Is Disrespecting a Copy of the Qur’an Disbelief?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question: Assalamu alaykum

I have seen that to disrespect the Mushaf (copy of the Qur’an) is Kufr (disbelief).

1. Does this mean that if a person commits a sin (e.g. watching T.V) or any sin in a room which has an Ayah or several Ayahs or Allah’s name framed on a wall he has committed Kufr?

2. Would it be regarded as Kufr to write Allah’s name in english on birthday cards?

Answer: Wa ‘alaykum as-salam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh.

I pray you are well.

You can rest assured that none of the matters you have described entail kufr. Kufr is not like a sticker which is freely handed out to a child when he visits a dentist. The vast majority of Muslims never approach anything close to disbelief in their entire lives.

What is disbelief?

Disbelief occurs:

a. when someone rejects what Allah and His Messenger, Allah bless him and give him peace, gave us, calling it a lie.

b. When there is a heinous act displaying contempt of Allah, His Book, Messenger, or a symbol Islam. This, according to the great imam Abd al ʿAziz b. Abd al Salam, would be something like throwing a copy of the Qurʾan in with the rubbish, or spreading excrement on the Kaʿba (Usmani, Fath al Mulhim). This is the interpretation of what Ibn Junaym said.

Most Muslims I have seen hesitate to say the word ‘pig’, let alone do something which would take them out of Islam. Relax, thank Allah for your faith, and take the steps needed to strengthen it. That is better than obsessing over committing disbelief through writing Allah’s name on in English on a birthday card.

May Allah bless you with the best of both worlds.

Wassalam,
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 to study and sit at the feet of some of the most erudite scholars of our time.

Over the following eighteen months he studied a traditional curriculum, studying with scholars such as Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh Abdurrahman Arjan, Shaykh Hussain Darwish and Shaykh Muhammad Darwish.

In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years, in Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Shama’il, and Logic with teachers such as Dr Ashraf Muneeb, Dr Salah Abu’l-Hajj, Dr Hamza al-Bakri, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Dr Mansur Abu Zina amongst others. He was also given two licences of mastery in the science of Qur’anic recital by Shakh Samir Jabr and Shaykh Yahya Qandil.

His true passion, however, arose in the presence of Shaykh Ali Hani, considered by many to be one of the foremost tafsir scholars of our time who provided him with the keys to the vast knowledge of the Quran. With Shaykh Ali, he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Qur’anic Sciences, Tafsir, Arabic Grammar, and Rhetoric.

When he finally left Jordan for the UK in 2014, Shaykh Ali gave him his distinct blessing and still recommends students in the UK to seek out Shaykh Abdul-Rahim for Quranic studies. Since his return he has trained as a therapist and has helped a number of people overcome emotional and psychosomatic issues. He is a keen promoter of emotional and mental health.