Quran, dua and dhikr, questions and answers.
Touching and reciting the Quran, duas, dhikr and memorising. 28 answers, Hanafi first, with the Quran and hadith behind each one.
- Can you touch the Quran without wudu?No. In the Hanafi school, and in all four schools, you need wudu (ablution) to touch the mushaf, the written Arabic copy of the Quran. You may still read it without touching it, or hold it with a separate cloth or cover that is not attached to it.
- Can you recite the Quran without wudu?Yes. You may recite the Quran from memory, or read it without touching the mushaf, without wudu, though reciting with wudu is better. This is for minor impurity only: in the Hanafi school a person who needs ghusl may not recite the Quran.
- Can you read the Quran on your phone without wudu?Yes. You may read the Quran on a phone or tablet without wudu. Most Hanafi muftis today also allow touching the screen, because the text is light behind glass and is not written on it, though touching only the edges, or having wudu, is better.
- Can you touch a Quran translation without wudu?It depends on what is in it. A copy with the Arabic text next to the translation takes the rule of the mushaf, so you need wudu. A translation with no Arabic is not a mushaf, but the Hanafi texts still call touching it without wudu disliked, so wudu is better.
- Can children touch the Quran without wudu?Yes. In the Hanafi school a child below puberty may be given the mushaf to learn from without wudu, because requiring wudu every time would make learning too hard for them. Teaching them to make wudu first is still better, as training in respect.
- Can you recite the Quran in the bathroom?No. Reciting the Quran in a toilet or bathroom is makruh tahrimi (seriously disliked) in the Hanafi school, and so is saying dhikr aloud there. Thinking of it in your heart is fine. A phone with a Quran app may go in if the app is closed and the phone is in your pocket.
- Can you put the Quran on the floor?It is disliked to put the mushaf directly on the floor without need, because it goes against the honour due to it. Put it on a stand, a table, a cushion or your lap. Carrying it in a bag below your waist is fine; keep it out of your back pocket and away from your feet.
- How do you dispose of an old Quran?In the Hanafi school, a worn mushaf that can no longer be read is wrapped in a clean cloth and buried in a clean place where people do not walk. It is never thrown away with rubbish, and the Hanafis prefer burial to burning. Some other scholars allow burning it completely, following what the caliph Uthman did.
- Can you read the Quran in English only?You can read a translation to understand the meaning, and you are rewarded for learning. But a translation is not the Quran itself: the reward of recitation for each letter, and recitation in salah, belong to the Arabic. The best path is to read the translation and also learn to recite the Arabic, even slowly.
- Is listening to the Quran the same as reading it?Both are rewarded, but they are not the same. Reading with your own tongue earns the reward of recitation for every letter; listening attentively brings mercy and its own reward. In the Hanafi school, those present must listen in silence when the Quran is recited aloud, as in salah.
- Is reading the Quran without understanding rewarded?Yes. Reciting the Quran in Arabic is rewarded even if you do not understand it, and the Prophet ﷺ promised a double reward to the one who struggles with it. Understanding is still a goal: the Quran asks you to reflect on it, so add a translation or tafsir as you go.
- Is sajdah tilawat wajib?Yes, in the Hanafi school. The prostration of recitation (sajdah tilawah) is wajib on anyone who recites one of the 14 ayat of sajdah, and on anyone who hears it, whether or not they meant to listen. The Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali schools hold that it is a sunnah.
- How do you do sajdah tilawat?Make sure you have wudu and face the qibla. Say Allahu Akbar and go into one sajdah, say Subhana Rabbiyal A'la three times, then say Allahu Akbar and come up. There is no tashahhud and no salam. Inside salah, do it straight away; outside salah, do it soon.
- Do you have to finish the Quran in Ramadan?No, it is not obligatory, but it is a strong and beloved practice. Jibril reviewed the Quran with the Prophet ﷺ every Ramadan, and in the Hanafi school completing the Quran once in taraweeh is sunnah. Read at a pace you can understand and keep up.
