Permissibility of Handling the Mushaf While Junub

A short PDF by Shaykh Mashhoor Hassan al-Salmaan which discusses the permissibility of menstruating women handling the mushaf while in a state of janabah (ritual impurity).

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The Pushback

When this information was posted to the SistersInSunnah subreddit, a user took issue with the stance and made a post refuted the opinion. Some back and forth occurred, but alhamdulillah, one of the students of knowledge who studies with the senior scholars of Pakistan saw the post and shared a point-by-point breakdown from which we can all collectively benefit, inshallah.

The above was to give context about where the quoted segments below are coming from. I will share what was received from Ustadh Tahir exactly, with the only changes being for the sake of standardizing citations or formatting.

The Breakdown

Tahir Munir, student at the Islamic University of Lahore, Pakistan:

Is there a way to deal with the misinformation being spread on this sub?

Yes, you can contact the mod, who is connected with the students of knowledge and scholars, who look at the posts and comments made on this sub.

Because I see there are a few people lacking in knowledge that do not seek the truth, but rather, conformity.

The first statement is correct, but the last statement requires concrete evidence, for if one mentions even a single evidence to back their claim, accusing them of conformity is slander, for you and the person you accuse of conformity are two anonymous individuals sitting behind a keyboard and do not know each other, nor did you both interact to seek clarification. When one cannot even confirm with concrete evidence if the person they are interacting or calling out on the internet is a Muslim or not, how can they accuse them of preferring conformity over the truth?

For some sisters, anything they say that does not align with the sharee’ah gets promptly downvoted, I wonder if we are aware every vote, downvote, every little act online is one we will be held accountable for on the Day Of Judgement? We are answerable to Allah. Subhanallah.

Da’wah and speaking the truth is linked with the means, not the result. This was the Da’wah of the Prophets. Nuh, Lut (peace be upon them) or the Prophet who will face Allah while no person who believed in his message, the Shariah is clear on this issue. Whether people like the truth or not shouldn’t be one’s concern. The concern should be whether one speaks the truth or not. People can downvote or upvote what they like. We can’t jump to conclusions, since we do not know why they upvoted or downvoted something.

Isn’t it better if we educate ourselves before shutting down anything that is remotely not close to what we have been brought up to believe?

What is obligatory is to return to the people of knowledge for education, not the internet. Knowledge is only that which is sought under the feet of the scholars by accompanying them.

There are times when we are wrong and we make mistakes, why is our ego coming in the way of finding the truth and acting upon it?

One shouldn’t let their ego come in the way of finding the truth and acting upon it.

I came across a sister on this sub claiming you can touch the Quran in the state of Janabah.

The sister isn’t alone in this claim. This is also the only unambigous authentic view established from the Prophet ﷺ, that a person who is junub can touch the Ayah of the Qur’an.

Ibn ‘Abbaas said that Aboo Sufyaan informed him that he was with Hiraql, and Hiraql called for the letter of Allaah’s Messenger ﷺ with which he had sent Dihyah to the ruler of Busraa, so he gave it to Hiraql, and he read it, and it contained:

"In the name of Allaah, the Extremely Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy. From Muhammad, the slave of Allaah and His Messenger to Hiraql the ruler of the Byzantines. Peace be upon whoever follows the guidance. To proceed. Then I call you with the call of Islaam: accept Islaam and you shall be safe, and if you turn away then the sin of the common folk will be upon you; and:

قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ تَعَالَوْا إِلَىٰ كَلِمَةٍ سَوَاءٍ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمْ أَلَّا نَعْبُدَ إِلَّا اللَّهَ وَلَا نُشْرِكَ بِهِ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُنَا بَعْضًا أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ ۚ فَإِن تَوَلَّوْا فَقُولُوا اشْهَدُوا بِأَنَّا مُسْلِمُونَ

—Qur’an (Aal-‘Imran) 3:64

Meaning: O people of the Scripture! Come to a true and just word to which we should all adhere: that we single out Allaah with all worship, and we do not associate anything along with Him; and that none of us should take others as lords besides Allaah. So if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are Muslims, submitting to our Lord.

