• Qur'an: Presenting copies to non-Muslims
Is it permissible to present a copy of the Qur'an to a non-Muslim? In this connection, what do the Verses 77-79 of Surah - 56 mean? Why did Umar's sister insist that he performed ablution before she gave him the scroll of the surah entitled Taha, when he was still a non-Muslim?
Some scholars argue that it is not permissible to give the Qur'an to non-Muslims. They fear that non-Muslims may not respect the Qur'an or may ill use it. If we suspect that a particular person may ill-use the Qur'an, it is certainly not permissible to give that person a copy of it. On the other hand, if we feel that the person concerned will treat the Qur'an with due respect and wants to read it in order to understand it, then we can give it to him. The Prophet sent messages to rulers of neighboring states and included in his letters verses from the Qur'an, knowing that those rules were not Muslims. We should not forget in this connection that Qur'an is applicable to all mankind and we have to make it known to them. It is our duty to convey the message to them and to call on them to adopt Islam. Therefore, if we find that some of them want to learn more about Islam, the best source from which to acquire that knowledge is the Qur'an.
The verses to which you refer may be rendered in translation as follows :
"This is indeed a noble Qur'an, contained in a well-guarded Book, which none but the purified may touch."
Many scholars say that 'the purified' refers to the angels whom Allah has made pure. They alone can touch the well-guarded Book in which the Qur'an is written in heaven. Some people take these verses to mean that only after one performs ablution, one may hold the Qur'an in his hand. But the Qur'anic verse does not seem to support this view since having an ablution is an act of purification which a man chooses to perform. He does not become "purified" as a result of it. The purification to which the Qur'anic verse refers is something done by Allah. Hence, it is a reference to angels.
The incident to which you have referred occurred when Umar, receiving the news that his sister and brother-in-law have become Muslims, went to see his sister, threatening to kill her. At that time, Umar was still a non-believer. His brother-in-law went into hiding in his own home, while Umar's sister, Fatimah, opened the door. She admitted that she was a Muslim and Umar struck her on her face. The blow was hard and there was blood on Fatimah’s face. Despite his strong norms, Umar was kind-hearted. He felt sorry for his sister as he saw her bleeding. He demanded that she give him the scroll from which she was reading. She told him that because he was a non-believer, he could not touch it until he had ablution. He went and washed. She gave him the scroll to read. He was surprised by its powerful logic and accepted Islam.
We cannot take this incident as a basis to formulate any rules about the conditions in which non-believers can handle the Qur'an. Fatimah acted in the spur of the moment. Most probably, she wanted her brother to cool down before he read the Qur'an. She felt that if he washed his face and hands that would have wonderful effect on him. She was right. She did not mean that he will be purified by the ablution, because nonbelievers cannot be purified that way. Ablution does not mean a thing if a non-believer performs it. The fact that the Qur'an describes non-believers as impure means only mental impurity which is not removed by ablution. It is removed by acceptance of Islam. On the other hand, ablution is a mental purification for Muslims which puts them in the right frame of mind to address Allah in their prayers.
• Qur'an: Reading and the acceptable pace
In a book I read that Umar, the companion of the Prophet, used to read the Qur'an once every night and Imam Al Shaf’ie used to read it 60 times in the month of Ramadhan, making an average of twice a day. As a general rule, in how many days should we read the Qur'an?
Allah has ordered us in the Qur'an to recite his revelations slowly and with deliberations. Scholars have understood this to mean that we should try to emphasize the meaning of what we are reading. Moreover, we have to pronounce each word and sound it out. While scholars of the Qur'an make it permissible to use three different speeds in reading the Qur'an, they insist that even the fastest must take care of the pronunciation so that words are understood properly and sounds are given their features. In order to do that, perhaps the faster reader who knows the Qur'an by heart could read one part in twenty minutes. Since the Qur'an is divided into thirty parts, this means that such a very fast reading takes ten hours. A person who knows the Qur'an well and reads it with average speed will probably need 15 to 16 hours to finish it; while a person who recites it properly will need between 45 minutes and one hour to finish one part. This means that he may need thirty hours to finish it.
In the light of the above, and knowing that neither Umar ibn Al Khattab nor Al Shaf’ie read the Qur'an like parrots, but were keen to understand it properly and to contemplate its meaning, we can say without hesitation that the report mentioned in that book is incorrect. To imagine that a person could finish the Qur'an in one night is to think that a human being could sit for eight or ten hours reading at high speed without getting tired or stopping to take his breath or to have a drink or to relieve himself. Such an approach to the Qur'an is alien to Islamic practices.
Scholars say that on average a person should read about one part of the Qur'an everyday which means that he finishes it once over a whole month. Many people do better than that and read two parts a day in order to finish the Qur'an twice in the same period. A person who has learnt the Qur'an by heart needs to read more every day to maintain his memorization with reasonable accuracy. Such a person needs perhaps to read three parts every day. Scholars of the Qur'an recommend such a person to read five parts a day and say, "He who reads five parts does not forget what he has memorized."
• Qur'an: Reading during menstruation
A Muslim lady teacher conducts Qur'anic classes in a mosque in Canada. She insists that it is appropriate to do so when she is in her monthly period. Is this correct?
The view of the majority of scholars is that a woman in her menstruation and a man in the state of ceremonial impurity may not stay long in a mosque. They may pass through it but they cannot sit there for sometime. Scholars rely on two Hadiths in which the Prophet is quoted as saying: "I do not allow staying in the mosque for a woman in menstruation or for a man in the state of ceremonial impurity." One of these Hadiths is related by Abu Dawood while the other is related by Ibn Majah. The same scholars also forbid reading the Qur'an for people who are in this state.
However, Imam Ibn Hazm and others, including Al Bukhari and At-Tabarani, are of the view that it is appropriate for a man in a state of ceremonial impurity and a woman in menstruation to read the Qur'an. None of the Hadiths quoted to prevent it is considered by them as authentic. Similarly, Imam Ibn Hazm states that it is permissible for a woman to enter a mosque and stay in it when she is in her period. He points out the Hadith quoted by others to prevent it and explain in detail why he considers them inauthentic.
The lady teacher in Canada might have considered both views and concluded that the need for her classes is so pressing that following Imam Ibn Hazm is appropriate for her. Or she may be a scholar who considered the evidence supporting each view and made her conclusion in favor of Imam Ibn Hazm's view. In both cases, her action is appropriate.