Are there Hadith prohibiting us from touching the Holy Quran without Wudu?

Quran

Hadith

Islamic Text

There are many Hadith prohibiting us from touching the Holy Quran without Wudu. The following narration is from al-Mustadrak of Imam al-Hakim and it was deemed Sahih by Imam al-Dhahabi.

عَنْ حَكِيمِ بْنِ حِزَامٍ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمَّا بَعَثَهُ وَالِيًا إِلَى الْيَمَنِ قَالَ: «لَا تَمَسَّ الْقُرْآنَ إِلَّا وَأَنْتَ طَاهِرٌ» هَذَا حَدِيثٌ صَحِيحُ الْإِسْنَادِ، وَلَمْ يُخَرِّجَاهُ ” التعليق – من تلخيص الذهبي: صحيح

It is narrated from Hakim bin Hizam  that when the Prophet ﷺ sent him as a representative to Yemen he said, ‘Do not touch the Quran unless you are in a state of purity.’  (al-Mustadrak, 6051). (Imam Hakim said) this Hadith has a Sahih chain, but they (Bukhari and Muslim) did not narrate it. Imam al-Dhahabi (also) said the Hadith is Sahih.

There are many other narrations which vary in authenticity.

سَالِمًا, يُحَدِّثُ عَنْ أَبِيهِ , قَالَ: قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: لَا يَمَسَّ الْقُرْآنَ إِلَّا طَاهِرًا

Salim narrated from his father that the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘None except the pure can touch the Quran.’ (Sunan Darul Qutni, 437).

Imam al-Ayni mentioned that the chain to this Hadith (above) is Sahih.

مَا رَوَاهُ الدَّارَقُطْنِيّ أَيْضا بِسَنَد صَحِيح من حَدِيث سَالم يحدث عَن أَبِيه قَالَ رَسُول الله صلى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسلم: (لَا يمس الْقُرْآن إلاَّ طَاهِر)

And Dar al-Qutni narrated with a Sahih chain from Salim narrating from his father that the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘None except the pure can touch the Quran.’ (Umdatul Qari).

Imam Dar al-Qutni has a number of narrations, with varying chains, of the same Hadith:

عَنْ أَبِي بَكْرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ حَزْمٍ, عَنْ أَبِيهِ , عَنْ جَدِّهِ , أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَتَبَ إِلَى أَهْلِ الْيَمَنِ كِتَابًا فَكَانَ فِيهِ:  لَا يَمَسَّ الْقُرْآنَ إِلَّا طَاهِرٌ

Abu Bakr bin Muhammad bin Amr bin Hazm narrated from his father, from his grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ wrote a letter to the people of Yemen and in it was, ‘And none except the pure can touch the Quran.’ (Sunan Darul Qutni, 439).

There are many other narrations with slightly variant wording but the same meaning is found in many books of Hadith. Such narrations further strengthen these.

عَنْ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ مُوسَى، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ سَالِمَ بْنَ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ يُحَدِّثُ عَنْ أَبِيهِ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «لَا يَمَسُّ الْقُرْآنَ إِلَّا طَاهِرٌ»

Sulaiman bin Musa said her heard Salim bin Abdullah bin Umar narrate from his father that the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘None except the pure can touch the Quran.’ (Tabarani al-Mo’jam al-Kabeer, 13217).

Imam al-Haythami commented on the above narration and said the narrators are sound.

 عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: ” لَا يَمَسَّ الْقُرْآنَ إِلَّا طَاهِرٌ “. رَوَاهُ الطَّبَرَانِيُّ فِي الْكَبِيرِ وَالصَّغِيرِ، وَرِجَالُهُ مُوَثَّقُونَ.

Narrated from Abdullah bin Umar that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said ‘None except the pure can touch the Quran.’  al-Tabarani narrated it in his al-Sagheer and al-Kabeer, and the narrators are sound. (Majma’ al-Zawaaid, 1512).

As seen above, there are numerous Hadith narrations regarding this issue, some of them are sound, others are not but are strengthened by the fact that there are multiple narrations.

And Allah (Most High) Knows Best.

– Answered by Shaykh Noorud-deen (17.06.2021)

See also:

Is it permitted to touch a copy of the Holy Quran without Wudu?

Can weak Hadith strengthen each other?

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