السؤال
الإجابة
All praise be to Allah, and may His blessings and peace be on the final messenger, Muhammad,
It is impermissible according to the four imams to touch the mus-haf without wudu’. However, al-Hassan al-Basri, Muhammad Ibn Sireen and Ibn Hazm considered it permissible and the proponents of the latter position argued it is allowable due to the lack of evidence on the contrary and interpreted Allah's saying, "لا يمسه إلا المطهرون." "None touch it but the pure" (al-Waqi’a 56:79) to be referring to the Preserved Tablet. They also interpreted the saying of the Prophet, "لاَ يَمَسَّ الْقُرْآنَ إِلاَّ طَاهِرٌ." "No one may touch the Qur'an but one who is pure" (Malik, Ba, Hib) to mean one who is Muslim, since he (peace be upon him) said to Abu Hurairah: "إِنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ لَا يَنْجُسُ." "The believer never becomes impure." (Ag)
It is safer to have wudu’ when one intends to touch the Mus-haf, particularly since this position is the position of the four imams, although the position of the perimeters seems stronger to me upon analysis of the proofs, thereby, I can’t say it is prohibited to touch the Mus-haf without wudu’. Allah knows best.
