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Can I read Quran during menstruation?

Published work 1 min read
SourcePublished work
Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Ṣāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn· محمد بن صالح العثيمينSenior Scholar

Majmūʿ Fatāwā wa Rasāʾil al-ʿUthaymīn, vol. 11

There is well-known disagreement among scholars on this question. The view that a menstruating woman may recite the Qur'an from memory — without touching the muṣḥaf — is the strongest, since there is no clear authentic prohibition specific to her, and the hadith mentioning a prohibition for the junub (one in major impurity) does not have a strong chain. Touching the physical muṣḥaf, however, requires being in a state of purity according to the majority based on the verse "None touch it except the purified." A menstruating woman may therefore listen to the recitation, read from a phone or tablet (since these are not muṣḥaf in the legal sense), and recite from memory — especially if she fears forgetting her memorisation, or for the sake of duʿāʾ and dhikr.

Key Takeaway

A menstruating woman may recite the Qur'an from memory and read from a phone, but she should not touch the physical muṣḥaf according to the majority.

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