Is It Permissible To Annotate the Qur’an?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Question: Asalam alaykum,
I have a translation of the Qu’ran in english and I was wondering if it is permissible to highlight a verse or to even write on the side of the pages?
Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
I pray that you are in the best of health and faith, insha’Allah.
Yes, it is permitted to make such notes as long as propriety (adab) is upheld.
Shaykh `Ali Hani commented that there would be no harm in this, and in fact many of the scholars of the Qur’an would do this. Shaykh Ashraf Muneeb, a senior scholar and a man of deep learning and taqwa, commented that we even have precedent for this from the practice of the Companions (May Allah be pleased with them.)
The greater the adab, the greater the benefit.
And Allah alone gives success.
wassalam,
Tabraze Azam
Checked & Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.