Waqiah 79 is Wrongly Translated
فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِمَوَاقِعِ النُّجُومِ
Then I swear by the setting of the stars,
وَإِنَّهُ لَقَسَمٌ لَّوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عَظِيمٌ
And indeed, it is an oath - if you could know - [most] great.
إِنَّهُ لَقُرْآنٌ كَرِيمٌ
Indeed, it is a noble kind/generous Qur'an
فِي كِتَابٍ مَّكْنُونٍ
In a Register well-protected;
لَّا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا الْمُطَهَّرُونَ
None are able to touch it except the purified.
56 . Waqiah 75, 76, 77, 78, 79
In English, when we say Can I touch it?, we understand two different meanings. The first one is Am I allowed/permitted to touch it?, and the other one is Am I able to touch it?.
In Arabic, these two meanings are separately written in text and are very clear to understand. But the problem occurs when the text is translated into some languages like English.
لا يَمْسَسْهُ - la yemseshu - don't let (him) touch
لَّا يَمَسَّهُ - la yemessehu - (he is) not allowed to touch
لَّا يَمَسُّهُ - la yemessuhu - (he is) not able to touch <-- the one in the ayat
Another example:
la yemudduhu : (he is) not able to reach <-- the form in the ayat
la yemeddehu : (he is) not allowed to reach
The vocalizing signs are too tiny and illegible in the text. I'm adding a larger, image version of it:
The ayat simply says that "unclean" ones are not able to touch Quran. In other words, they can't touch it even if they want to. This is because it is "well protected". Being well protected is explained in the 22nd ayat of the same sura:
وَحُورٌ عِينٌ
Hoors with big eyes.
كَأَمْثَالِ اللُّؤْلُؤِ الْمَكْنُونِ
The likenesses of pearls well-protected.
56 . Waqiah 22, 23
The word for "well protected" in the ayat is maknoon which literally means protective shell. It is explained in the ayat with the example, shell of a shelled mollusk protecting the pearl inside it.
Mus'haf and Qur'an are Different Things
Mus'haf is a physical book in which Qur'an is written in. Quran is not a physical thing. It is the meaning and data written in mushaf. Quran can not be physically touched, burnt, erased, etc.
Even if the order were "don't touch Quran without wudu" that wouldn't mean that you couldn't touch mushaf without wudu.
Another point is, what if I have Quran installed in my MP3 player, or in my PC/laptop? Will I have wudu everytime before using my computer or carrying my MP3 player? Today't technology is paper & pen, maybe in the future we will give up using paper, and will only use touch screens. Quran will be installed in our electronic devices, and those devices will be the new format of "mushaf". Maybe we will have electronic memory chips installed in our bodies, and Quran will be installed in them. How are we going to understand this ayat when/if that time comes?
"To Be Cleaned" is Not the Same With "To Have Wudu"
"To be Cleaned" or "cleanliness" have a special usage in Quran. Cleanliness and dirt don't always have physical meanings in Quran. Let us see some example usage in ayats.
لاَ تَقُمْ فِيهِ أَبَدًا لَّمَسْجِدٌ أُسِّسَ عَلَى التَّقْوَى مِنْ أَوَّلِ يَوْمٍ أَحَقُّ أَن تَقُومَ فِيهِ فِيهِ رِجَالٌ يُحِبُّونَ أَن يَتَطَهَّرُواْ وَاللّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُطَّهِّرِينَ
Do not stand [for prayer] within it - ever. A mosque founded on righteousness from the first day is more worthy for you to stand in. Within it are men who love to purify clean themselves; and Allah loves those who purify clean themselves.
9 . Tawba 108
,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِنَّمَا الْمُشْرِكُونَ نَجَسٌ فَلاَ يَقْرَبُواْ الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ بَعْدَ عَامِهِمْ هَذَا وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ عَيْلَةً فَسَوْفَ يُغْنِيكُمُ اللّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ إِن شَاء إِنَّ اللّهَ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ
O you who have believed, indeed the polytheists are unclean, so let them not approach al-Masjid al-Haram after this, their [final] year. And if you fear privation, Allah will enrich you from His bounty if He wills. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Wise.
9 . Tawba 28
,
الْخَبِيثَاتُ لِلْخَبِيثِينَ وَالْخَبِيثُونَ لِلْخَبِيثَاتِ وَالطَّيِّبَاتُ لِلطَّيِّبِينَ وَالطَّيِّبُونَ لِلطَّيِّبَاتِ أُوْلَئِكَ مُبَرَّؤُونَ مِمَّا يَقُولُونَ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ وَرِزْقٌ كَرِيمٌ
Evil words are for evil men, and evil men are [subjected] to evil words. And good words are for good men, and good men are [an object] of good words. The dirty (females) are to the dirty (males), and the dirty (males) are to the dirty (females). The clean (females) are to the clean (males), and the clean (males) are to the clean (females). Those [good people] are declared innocent of what the slanderers say. For them is forgiveness and noble provision.