—Translation of Qur’an (Aal-‘Imran) 3:64

—Sahih al-Bukhari 7, Sahih Muslim 1773

The disbelievers are all junub. So if a disbelieving junub touched a paper which was the letter containing Allah’s ayat, then what unambigous authentic evidence exists which prevents a junub Muslim from touching the Mushaf, which is also a collection of paper containing Allah’s Ayat?

In Surah Nisa: 43, Allah also prohibits a junub entering the masjid.

The ayah’s meaning is to be understood in light of the hadiths of the Prophet ﷺ:

Aisha said: The Prophet ﷺ said to her, when she menstruated during ‘umrah: "Do everything that the pilgrims do, but do not circumambulate the House until you become pure."

—Sahih al-Bukhari 1650, Sahih Muslim 1211

Excluding the Tawaf, the junub person still has to enter the masjid to complete the remaining rituals. So the Prophet ﷺ permitted Aisha to enter it.

Aisha said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me: Get me the mat from the masjid.

I said: I am menstruating.

Upon this he remarked: Your menstruation is not in your hand

—Sahih Muslim 298

So the Prophet ﷺ permitted Aisha to enter the masjid.

Aisha also reported that a black woman used to live in the Prophet’s masjid.

—Sahih al-Bukhari 439

Did she not menstruate? Yet she lived in the masjid! And the Prophet permitted this! So how can we prohibit a menstruating woman from entering the masjid?

Please be educated, Janabah is the condition where one engages in sexual intercourse/has come in contact with semen/ejaculated.

The final addition is incorrect. If someone’s clothes come in contact with semen while not engaging in any sexual act (for example cleaning the sheets), they aren’t junub.

A person is then called “junub” for when they are in that state. Sexual impurity.

This is not the only manner in which someone becomes junub. Menstruation also makes one junub. And sexual acts isn’t stipulated here.

A woman also becomes junub by post-natal bleeding. Giving birth does not have any link with sexual contact in this scenario, since the bleeding occurs after the child passes through, not due to any intimate act.

Now, I made the statement that Rasool ﷺ never touched the Quran when he was in the state of Janabah, providing the evidence with a link.

1. No evidence was cited in the link. Evidence = an ayah or a hadith.

2. The Prophet ﷺ never touching the Qur’an while being junub is not an authentic hadith.

I do not understand how the sister connected it to Prophet ﷺ never menstruating. I’m still wondering about it. But anyways.

This was an erroneous claim by her. She should retract from it.

That statement was in the context of the conversation at the time, to illustrate a very specific point, but based on the advice from Ustadh Tahir, it was removed. May Allah bless the advisor. Ameen.

It’s not permissible to touch the physical copy of the Quran in the major state of impurity, or even minor.

It requires ghusl. And wudhu. A Muslim’s tongue is pure, so we may recite the kalaam of Allah and supplicate anytime and anywhere, but to touch the mushaf, the book of Allah, we must purify ourselves by making wudhu/ghusl in case we are impure.

This has been answered above.

(The digital Quran (on electronic devices) does not require wudhu or ghusl, so we do not have to shy away from recitation when menstruating, inshallah)

Those who prohibit touching the mushaf have no evidence for making this distinction.

Let’s not forget, these are basic etiquettes and aa’dab of engaging in worship. And this is the opinion of all four major schools of thoughts, and comes in sahih ahadith, and is an etiquette our Prophet ﷺ promptly followed.

It being recommended is established. To prohibit it requires evidence, and it is not proven that the Prophet ever prohibited this act.

Additional Resources

• Mustafa al-Jibaly’s work on worship during menses, particularly the section on a junub touching the Qur’an, where he mentioned al-Albani’s comments on this issue
• Shaykh al-Albaani: Can a Menstruating Woman Enter the Masjid?
• Ruling on Entering a Masjid Whilst on Menstruation