- Can you recite the Quran for the dead?Yes, in the Hanafi school. You may recite the Quran and ask Allah to give its reward to a deceased Muslim, and the reward reaches them. This is called isal al-thawab. The classical Shafi'i view is that the reward of recitation does not reach, though many later Shafi'is accept it when the reciter asks Allah to send it.
- Can you make dua in English?Yes. Outside salah you may make dua in English or any language: Allah knows every language and every heart. The duas of the Quran and Sunnah in Arabic carry extra blessing, so learn some of them too. Inside salah the Hanafi school keeps dua to Arabic.
- Can you make dua in your own language in sujood?Not in the Hanafi school. Inside salah your dua should be in Arabic, and ideally in words from the Quran and Sunnah; making dua in English in sujood is makruh tahrimi. Asking for a worldly thing in everyday wording can even break the prayer. Make your personal dua in English after the salam.
- Do you raise your hands in dua?Yes. Raising the hands with palms facing up is a sunnah of dua and a reason for it to be answered: the Prophet ﷺ said Allah is too generous to send back empty the hands raised to Him. It is not a condition, so a dua without raised hands is still heard.
- Do you wipe your face after dua?The Hanafi texts say it is mustahabb to wipe your face with your hands at the end of a dua made with raised hands. The reports for it are weak one by one, but scholars such as Ibn Hajar judged them acceptable taken together. It is not required, and it is not something to argue over.
- Is tawassul allowed in Islam?Asking Allah through His names, through your own good deeds, or by asking a living righteous person to pray for you is agreed upon. Asking Allah by the status of the Prophet ﷺ or a righteous person is allowed by the Hanafi scholars of Deoband and most later scholars, while some scholars hold it is not allowed. The dua itself is always made to Allah alone.
- Can you make dua at the grave of a saint?You may visit the graves of the righteous, greet them, pray for them and make dua to Allah for yourself there. What is not allowed is asking the person in the grave to fulfil your needs, prostrating to the grave, circling it, or making vows to it. Scholars differ on choosing a grave as a special place for your own dua.
- Is it permissible to use tasbih beads?Yes. Counting dhikr on prayer beads (tasbih or misbaha) is permissible in the Hanafi school and in the four schools. Counting on your fingers is the sunnah way and slightly better, because your fingers will speak for you on the Day of Judgement. A digital counter has the same ruling as beads.
- Do you have to send salawat when you hear the Prophet's name?Yes. Sending salawat (blessings) on the Prophet ﷺ is fard once in a lifetime, and many Hanafi scholars hold it is wajib when his name is mentioned, with once in a gathering fulfilling the duty and repeating it recommended. He called the person who hears his name and does not send salawat a miser.
- Is it okay to play the Quran in the background?It is fine to play the Quran while you can still listen, such as in the car, while resting or doing light work. It is disrespectful to play it where no one is paying attention, over loud talk or music, or in a shop just for atmosphere. In the Hanafi school, those present should listen when the Quran is recited aloud.
- Can you have Quran verses as a phone wallpaper?It is permissible, but many Hanafi muftis advise against it. A lock screen with an ayah goes everywhere you go, into the bathroom, onto the floor and into hands without wudu, so the risk of disrespect is high. The same concern applies to Allah's name; a plain design is the safer choice.
- Is ruqyah allowed in Islam?Yes. Ruqyah, reciting the Quran and authentic duas over yourself or a sick person to seek healing from Allah, is allowed and a sunnah, as long as it contains no shirk and you believe the cure comes from Allah alone. You can do it yourself; you do not need a special healer.
- How do you make dua properly?Begin by praising Allah and sending salawat on the Prophet ﷺ, raise your hands, face the qibla if you can, then ask Allah for what you need with humility and certainty that He hears you. Finish with salawat and Ameen. Wudu is good but not required.
- Does reading the Quran in your head count as recitation?No. Reading with your eyes or in your mind is rewarded as looking at and reflecting on the Quran, but it is not recitation (tilawah). Recitation means forming the letters with your tongue, and the safer Hanafi view is that you should hear yourself. This matters most in salah, where reading only in your mind does not count.