Etiquettes of Reading
and Handling
the Holy Qur'an
From Al-Jami' li ahkam
al-Qur'an
by Imam Muhammad ibn Ahmad Qurtubi
Translated by: anonymous
Source:
Holy Qur'an
Resources on
the
Internet
It is the inviolability of the Qur'an:
- not to touch the Qur'an except in the state of ritual
purity in
wudu, and
to recite it when in a state of ritual purity;
- to brush one's teeth with a toothstick (siwak), remove
food
particles from
between them, and to freshen one's mouth before reciting, since it is
the way
through which the Qur'an passes;
- to sit up straight if not in prayer, and not lean back;
- to dress for reciting as if intending to visit a prince,
for the
reciter is
engaged in an intimate discourse;
- to face the direction of prayer (qiblah) to recite;
- to rinse the mouth out with water if one coughs up mucus
or
phlegm;
- to stop reciting when one yawns, for when reciting , one
is
addressing
one's Lord in intimate conversation, while yawning is from the Devil;
- when begining to recite, to take refuge from in Allah
from
the
accursed
Devil and say the Basmala, whether one has begun at the first surah or
some
other part one has reached;
- once one has begun, not to interuppt one's recital from
moment to
moment
with human words, unless absolutely necessary;
- to be alone when reciting it, so that no one interrupts
one,
forcing one
to mix the words of the Qur'an with replying, for this nullifies the
effectivness of having taken refuge in Allah from the Devil at the
beginning;
- to recite it leisurely and without haste, distinctly
pronouncing
each
letter;
- to use one's mind and understanding in order to
comprehend
what
is being
said to one;
- to pause at verses that promise Allah's favour, to long
for
Allah
Most High
and ask of His bounty; and at verses that warn of His punishment to ask
Him to
save one from it;
- to pause at the accounts of bygone peoples and
individuals
to
heed and
benefit from their example;
- to find out the meanings of the Qur'an's unusual lexical
usages;
- to give each letter its due so as to clearly and fully
pronounce
every
word, for each letter counts as ten good deeds;
- whenever one finishes reciting, to attest to the veracity
of
ones's Lord,
and that His messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) has
delivered his
message, and to testify to this, saying: "Our Lord, You have spoken the
truth, Your messengers have delivered their tidings, and bear witness
to this. O
Allah, make us of those who bear witness to the truth and who act with
justice":
after which one supplicates Allah with prayers.
- not to select certain verses from each surah to recite,
but
rather the
recite the whole surah;
- if one puts down the Qur'an, not to leave it open;
- not to place other books upon the Qur'an, which should
always be
higher
than all other books, whether they are books of Sacred Knowledge or
something
else;
- to place the Qur'an on one's lap when reading; or on
something in
front of
one, not on the floor;
- not to wipe it from a slate with spittle, but rather wash
it off
with
water; and if one washes it off with water, to avoid putting the water
where
there are unclean substances (najasa) or where people walk. Such water
has its
own inviolability, and there were those of the early Muslims before us
who used
water that washed away Qur'an to effect cures.
- not to use sheets upon which it has been written as
bookcovers,
which is
extremely rude, but rather to erase the Qur'an from them with water;
- not to let a day go by without looking at least once at
the
pages
of the
Qur'an;
- to give one's eyes their share of looking at it, for the
eyes
lead to the
soul (nafs), whereas there is a veil between the breast and the soul,
and the
Qur'an is in the breast.
- not to trivially quote the Qur'an at the occurrence of
everyday
events, as
by saying, for example, when someone comes,
"You have come hither
according to a decree, O Moses" [Qur'an 69:24], or,
"Eat
and drink heartily for what you have done aforetimes, in days gone by"
[Qur'an 69:24],
when food is brought out, and so forth;
- not to recite it to songs tunes like those of the
corrupt,
or
with the
tremulous tones of Christians or the plaintiveness of monkery, all of
which is
misguidance;
- when writing the Qur'an to do so in a clear, elegant
hand;
- not to recite it out aloud over another's reciting of it,
so as
to spoil it
for him or make him resent what he hears, making it as if it were some
kind of
competition;
- not to recite it in marketplaces, places of clamour and
frivolity, or where
fools gather;
- not to use the Qur'an as pillow, or lean upon it;
- not to toss it when one wants to hand it to another;
- not to miniaturize the Qur'an, mix into it what is not of
it, or
mingle
this worldly adornment with it by embellishing or writing it with gold;
- not to write it on the ground or on walls, as is done in
some new
mosques;
- not to write an amulet with it and enter the lavatory,
unless it
is encased
in leather, silver, or other, for then it is as if kept in the heart;
- if one writes it and then drinks it (for cure or other
purpose),
one should
say the Basmala at every breath and make a noble and worthy intention,
for Allah
only gives to one according to one's intention;
- and if one finishes reciting the entire Qur'an, to begin
it
anew,
that it
may not resemble something that has been abandoned.
Damas Cultural Society 2006
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