Question # 492: Do I need to be in the state of wudu while reading Quran from my iphone?

bismi-llahi r-raḥmani r-raḥīm,

Assalamu ‘laikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

All praise and thanks are due to Allah (سبحانه و تعالى), and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم).

Dear questioner,

First of all, we implore Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) to help us serve His cause and render our work for His sake.

Shorter Answer: The mobile phones on which Qur’an apps are installed (in written or recorded form) do not come under the same ruling as the Mushaf (the Arabic text of the Qur’an), so it is permissible touching them without having wudu’ as well as taking them to the washroom. Moreover, reading Qur’an on a smartphone makes it easy for menstruating women or for those who are in a place where it is difficult to perform wudu’.

Long Answer: These mobile phones, in which Qur’an is put in written or recorded form do not come under the same ruling as the Mushaf, so it is permissible to touch them without having purified oneself and it is permissible to take them into the washroom with one because writing Qur’an on the mobile phone is not like writing it in a Mushaf. It takes the form of waves that appear and disappear, and its letters are not fixed, and the mobile phone may contain Qur’an and other things.

Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Nasir al-Barraak was asked [a similar question and] …he replied (may Allah preserve him): “ It is well known that it is not essential to be free from minor impurity when reciting Qur’an from memory, or even from major impurity, but purifying oneself before reciting Qur’an, even from memory, is better because it is the Word of Allah and it is more respectful towards Him to only recite it when in a state of purity. When reading from the Mushaf it is essential to be in a state of purity in order to touch the Mushaf, because of what it says in the famous hadith: “No one should touch the Qur’an but one who is pure.” [(Narrated in the Muwatta’ of Maalik; classed as saheeh by al-Albani in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel)] And because of what it says in many reports from the Sahabah and Tabi’een. This is the view of the majority of scholars, which is that it is haraam for one who is in a state of impurity to touch the Mushaf, whether that is for reading or otherwise.

Based on this, it seems that mobile phones and similar devices on which Qur’an may be recorded do not come under the same rules as the Mushaf, because the letters of the Qur’an in these devices are different than the letters in the Mushaf. They do not exist in the form in which they are read, rather they exist in the form of waves that form the letters when needed, so they appear on the screen then disappear when one moves to another verse. Based on this, it is permissible to touch the mobile phone or tape on which Qur’an is recorded, and it is permissible to read from it, even if one is not in a state of purity. And Allah knows best.”

Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan (may Allah preserve him) was asked [a similar question and] …he replied: “This is a kind of luxury that has appeared among the people. Mushafs – praise be to Allah – are readily available in the mosques and in fine printed editions, and there is no need to read the Qur’an from mobile phones. But if that happens then we do not think that it comes under the same ruling as the Mushaf.  The Mushaf cannot be touched by anyone but one who is pure, as it says in the hadith, “No one should touch the Qur’an but one who is pure.”  As for a mobile phone, it cannot be called a Mushaf.”

Reading Qur’an on a mobile phone makes it easy for women who are menstruating and one who cannot easily carry a Mushaf with him, or one who is in a place where it is difficult for him to do wudu’ because it is not essential for the one who touches it to be in a state of purity, as mentioned above.

(The above reply is based on the answer provided on a similar topic by Islamqa.info)

Allahu A’lam (Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) knows best) and all Perfections belong to Allah, and all mistakes belong to me alone. May Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) forgive me, Ameen.

Wassalaam