24 . Nur 26
,
فَمَا كَانَ جَوَابَ قَوْمِهِ إِلَّا أَن قَالُوا أَخْرِجُوا آلَ لُوطٍ مِّن قَرْيَتِكُمْ إِنَّهُمْ أُنَاسٌ يَتَطَهَّرُونَ
But the answer of his people was not except that they said, "Expel the family of Lot from your city. Indeed, they are people who keep themselves pure clean."
27 . Neml 56
,
هُنَالِكَ دَعَا زَكَرِيَّا رَبَّهُ قَالَ رَبِّ هَبْ لِي مِن لَّدُنْكَ ذُرِّيَّةً طَيِّبَةً إِنَّكَ سَمِيعُ الدُّعَاء
At that, Zechariah called upon his Lord, saying, "My Lord, grant me from Yourself a good clean offspring. Indeed, You are the Hearer of supplication.".
3 . Ali Imran 38
There are a lot more examples like this in Quran.
The Verb "Touch" Has a Special Meaning and Usage in the Entire Qur'an
The verb roots for touch are مس and لمس. The verb touch is almost always used in symbolic meaning in Quran (including 6:7). Let us see some examples.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلاةِ فاغْسِلُواْ وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُواْ بِرُؤُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَينِ وَإِن كُنتُمْ جُنُبًا فَاطَّهَّرُواْ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَى أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاء أَحَدٌ مَّنكُم مِّنَ الْغَائِطِ أَوْ لاَمَسْتُمُ النِّسَاء فَلَمْ تَجِدُواْ مَاء فَتَيَمَّمُواْ صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُواْ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُم مِّنْهُ مَا يُرِيدُ اللّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍ وَلَكِن يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهَّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles. And if you are in a state of janabah, then purify clean yourselves. But if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted touched to (made intercourse with) women and do not find water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and hands with it. Allah does not intend to make difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you and complete His favor upon you that you may be grateful.
5 . Maide 6
,
لَّوْلاَ كِتَابٌ مِّنَ اللّهِ سَبَقَ لَمَسَّكُمْ فِيمَا أَخَذْتُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ
If not for a decree from Allah that preceded, you would have been touched for what you took by a great punishment.
8 . Anfal 68
,
الَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ الرِّبَا لاَ يَقُومُونَ إِلاَّ كَمَا يَقُومُ الَّذِي يَتَخَبَّطُهُ الشَّيْطَانُ مِنَ الْمَسِّ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَالُواْ إِنَّمَا الْبَيْعُ مِثْلُ الرِّبَا وَأَحَلَّ اللّهُ الْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ الرِّبَا فَمَن جَاءهُ مَوْعِظَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِ فَانتَهَىَ فَلَهُ مَا سَلَفَ وَأَمْرُهُ إِلَى اللّهِ وَمَنْ عَادَ فَأُوْلَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ
Those who consume interest cannot stand [on the Day of Resurrection] except as one stands who is being beaten touched by Satan into insanity. That is because they say, "Trade is [just] like interest." But Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest. So whoever has received an admonition from his Lord and desists may have what is past, and his affair rests with Allah . But whoever returns to [dealing in interest or usury] - those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein.
2 . Bakara 275
,
وَلاَ تَرْكَنُواْ إِلَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ فَتَمَسَّكُمُ النَّارُ وَمَا لَكُم مِّن دُونِ اللّهِ مِنْ أَوْلِيَاء ثُمَّ لاَ تُنصَرُونَ
And do not incline toward those who do wrong, lest you be touched by the Fire, and you would not have other than Allah any protectors; then you would not be helped.
11 . Hood 113
,
لاَ يَمَسُّهُمْ فِيهَا نَصَبٌ وَمَا هُم مِّنْهَا بِمُخْرَجِينَ
No fatigue will touch them therein, nor from it will they [ever] be removed.
15 . Hijr 48
,
وَإِذَا مَسَّكُمُ الْضُّرُّ فِي الْبَحْرِ ضَلَّ مَن تَدْعُونَ إِلاَّ إِيَّاهُ فَلَمَّا نَجَّاكُمْ إِلَى الْبَرِّ أَعْرَضْتُمْ وَكَانَ الإِنْسَانُ كَفُورًا
And when adversity touches you at sea, lost are [all] those you invoke except for Him. But when He delivers you to the land, you turn away [from Him]. And ever is man ungrateful.
17 . Isra 67
In Quran, "hands" symbolize one's deeds. And "to touch something" has the meaning "to make one's deeds interact with something". Therefore, "someone dirty touching to Quran" has a very deep meaning, to understand it one must first understand the true definition of Quran, which is a very wide and deep topic itself.
