Can i read the translated Quran without wudu?

Question

I want to read the Quran between my breaks and i have a translated copy of it. Note that it is not a digital copy.

Do i need to perform wudu to read it? Can I read it in a slanted position, like reading a paper?What I am asking is can I treat the translated version as a normal book (like using highlighter to mark important lines)?

Answer 1

If the manuscript you want to read from includes the original Qur'an verses in Arabic, in addition to the associated translation, it carries the same rules as a mus-haf, i.e., you can only touch it and subsequently read from it, only after performing wudū' (ablution). This is based on multiple evidence, e.g., the hadith in Muwatta' Malik 15/1 narrated through 'Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Hazm that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that nobody should touch the Qur'an unless one was pure.

If the manuscript you want to read from includes only translated text without the original Qur'an verses in Arabic, the translated text is considered to be merely a translation of the meaning of the verses, but it is not Qur'an. The rules pertaining to reading Qur'an do not apply in this case, e.g., you can touch the manuscript without ablution, you cannot pray using the translated verse in place of reciting some verses from the Qur'an, and so on. This is the opinion of most scholars:

ترجمة المصحف بغير العربية لا يثبت لها أَحكام المصحف من الحرمة، وكذلك ما يكتب للمكفوفين

_{— NOTE: My own translation, so treat with care:}

The translation of the mus-haf to a language other than Arabic does bear the same rules as what applies to the mus-haf in terms of impermissibility, and the same applies to what is written for the visually impaired [Braille].

_{— Fatawa wa Rasa'il by Mohammad ibn Ibrahim Aal al-Sheikh (Arabic only)}