Short answer
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.
If the Arabic text of the Quran is equal to or more than the translation or commentary, touching it without wudu is not allowed. If the commentary is clearly more, as in a tafsir book, it is allowed, though you should avoid touching the ayat themselves. A translation alone, without the Arabic, is makruh (disliked) to touch without wudu in the Hanafi texts.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- A tafsir with more commentary than Quran text may be touched without wudu; a translation without the Arabic is not treated as the Quran, so touching it without wudu is allowed.
Explanation
The Quran is the Arabic revelation (12:2). A translation is a human rendering of its meaning, so the scholars do not give it the full rule of the mushaf. But the Hanafi texts still ask for care: when the Quran is written in another language, touching it without wudu is disliked, because it carries the meaning of Allah's words.
Most English editions people own print the Arabic beside the English. In those, the full Arabic text is present, so Hanafi muftis treat the whole book as a mushaf and touch it only with wudu or through a cloth or cover. With a tafsir set where the commentary is far longer than the ayat, you may handle the book without wudu, but avoid putting your fingers on the Arabic ayat.
- Arabic with a translation beside it: needs wudu, like the mushaf.
- Translation only, no Arabic: allowed without wudu, but disliked; wudu is better.
- Tafsir, hadith and fiqh books, school books with some ayat: allowed without wudu; avoid touching the ayat.
- A screen: see reading on a phone.
For the general rule on the Arabic mushaf, see touching the Quran without wudu. If you read mainly in English, see also reading the Quran in English only.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Yusuf 12:2
إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَٰهُ قُرْءَٰنًا عَرَبِيًّۭا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ ﴿٢﴾
Indeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'an that you might understand.
The Quran itself is the Arabic text, which is why a translation does not take the full rule of the mushaf.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Taharah, discussion of touching books of tafsir. If the Quran text is equal to or more than the commentary it is not to be touched without wudu; if the commentary is more, it may be.
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on menstruation and postnatal bleeding. If the Quran is written in Persian, touching it without wudu is disliked, according to Abu Hanifa and his two companions.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on what is forbidden to the one without wudu. The Shafi'i rule on tafsir books.
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.