Question:
Does one need wudu in order to read the transliteration of the Quran without physically touching it i.e reading it online/on an app?
Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh
Thank you for your question.
No doubt, it is preferred and praiseworthy to recite Qurann, while in the state of wudhu. This is an act of great respect the Qur’an deserves.
“if one observes the sanctity of the symbols of Allah, then such things emanate from the piety of the hearts.” (Quran 22:32)
Reading the Qur‘an in transliteration online, or on a digital mobile app, without wuḍu, and without physically touching the Qur’an, is permissible as long as one is not in a state of major impurity (janabah).
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Omar (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) said, “A menstruating woman or a seminally defiled person should not recite any part of the Quran”. (Tirmidhi and Bayhaqi)
It should be noted that the original Quran, as the divine Speech of Allah, will always remain in Arabic.
And Allah knows best.
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Badat
Hadith of the Day Imam
Imam of the Islamic Foundation of Toronto and Director of Mathabah Institute
