WHAT SHOULD BE DONE WITH AN OLD QUR'AN?

The Qur'an is the word of Allah revealed to our Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) through the great angel Jibril (عليه السلام). Respect for the Qur'an has been deeply rooted in our culture for generations. We often hear reminders such as "Do not hold the Qur'an below your waist," "Do not stretch your feet towards it," and "Do not touch it without wudu." Therefore, it is essential to avoid any form of disrespect towards the Qur'an.

If a Qur'an becomes torn or worn out, it can be repaired and made suitable for reading by sewing or gluing. However, if it is beyond repair and cannot be read, and its pages are torn and worn, one of the following methods should be used to prevent it from being disrespected.

1. Burying old or unreadable Qur'ans and religious books in the ground. This is the view of scholars from the Hanafi and Hanbali madhhabs. The Hanafi scholar Imam al-Haskafi said: "If the Qur'an reaches a state where it cannot be read, it should be buried like a Muslim person" (ad-Durr al-Mukhtar, 1/191). The commentary on this book adds: "It should be wrapped in a clean cloth and buried in a place where people do not walk." In "Az-Zahira" it is stated: "A lahd (niche) should be dug in the ground, and then it should be buried. Throwing soil directly onto the Qur'an is considered disrespectful, so it is better to bury it in a way that soil does not fall directly on it." The Hanbali scholar Imam al-Bahuti said: "If the Qur'an becomes old and unreadable, it should be buried. Imam Ahmad said: 'When Abu Jawza's Qur'an became old and unusable, he dug a place within the mosque's grounds and buried it there'" (Kashf al-Qina', 1/137).

2. Burning old or unreadable Qur'ans and religious books. This is the view of scholars from the Maliki and Shafi'i madhhabs. The practice of burning manuscripts that cannot be read to prevent disrespect dates back to the time of Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him). After compiling the Qur'an into a single mushaf, he collected all other copies containing Qur'anic verses and burned them to prevent them from being disrespected. Ibn Battal said: "Uthman's (may Allah be pleased with him) act of burning other parchments containing Qur'anic verses and books with Allah's names after compiling the Qur'an into a single mushaf is evidence that this is permissible" (Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari, 10/226). Imam as-Suyuti said: "There is nothing wrong with burning old and torn pages of the Qur'an, citing Uthman's (may Allah be pleased with him) action of collecting and burning old manuscripts" (Al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Qur'an, 2/1187). However, the place where Qur'ans and religious books are burned must be clean. When burning, ensure that the pages are completely burned and the writing is no longer legible. Also, they should not be burned together with other trash.

3. Washing old or unreadable Qur'ans and religious books in running water. The book should be placed in running water until the ink is washed away. However, this method is only suitable for books written with water-soluble ink. In "Al-Binaya Sharh al-Hidaya" (12/238) it is stated: "The names of Allah, the prophets, and the angels should be erased from unusable books. Then they can be burned. If they are thrown into running water or buried, there is no harm. However, the best method is to bury unusable religious books."

Therefore, if a torn or old Qur'an can be repaired and made suitable for reading, it should be used in that way. Disrespecting the Qur'an is haram and a major sin. If it is completely unusable and cannot be read, it is best to bury it in a place where people do not walk to prevent disrespect. If you are unsure what to do, you can take it to a mosque and hand it over to the staff there.

Medet Kurmashuly,

"Iman" magazine, No.4, 2024