Jamiatul Ulama KZN Council of Muslim Theologians
How does one get rid of unwanted religious literature, such as religious books, leaflets with the name of Allah, etc? Also, please state the ruling on what should be done to the copies of Qur’an that are no longer in a useable state:
With regards to getting rid of unwanted religious and Islamic literature, the great classical Hanafi jurist (faqih), Imam al-Haskafi (Allah have mercy on him) states:
“Books that are no longer benefited from, one should wipe away the names of Allah, His Angels, and His Messengers, and burn the rest. There is also nothing wrong with casting them into a flowing river as they are (i.e. without wiping away those names) or burying them, and this (burying them) is better.” (Radd al-Muhtar ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar, 5/271)
Thus, if one decides to dispose of religious literature, the best thing would be to bury it by wrapping it in something pure first, in a place where people would not normally walk. It would also be permitted to tie the books and papers with something heavy and cast them into a flowing river. Alternatively, the literature may be burnt, but in this case, only after erasing the names of Allah, His Angels and His Messengers.
Disposing Unusable Copies of the Qur’an
As far as old and unusable copies of the Qur’an are concerned, it is not permitted to burn them unless there is no other way to dispose of them.
The great Hanafi Imam, Imam Ibn Abidin (may Allah have mercy on him) states:
“If a copy of the Mushaf (qur’an) becomes old and it is difficult to read from it, it should not be burnt in fire. This is what Imam Muhammad (m: student of Imam Abu Hanifa) pointed out and this is what we take. It will not be disliked to bury it. It should be wrapped in a pure cloth, and a Lahd grave (m: grave that has a incision in the side wall, customary in hot climate countries where the earth is solid) should be dug, because if a Shiq grave (m: grave with a straight opening, common in cold climate countries due to the earth being soft) is dug and the copy of the Qur’an is buried, it will entail the soil falling on top of the Qur’an which is a form of disrespect, unless a slab is placed as a roof…” (Radd al-Muhtar, 5/271)
In light of the above, there are two methods of disposing of an unusable copy of the Qur’an:
1) Wrapping it in a pure piece of cloth and burying it respectfully in a place where people (normally) do not walk about. In cold climate countries (such as the UK), one may dig a Shiq grave, but a slab should be placed first and over it the soil.
2) Fastening the Qur’an with a heavy object like a stone and then placing it respectfully in flowing water.
If one is able to implement the above two methods, it would not be permitted to burn the copy of the Qur’an. However, if the above two methods are difficult to carry out, then one may burn the Qur’an and bury or drown the resulting ash.
And Allah knows best
Darul Iftaa
Leicester , UK
How should I dispose the islamic material?
Question
Kindly advise on how Islamic literature should be disposed. I have many Islamic magazines, pamphlets and newsletter lying around at home. I know that I am not allowed to throw them in the bin as they contain verses from the Qur’an, the name of Allah and the Hadith.
What is the best way of disposing of such articles? Can we put them in the green box placed by the city here in Canada where all used books are placed by people and then recycled?
Answer
In the Name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Islam gives great reverence to the tools of learning knowledge. Our pious predecessors would go at length to keep respect of pens, papers, books or any medium of gaining knowledge. This reverence is further increased when these papers contain the sacred name of Allah or any part of Qur’ān on them. In our times, we have excelled tremendously in publishing Islamic material. The new technologies have proven very beneficial in propagating our Dīn. However, one shortcoming to such widespread propagation is the pamphlets, books and posters do not get the reverence and respect they deserve. Once these go into the hand of public, then they get trampled upon or disrespected in other ways.
It is therefore very important to dispose of any Islamic material which is no longer needed in the proper Shar῾ī way. While recycle bins may seem a suitable choice, but these papers are handled by non Muslims. Moreover they get thrown down, trampled or torn into pieces before they get to be recycled. It is not appropriate for material which has Allah’s name or a part of Qur’ān on it to be handled by a non Muslim.1
The more suitable way is to wrap up the Islamic material, papers, or Qur’ān copies and then bury them in a place which is not commonly walked upon. It is mentioned in Ad Durrul Mukhtār,
“When a Qur’ān copy becomes (so) old that it is no longer legible, then it should be wrapped up (in some cloth) and buried like a (deceased) Muslim.”2
If it is not possible to bury these parchments or papers in a secure place, then one may cross shred them and then use the recycle bins. As a final resort collect these papers and burn them securely.
And Allāh knows best.
Mufti Faisal bin Abdul Hameed al-Mahmudi
www.fatwa.ca
1 ( ويمنع النصراني ) في بعض النسخ الكافر – حاشية ابن عابدين -مطلب يطلق الدعاء على ما يشمل الثناء (1 / 321)
2 ( يدفن ) أي يجعل في خرقة طاهرة ويدفن في محل غير ممتهن لا يوطأ (المصحف إذا صار بحال لا يقرأ فيه يدفن كالمسلم –
