All perfect praise be to AllahThe Lord of the Worlds and may His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
The majority of the Fuqaha say that it is forbidden for a woman to touch the Quran during menstruation and Janabah (State of impurity following sexual intercourse). They also said that it is forbidden for her to recite the Quran, even without touching it. An-Nawawi (May Allah have mercy on him) said: "According to our position, Shafie, it is forbidden for a woman to recite, even a portion of a verse, during menstruation and Janabah, and this is the view of the majority of the scholars." [Al-Majmou`, vol.2/pp.182.]
They base their evidence on several things, including the following:
First: Allah The Almighty Said (What means): "Which none shall touch but those who are clean " {Al-Waqi`ah, 79}. AL-Hafith Ibn Khatheer (May Allah have mercy on him) said: "As said by some of the companions, the word clean refers to the angels. According to other companions, it refers to those clean from Janabah and major or minor ritual impurity. They added that Allah is telling us that the Quran may not be touched save by those who are ritually clean, and that what is intended by the Quran, here, is the book itself. [Tafseer Al-Quran Al-Atheem, vol. 7/pp.545].
By analogy, if the word clean refers to the angels, then people are obliged to be in a state of purity when touching the Quran.
Two: Yahya related to me from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr ibn Hazm that in a letter that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) sent to Amr ibn Hazm it said that no-one should touch the Qur'an unless he was pure.. This Hadith was reported by Malik in his [Muwata`, vol.2/pp.278].
Ahmad Ibn Hanbal said: it is Sahin Hadith. Ibn Abdelbar said: "Scholars have taken this Hadith and acted upon it." [Al-Istithkaar, vol.2/pp.458].
Three: This ruling is famous amongst the companions and the followers to the extent that there is almost a consensus on it. The companions` opinions about forbidding the woman to recite or touch the Quran during menstruation and in state of Janabah became well known. Their opinions in this regard take the same ruling of a traceable Hadith. Kindly refer to [Musanaf Ibn Abi Shaibah, vol.2/pp.256] and [Musanaf Abed Al-Raz-zak, vol.1/pp.335].
In conclusion, the scholars say that it is forbidden for women to touch or recite the Quran during menstruation and when in state of impurity.
However, the only exception the scholars make is in the case of Dhikr (Remembrance of Allah) and phrases that aren`t intended as Tilaawah (recitation), such as saying-Dua when mounting an animal or any other means of transportation: "Subhana Althi Sakhara Lana Hatha Wama kona Lahoo Mokrineen……..", Inna Lillah Wa` inna Ellayehi Raji`oon" and the like. Al-Khateeb Ash-Shirbini (May Allah have mercy on him) said: "It is permissible to say Quranic verses as Dhikr, not Tilawaah." [Al-Eqnaa` Fi Hall AlFaz Abi Shojj`a vol.1/pp.236-237]. And Allah Knows Best.
