Can I recite Qur'an during menstruation?

By: Kehinde Barakat

 Question: Can i recite Qur'an if i am menstruating? 

Answer: 

In the name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful.

All praises is to Allah (swt), the Lord of the universe, the Best among the fashioner, Creator of rational colours, may His abundant blessings be upon the last prophet -Muhammad (saw).

Ar-rosul (pbuh), said in one of his Hadiths, "Verily, Allah is the most Pure and he won't accept anything (I.e ibadah) from his creations, except pure ones. Shari'ah (Islamic religious laws) has mentioned and treated the issue of menstruating women to a clearer way. 

Recitation of the Quran by menstruating women brought about different understandings among the four Imams' School of Thought.

The Mālikiy scholars maintained the permissibility that one can recite Qur'an until bleeding stops during the period. This means: immediately the bleeding stops, a woman must neither touch nor read Qur'an until after Al-Ghusl (ritual bathing).

The Hanafiy says "One cannot recite (and therefore memorise) and touch the Qur’ān [Mus’haf] whilst in menses. There are other opinions that one can recite from the Qur’ān with intentions other than “Qur’ān recitation”. For example, I am reciting Qur’anic du’ās, I am reciting a verse for the praise of Allah."

READ ALSO: http://madrasatuhusniladab.blogspot.com/2021/06/etiquette-of-reading-quran.html

Hanbaliy and Shāfi' maintained the impermissibility. The former says it cannot be recited and touched while the latter permits recitation in the heart.

Some other scholars too permit the recitation centering their proof on the Hadith collected by Imam Al-Bukhari regarding Aisha (RA) when she had her menses on the way to Mecca.

Aisha said: "Allah's messenger (pbuh) came to me while i was weeping. He said; This is a thing Allah (swt) has ordained for the daughters of Adam (AS), so do what all pilgrims do in exception of Tawaf (circumbulation) round the Ka'bah. Aisha added, "Allah's Apostle sacrificed cows on behalf of his wives."

In respect to the above Hadith, there is no harm whatsoever, in a menstruating woman reciting the Qur'an regarding the words of the prophet (pbuh).

Consequently, it is prohibited for a menstruating woman to touch Qur'an during the period because of a verse that reads: "that is not touched except the purified ones..."[Qur'an 56:79]. The verse means before touching the Qur'an, one must make sure that no najāsah (things declared by Shari'ah as filth - which menses is part - is attached to one's body.

Some scholars have ruled it which is proved by the above verse with greater force that a person in the state of janabah (sexual defilement) and a woman in the state of menstruation or postpartum bleeding cannot recite it, even from memory until bath has been taken, because if it is obligatory to honour the written letters of the Holy Qur'an by touching them only in the state of purity, its spoken words deserve the same honour with greater importance.

However, 'Ad-deen Yusrun' (Islam is ease). The permissibility of menstruating women reciting Qur'an - without touching - is based on the intention for protection, fear of forgetting and learning among others.

  Allahu A'lam