Is Ritual Purity Required to Touch an English Translation of the Quran?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question

Do I need to have wudu to read the English translation of the Quran?

Answer

I pray that you are in the best of health and faith, Insha’Allah.

There is a difference of opinion in the Hanafi school. The stronger and more precautionary position is that it is obligatory to be in a state of ritual purity to touch even a translation of the Quran. Yet according to a more expansive position, it is permitted to touch a translation of the Quran without being in a state of ritual purity. The way of mindfulness (taqwa) and thus resultant veneration (ta`dhim) is clear. Allah Most High says, “Whoever honors God’s symbols shows the piety of their hearts.” [Quran, 22.32]

And Allah alone gives success.
wassalam,
[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorized the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan, and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.