of Allah Most High:
“Allah does not intend to burden you, but He intends to purify you.” [al-Ma’idah: 6]
That is, a tangible purification, for He said this in the verse concerning ablution and the ritual bath.
- Sound reasoning also indicates this: there is no speech in existence nobler than the speech of Allah. If Allah has made purification obligatory for circumambulating His House, then purification is even more appropriate for reciting His Book, which He spoke. For we utter the speech of Allah from our mouths; thus, our touching this speech—which is nobler than the building—requires that we be in a state of purity, just as our circumambulation around the Ka‘bah requires that we be pure. Therefore, in veneration and respect for the Book of Allah, we must be in a state of purity.
This is the view of the majority of scholars, including the four imams. (1)
Dawud al-Zahiri and some scholars said: It is not forbidden for a person in a state of ritual impurity to touch the muṣḥaf. (2) …..
They argued that the basic principle is freedom from liability; thus, we do not deem the servants of Allah sinful for doing something concerning which no textual proof has been established.
They answered the evidences of the majority as follows:
As for the verse, it provides no proof, because the pronoun in His words, “None touch it,” refers back to “the hidden Book.” The hidden Book may refer to the Preserved Tablet, or it may refer to the books that are in the hands of