22. The Qur’aan And Menses

By Asma bint Shameem

So it’s that time of the month again. You’re not allowed to pray or fast.

But what about reading the Qur’aan?

You want to read it because you love it....

But you’re not sure if it’s allowed.

Is it okay to read the Qur’aan during your allowed ?
Or will you be sinful if you do?

Let’s see what our Deen says about that.

Many of the scholars, including Ibn Abbaas, Imaam Bukhaari, Ibn Taymiyah, Ibn Baaz, Shaikh al-Albaani, etc are of the opinion that it is allowed for a woman on her menses to read the Qur'aan, without touching it directly.

And although there are some ulama who say it’s not allowed for a woman to read the Qur’aan during her period,
that’s a weak opinion.

That's because there’s nothing in the Sharee’ah that clearly and specifically prohibits the woman from reading Qur’aan during her menses.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said:

“There is no clear, saheeh text to indicate that a menstruating woman is forbidden to recite Qur'aan… It is known that women used to menstruate at the time of the Messenger of Allaah Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam, and he did not forbid them to recite Qur'aan, or to remember Allaah (dhikr) and offer du’aa’.”

And Shaikh Ibn Baaz said:

"It is permissible for the woman who is menstruating or bleeding following childbirth to recite Qur’aan according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions." (Majmoo‘ Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 10/209)

Just think about it.

The Sahaabiyaat LOVED to read the Qur’aan and it was very much a part of their daily lives. And if they weren’t allowed to read the Qur’aan during this time, wouldn’t we have reports regarding that?

Also sometimes a woman’s period lasts 7 or 10 days or even more.

That’s a LONG time to be without the Book of Allaah!

How can it be that Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala would deprive us of His Book, learning from it, memorizing it, benefitting from it for such a long time?

The Qur’aan is a whole way of life. A Prescription for this life and the next. It’s a Code of conduct. A Book of manners.
We need it Every Single Day of our lives.

How can it be that we would not be able to access this treasure for a whole week in a month?!!

Can I read it complete sentences or I have to break up the aayaat

There are people who say that it’s okay to read the Qur’aan during menses, but they don't allow to read the whole aayah at a time. Rather they say to “break up the aayah and say each word with a pause in between”

BUT there’s NO proof for saying that.
If you can read the Qur’aan as a few words at a time, what’s wrong with reading all of them put together in a complete aayah

What about touching the Mus-haf?

The majority of the ulama are of the opinion that we should NOT be touching the Mus-haf directly with our hands during the period. So you can use gloves, a piece of cloth or pencil etc to turn the pages.

Can I read Qur’aan on electronic devices?

It’s perfectly okay to read the Qur’aan on electronic devices like the desktop, laptop, iPad or smart phone during the menstration period.

And it’s also perfectly okay to touch these devices or hold them while reading the Qur’aan from them during the menses.

You see, these are electronic devices and they DO NOT take the rulings of the Mus-haf.

And that’s why it’s also ok to take such devices in the bathroom even if you have the whole Qur’aan downloaded on it.

Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Naasir al-Barraak said:

“It seems that mobile phones and similar devices on which Qur’aan may be recorded do not come under the same rules as the Mus-haf. Based on this, it is permissible to touch the mobile phone or tape on which Qur’aan is recorded, and it is permissible to read from it, even if one is not in a state of purity. And Allaah knows best.”

So go ahead and enjoy this enormous blessing of Allaah and read the Qur’aan all day, every day; whether you have your menses or you don’t.

Read it.

Learn from it.

Implement it.

And Allaah knows best.