Some people suggest that it is wrong to read the Qur'an facing the back of someone else. Is this true?
If someone is sitting in front of you, that does not require you to change your position in order to recite the Qur'an. Indeed, you may recite the Qur'an at any time or place, apart from the toilet. Facing somebody's back does not restrict that permissibility.
• Qur'an: Reading without ablution
Is it allowed to hold one's copy of the Qur'an and read it without ablution? Is it permissible to put it close to where one sleeps?
Whenever you wish to read the Qur'an or to glorify Allah, you are strongly recommended to have ablution. Indeed a Muslims is recommended to have ablution at all times. However, if you are in a place where it is inconvenient to have ablution, but have time to read the Qur'an, you may go ahead and read it, even if you hold a copy of the Qur'an in your hand. Some people suggest that this is not permissible, but the weightier opinion is that it is. As I say, it is infinitely better to have ablution, but if you cannot, then you commit no offense, if you read the Qur'an or hold it in your hand when you do not have ablution.
As long as you put the Qur'an in a place where it is not ill-used, you can keep it anywhere. Many people would like to have a copy of the Qur'an, near to where they sleep. That is appropriate, provided they do not have it for their protection or blessing. Protection is granted by Allah and blessing is derived from reading the Qur'an and implementing it.
• Qur'an: Reading without purification
Can a woman read, or even touch the Qur'an when she is in periods - or can she recite from memory or use a bead for glorifying Allah?
It is unanimously agreed by scholars that ablution (or wudhu), is strongly recommended for everyone who intends to recite the Qur'an, whether from memory or from a book, or wants to glorify Allah or praise Him. Some scholars say that if one intends to hold the Qur'an in his hand and read it, then it is required to do the ablution first. However, the evidence they use to support their opinion is not decisive in making ablution a condition for holding the Qur'an or reading it. Therefore, it is perhaps more correct to say that while ablution is not absolutely necessary when doing either of these two things, it is strongly recommended.
A woman in her menstruation and a man in the state of ceremonial impurity, cannot recite the Qur'an, whether from memory or from a book until they have removed that state by taking a bath. The woman must end her menstruation before she is able to do that. However, if some verses of the Qur'an are written in a book or a piece of paper, together with other material, then it is permissible for a woman in her menstruation or a man in a state of ceremonial impurity to hold that piece of paper without having to take a bath first. The Prophet wrote a letter to the Byzantine emperor and included in that verses from the Qur'an. The emperor was non-Muslim and the Prophet knew that he will be holding that paper in his hand. It is assumed that a non-Muslim does not take the same precautions as a Muslim to remove the state of impurity.
Similarly, glorifying Allah by using phrases like " Subhan Allah ", " Alhamdulillah " and similar words and phrases is permissible. A bead has no sanctity, nor indeed is it recommended. The Prophet used no such beads, but he counted the number of times he glorified Allah by using his fingers.