Wudu is Only Ordered for Salat, There is No Other Practical Usage
Wudu is only required for salat. There is no other practical usage in Islam. There is no other ibadat that requires wudu.
Rewriting 5:6 for convenience:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلاةِ فاغْسِلُواْ وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُواْ بِرُؤُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَينِ وَإِن كُنتُمْ جُنُبًا فَاطَّهَّرُواْ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَى أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاء أَحَدٌ مَّنكُم مِّنَ الْغَائِطِ أَوْ لاَمَسْتُمُ النِّسَاء فَلَمْ تَجِدُواْ مَاء فَتَيَمَّمُواْ صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُواْ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُم مِّنْهُ مَا يُرِيدُ اللّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍ وَلَكِن يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهَّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and wash your feet to the ankles. And if you are in a state of janabah, then purify clean yourselves. But if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted touched to (made intercourse with) women and do not find water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and hands with it. Allah does not intend to make difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you and complete His favor upon you that you may be grateful.
5 . Maide 6
Hadiths About This Topic
What prevented rasulullah from reading Quran was only being janabah.
Subnarrator: Ali bin Ebu Talib
Recorded by: Tirmizi
Abu Davud
Ibn Mace
Darul Hutmi
İbn Huzayma
The list of question one shall ask after hearing this hadith are:
- How do you know that he was janabah(?)
- How many times did you observe this situation?
- How long does he stay janabah at average?
- If he wasn't reading Quran, then what else he was doing while he was janabah?
If there were a rule that janabahs are not allowed to touch Quran, and the rasulullah was always behaving according to this rule, then why didn't he order us to do so as well?
It is fard for a Muslim to do what rasulullah orders. But there is no rule about immitating what he does. We know that the nabi didn't eat some foods but didn't order us not to eat them, didn't like some scents but didn't orders us to stay away from them, didn't wear some cloths but didn't order us not to wear as well. The nabi was a human like us, he will of course have some personal habbits and behaviors. We are only ordered to submit him and do what he says.
One in menstration and someone jahabah are not allowed to read Quran.
Subnarrator: Abdullah ibn Umar
Recorded by: Tirmizi
Ibn Mace
Darul Hutmi
Beyhaki
This hadith is weak because of Ismail bin Ayyash in its chain of narrators. It is know that Ismail bin Ayyash's reports from Hijaz people are untrustworty (Imam-ı Buhari (master of Tirmizi) also mentions this detail). Behaving according to a hadith like this is wrong according to the hadith technique.
Woman in menstration and someone in postnatal are not allowed to read Quran.
Subnarrator: Cavahir
Recorded by: Darul Hutmi
This hadith is the same with the previous one; only difference is that the word "janabah" is replaced by "postnatal".
This hadith is also weak because of Muhammed bin Fadl in its chain of narrators.
Yes, our topic was wudu, but all these hadiths are about different topics. Why didn't I mention some hadiths directly about wudu? Because there is no hadith in this topic about wudu! These are the only ones those who claim that touching Quran without wudu is haram depend their claims on.
Only books of some fiqh, madhabs, scholars of sects, today's some fatwa sources claim that wudu is required for holding Quran in hand. If you read their explanations you will see sentences like Imam _____ says that..., The famous scholar _____ says that..., The book of _____ explains that.... They have no references from Quran or orders of rasulullah. They are just following the path on which they found their fathers/ancestors on.
Results and Conclusion
I tried to explain that:
- 56:79 was wrongly translated. There is no order for not to touch mushaf without wudu; it just clarifies the fact that one is not able to touch Quran without being clean.
- Mushaf and Quran are different things. Mushaf is the physical media in which the text of Quran is written in. So, when we think that we physically touch Quran, actually what we are doing is nothing but touching a physical object, not Quran itself.
- In Quran, "being clean" is not used in the meaning of "being had wudu".
- The verb "touch" has a very wide and special usage in Quran.
- Requirement of wudu is stated only for salat.
- There is no hadith saying that one must have wudu before touching Quran. Only some fiqh sources make this claim.
This wrong belief is only good for keeping people away from Quran. If one decides to look up a phrase in Quran and then realizes that he didn't have wudu, he will most probably postpone his research to a later time, and maybe will never do that research.
This wrong belief itself is a reason why people keep believing wrong ideas like this. Because, they don't read Quran, they are staying away from it. They think that touching mushaf is haram (forbidden) without wudu, and so they read is less often.
There are two or three hadiths I remember about this matter which says that touching mushaf is haram without wudu. But they are all weak hadiths. I am going to add them in my answer and explain why they are weak later.
As my final words, you can touch mushaf without any worries. Read Quran profusely, learn it, and live according to it.
