Is It Permissible To Touch The Holy Qur’an Without Being In The State Of Ablution?

Is it permissible to touch the Holy Qur’an without being in the state of ablution?

It is not controversial that the Holy Qur’an may be recited by heart without being in the state of ablution. However, some scholars advise to be ritually clean when it is recited by heart too as it is the word of Allah (Nawawi, al-Majmu‘, II, 69). But the schools agree on the opinion that Qur’an may not be touched or carried without performing ablution first (See. Marghinani, al-Hidayah, I, 33; Nawawi, al-Majmu‘, II, 65; Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni, I, 108). Ibn Qudamah expresses that there is no person other than Dawud az-Zahiri who objects to this opinion, to the best of their knowledge (Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni, I, 108). The basis for this opinion is the verse, “Which none shall touch but those who are clean.” (Waqi‘ah, 65/79), along with Prophet Muhammad’s (saw) hadith, “Let only the clean ones touch to Qur’an”, which is included in the letter sent by Prophet Muhammad (saw) to Amr ibn Hazm (Muwatta’, Qur’an, 1).

Within the framework of the evidence given above, there is a common opinion among the ummah that the Qur’an cannot be touched without being in the state of ablution and a sort of practical sunnah has been formed based on this. With reference to the fact that the Qur’an is the word of Allah, not touching it is a requirement of the respect for it. For this reason, handling and carrying Qur’an without being in the state of ablution should only be restricted to the events of excuse, like teaching and learning.

Source: Presidency Of Religious Affairs The Turkey, High Board of Religious Affairs FATWA