writes:
"The consensus of Muslims is that it is obligatory to honor, glorify, and protect the Holy Quran in all circumstances, and it is also agreed that whoever deliberately denies even a single letter of the Quran, which has been agreed upon, or adds any letter of his own that has not been recited by any scholar before him, is a disbeliever."
Reference: (Al-Tibyan fi Adab Hamalat al-Quran, p. 164)
❀ Sayyidina Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates:
"Sayyidina Uthman bin Affan, may Allah be pleased with him, said to three Quraysh: If there is a disagreement between you and Zaid bin Thabit, may Allah be pleased with him, regarding any part of the Quran, then write it in the language of the Quraysh, because the Quran was revealed in the language of the Quraysh. So they did this, and when copies were prepared from the manuscripts, Sayyidina Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, returned those manuscripts to Sayyida Hafsa, may Allah be pleased with her, and sent one copy of the prepared manuscripts to each region, in addition to ordering all other manuscripts of the Quran to be burned."
Reference: (Sahih al-Bukhari: 4987)
❀ Allama Ibn Battal, may Allah have mercy on him, writes:
"It is permissible for Sayyidina Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, to order the burning of all remaining manuscripts after compiling the Quran (in book form), as it is permissible to burn those books that contain the name of Allah, to protect their honor and prevent them from being trampled upon. It is also permissible to entrust those books to uninhabited lands."
Reference: (Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari: 226/10)
Furthermore, after discussing various opinions of scholars, he states:
قول من حرقها أولى بالصواب
"The view of those who burn those books is more correct."
Reference: (Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari: 226/10)
Sayyidina Ka'b bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates the incident of his repentance, stating that a letter from the king of Ghassan came to him:
"To proceed, I have heard that your companion (the Prophet, peace be upon him) has abandoned you, but Allah has not put you to shame or hardship; come to us, and we will support you."
I (Ka'b, may Allah be pleased with him) thought after reading the letter: this is also a trial, so I threw it into the oven and burned it.
Reference: (Sahih al-Bukhari: 4418, Sahih Muslim: 2769)
❀ In the explanation of this hadith, Qadi Iyad, may Allah have mercy on him, writes:
فيه جواز حرق ما فيه اسم الله تعالى لعلة توجب ذلك
"This hadith is evidence that it is permissible to burn those pages that contain the name of Allah, in case of necessity (for example, to avoid disrespect)."
Reference: (Ikmal al-Ma'lam bi Fawa'id Muslim: 280/8)
❀ Imam Khalid bin Mehran al-Hudhay, may Allah have mercy on him, states:
إذا حدثت عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بحديث فازدهر به
"When a hadith is narrated to you from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, preserve it."
Reference: (Shu'ab al-Iman al-Bayhaqi: 1488, its chain is authentic)
❀ Under this statement, Hafiz al-Bayhaqi, may Allah have mercy on him, states:
"It is part of honoring Allah, the Exalted, and His Messenger, peace be upon him, that no (other) book or household item should be placed on the Mushaf of the Quran and the books of Sunnah, and if they become dusty, the dust should be removed. Hands that have touched food, etc., should not be wiped on any paper that mentions Allah or His Messenger, peace be upon him, nor should it be torn. Rather, if the intention is to dispose of the pages, they should first be washed with water so that the written words are washed away, and if they are burned, there is no harm in that, because Sayyidina Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, burned the manuscripts that contained Quranic verses and abrogated readings, and no one objected to his action, and Allah knows best!"
Reference: (Shu'ab al-Iman, under the hadith: 1488)
