Can we read Quran on our smart phones etc without wudu?
We are often faced with a modern dilemma which I have been asked about several times: can we read Quran on our smart phones, tablets, computers, laptops etc without wudu?
The answer to this has been given by Mufti Azam Ahle Sunnah, Mufti Rafiq al Hasni in his book Rafiq ul Urusayn, referencing Fatawah Shaami and Fatawah Rizvi.
A person who is without wudu can do Tilawat of the Quran (read it) but cannot touch the Quran. Wudu is a requirement for holding and touching the Quran not for reciting or reading it, without touching.
Ok.. So What about those things other than the Quran which have ayats of the Quran written, eg walls, posters, marble and stone objects, other books and of course electronic devices?
The fuqaha have written that it is the text or ‘the Kalaam’ which forms parts of the Quran in such situations so for eg, the marble stone is not Quran but the text on it does form part of the Quran so without wudu you may touch the blank parts of the stone but not the areas upon which the Quran is written. You may read and recite these verses however, without issue. This ruling is then extrapolated to smart phones, tablets and all electronic devices in which the Quran or parts of the Quran are available.
You can hold the device without wudu, you may read and do Tilawat of the quranic text without wudu but you cannot touch the screen displaying the text of the Quran without wudu. You may touch other areas of the screen however, which do not contain text of the Quran, without wudu. So you may use the scrolling bars, arrows, menu selections etc to navigate through the pages or around the page without issue.
In conclusion you may recite and read the Quran without wudu wherever it is found, you cannot touch the text of the Quran where it is written or displayed if it is anywhere other than a mus’haf (Quran) itself. If it is a mus’haf which is of course the Quran itself, then this cannot be touched without wudu, but if it is open, you may read it.
May I point out this is the ruling for a person without wudu, NOT for people in a state of hayz, nifaas or janabah. The ruling is different for these categories of impurity.
Allah & His Rasool صلي الله عليه وسلم
Know best.
By Shaykh Abu Yusha Yasin
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