Short answer
In the Hanafi school you may not recite the Quran in janabah, during a period or during postnatal bleeding, and you may not touch the mushaf without wudu. Reciting in the toilet, in ruku or sujood, and while the khutbah is being given is disliked. No time of day is forbidden for recitation.
Reciting the Quran as Quran is haram in janabah, hayd and nifas. Touching the mushaf without wudu is haram. Reciting in a toilet or impure place is makruh tahrimi, reciting in ruku and sujood is makruh, and reciting aloud where people are busy and will not listen is makruh, with the blame on the reciter.
Other madhhabs
- Maliki
- Allows a woman in her period to recite from memory.
Explanation
Here are the cases in one place, with links to the full answers.
States of the body:
- Janabah (after intercourse or a wet dream): no recitation until ghusl. Dhikr and dua are fine. See reciting without wudu and when ghusl is required.
- Period or postnatal bleeding: no recitation in the Hanafi school. See reading the Quran on your period.
- Without wudu: reciting is fine, touching the mushaf is not. See touching the Quran without wudu.
Places:
- The toilet, bathroom and places of filth: see reciting in the bathroom.
- Graveyards: recitation is allowed in the Hanafi fatwa position.
Moments:
- In ruku and sujood: the Prophet ﷺ said he was forbidden to recite the Quran while bowing or prostrating; those positions are for glorifying and dua (Muslim).
- During the khutbah: listen in silence: see talking during the khutbah.
- Out loud near people who are praying, sleeping or working, and when you are so sleepy you do not know what you are saying.
Times: there is none. Even at sunrise and sunset, when salah is not allowed, recitation is: see reading at sunrise.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Waaqia 56:79
لَّا يَمَسُّهُۥٓ إِلَّا ٱلْمُطَهَّرُونَ ﴿٧٩﴾
None touch it except the purified.
The basis for needing purity to touch the mushaf.
Quran, Surah Al-A'raaf 7:204
وَإِذَا قُرِئَ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ فَٱسْتَمِعُوا۟ لَهُۥ وَأَنصِتُوا۟ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ ﴿٢٠٤﴾
So when the Qur'an is recited, then listen to it and pay attention that you may receive mercy.
When it is being recited, others should listen rather than compete.
Sahih Muslim 479
Sahih... ألا وإني نهيت أن أقرأ القرآن راكعا أو ساجدا ...
"Indeed, I have been forbidden to recite the Quran while bowing or prostrating."
Recitation is not done in ruku and sujood.
Sahih Muslim 787
Sahih... فاستعجم القرآن على لسانه فلم يدر ما يقول فليضطجع ...
"If one of you gets up at night and the Quran becomes confused on his tongue so that he does not know what he is saying, let him lie down."
Stop reciting when too sleepy to recite properly.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Nur al-Idah with Maraqi al-Falah, Chapter on menstruation, postnatal bleeding and istihadah. What is forbidden to the junub, the menstruating woman and the one without wudu.
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Karahiyya, chapter on salah, tasbih and reciting the Quran. Disliked places and situations for recitation.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. 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.