The word · The Qur’an
مَسُّ المُصْحَف
Touching the Mushaf
Whether wudu is needed to hold a copy of the Qur'an; the four schools say yes, a minority disagrees.
Also written · Mass al-Mushaf · Massul Mushaf · touching the Quran · touching Quran without wudu · holding the Quran · Quran without ablution · reading Quran on period · Quran on phone
The meaning
What Touching the Mushaf means in Islam
The four Sunni schools require purity to touch the mushaf itself, citing a verse in Surah al-Waqi'ah and the Prophet's letter to the people of Yemen; Ibn Hazm and others read that verse as speaking about the angels instead. Reciting from memory without wudu is agreed to be fine. Most contemporary scholars hold that a phone or tablet is not a mushaf, so the ruling does not extend to reading from a screen.
Evidence · Scholars differ · The scholars read this one differently
Read beside it
Words that sit beside it
- MushafA physical copy of the Qur'an: the pages, ink and binding, as distinct from the revelation itself.المُصْحَف
- WuduThe washing done before prayer: face, arms to the elbows, wiping the head, and feet to the ankles.وُضوء
- HaydMenstruation, during which prayer and fasting are lifted and intimacy is paused.حَيْض
- TilawahReciting the Qur'an aloud, following its words closely rather than merely reading over them.التِّلاوَة
More from The Qur’an
- Al-Ahruf as-Sab'ahThe seven modes in which the Qur'an was revealed, an ease for the community; what a mode is stays disputed.الأَحْرُفُ السَّبْعَة
- Hafs an AsimThe reading found in most printed mushafs today, transmitted by Hafs from his teacher Asim of Kufa.حَفْصٌ عَنْ عاصِم
- Isti'adhahSaying I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaytan before beginning to recite.الاسْتِعاذَة
- ManzilOne of seven divisions of the Qur'an, used by those who complete a full reading each week.مَنْزِل
- QariA reciter of the Qur'an; in the classical sense, one trained and certified in a particular reading.القارِئ
- Ta'wilInterpretation, and in a second sense the reality a statement finally turns out to refer to.التَّأْويل