Short answer
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.
Reciting without wudu is permissible (mubah) and reciting with wudu is mustahabb. For a person in janabah, and for a woman in her period or postnatal bleeding, reciting even part of an ayah with the intention of reciting the Quran is haram; reciting ayat with the intention of dua or dhikr, such as Bismillah or the Fatiha as a dua, is allowed.
Other madhhabs
- Maliki
- Agrees on minor impurity and on janabah, but allows a woman in her period to recite from memory, since her bleeding lasts for days and she may forget what she has memorised.
Explanation
Ibn Abbas describes a night he spent in the Prophet's ﷺ house. He woke from sleep, sat up wiping the sleep from his face, recited the last ten ayat of Surah Al Imran, and only then went to the water skin and made wudu. Sleep ends wudu, so the scholars took this as proof that reciting without wudu is allowed. Aisha also said that he remembered Allah at all times.
So you can revise your memorisation on the train, recite Ayatul Kursi in bed, and recite in the car without wudu. What wudu is needed for is touching the mushaf itself: see touching the Quran without wudu. Reading on a screen is covered in reading the Quran on your phone.
Major impurity is different. After intercourse or a wet dream, the Hanafi scholars say you should not recite the Quran until you have done ghusl. You can still make dhikr, make dua, send salawat and listen to recitation. The rules for a woman in her period are answered in the women section.
Wudu is still the better way to recite. The scholars list it among the manners of recitation, together with sitting calmly, facing the qibla when you can, and seeking refuge in Allah from Shaytan before you begin (16:98).
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Nahl 16:98
فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ فَٱسْتَعِذْ بِٱللَّهِ مِنَ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنِ ٱلرَّجِيمِ ﴿٩٨﴾
So when you recite the Qur'an, [first] seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the expelled [from His mercy].
Teaches a manner of recitation, seeking refuge first, without making wudu a condition for reciting.
Sahih al-Bukhari 183
Sahih... يمسح النوم عن وجهه بيده ثم قرأ العشر الآيات الخواتم ...
"He sat up wiping the sleep from his face with his hand, then recited the last ten ayat of Surah Al Imran, then got up and made wudu."
He recited after sleep and before making wudu, which shows recitation does not need wudu.
Sahih Muslim 373
Sahih... كان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يذكر الله على كل أحيانه ...
"The Prophet used to remember Allah in all of his states."
Remembrance of Allah, which includes recitation, was not limited to times of wudu.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on menstruation and istihadah. Recitation is forbidden for the junub and the menstruating woman, and permitted for the one without wudu.
- Nur al-Idah with Maraqi al-Falah, Chapter on menstruation, postnatal bleeding and istihadah. Lists what is forbidden to the junub and the one without wudu, and the exception for ayat recited as dua.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.