Q549 :Can a woman read, or even touch the Qur’an
when she is in periods – or can she recite from memory or use a bead
for glorifying Allah?
A549 : It is unanimously agreed by scholars that
ablution (or wudhu), is strongly renetmended for everyone who intends
to recite the Qur’an, whether from memory or from a book, or wants to
glorify Allah or praise Him. Some scholars say that if one intends to
hold the Qur’an in his hand and read it, then it is required to do the
ablution first. However, the evidence they use to support their opinion
is not decisive in making ablution a condition for holding the Qur’an
or reading it. Therefore, it is perhaps more correct to say that while
ablution is not absolutely necessary when doing either of these two
things, it is strongly renetmended. A woman in her menstruation and a
man in the state of ceremonial impurity, cannot recite the Qur’an,
whether from memory or from a book until they have removed that state
by taking a bath. The woman must end her menstruation before she is
able to do that. However, if some verses of the Qur’an are written in
a book or a piece of paper, together with other material, then it is
permissible for a woman in her menstruation or a man in a state of
ceremonial impurity to hold that piece of paper without having to take
a bath first. The Prophet wrote a letter to the Byzantine emperor and
included in that verses from the Qur’an. The emperor was non-Muslim and
the Prophet knew that he will be holding that paper in his hand. It is
assumed that a non-Muslim does not take the same precautions as a
Muslim to remove the state of impurity. Similarly, glorifying Allah by
using phrases like ” Subhan Allah “, ” Alhamdulillah ” and similar
words and phrases is permissible. A bead has no sanctity, nor indeed is
it renetmended. The Prophet used no such beads, but he counted the
number of times he glorified Allah by using his fingers.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )