Can You Read Quran Without Wudu? Reciting, Touching and Phones

Yes, you can read the Quran without wudu, as long as you do not touch the mushaf (the written copy). Reciting from memory, listening, and reading from a copy you are not holding are all allowed. Touching the mushaf itself is what needs wudu, and reading on a phone is treated differently from a printed copy. The main exception is major impurity: after janabah you make ghusl before reciting.

The short answer

• Reciting from memory: allowed without wudu.
• Reading from a mushaf without touching it: allowed.
• Touching the mushaf: requires wudu.
• Reading on a phone or tablet: touching the screen is allowed without wudu, according to Darul Ifta Birmingham.
• After janabah: do not recite until you have made ghusl.
• During menstruation: scholars differ; see the section below.

Reciting the Quran without wudu

Ali narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would recite the Quran in all conditions, as long as he was not junub (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 146, graded hasan). Imam at-Tirmidhi adds that many Companions and Successors held that a person may recite the Quran without wudu but should only read from the mushaf when pure. He names Sufyan ath-Thawri, ash-Shafi'i, Ahmad and Ishaq for this view.

Aishah also reported that the Prophet ﷺ remembered Allah at all times (Sahih Muslim 373). So a missing wudu should never stop you from revising your memorisation, reciting your daily surahs or making dhikr.

Egypt's Dar al-Ifta puts it simply: there is no objection to reciting the Quran, or reading from a copy of it, without ablution, provided you do not touch it (Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah, fatwa 7835).

Touching the mushaf

The ruling on touching is taken from the verse "none touch it except the purified" (Surah Al-Waqi'ah, 56:79). Some translations, including The Clear Quran shown on Quran.com, explain "the purified" as the angels and the Quran as the preserved record. Jurists still cite the verse for the human ruling, and both Dar al-Ifta and Darul Ifta Birmingham use it when they say the mushaf is touched only with wudu.

A few practical cases from Darul Ifta Birmingham, a Hanafi institute:

• Removable covers. A detachable dust jacket is not part of the mushaf, so you may hold a Quran by it without wudu. A cover that is glued or stitched on counts as part of the mushaf and needs wudu (Darul Ifta Birmingham on Quran covers).
• Translations. Hanafi jurists say a translation of the Quran should not be touched without wudu either (Darul Ifta Birmingham on translations).

Reading on a phone or tablet

Darul Ifta Birmingham explains that the text on a screen is made of lit pixels behind a layer of glass, not permanent writing like ink on a page. It concludes that touching the screen while a Quran app is open does not require wudu, while adding that a believer should ideally stay in wudu anyway (Darul Ifta Birmingham on phone screens).

You can read any surah on Islamful's online Quran with this in mind.

After janabah or during menstruation

Janabah is different. Both the hadith of Ali and Dar al-Ifta's answer make the state of janabah the exception to reciting freely. Make ghusl first; see how to perform ghusl.

On menstruation, Darul Ifta Birmingham gives the Hanafi position: reciting the Quran for the reward of recitation is not permitted, whether or not you touch the mushaf. Reciting verses as a dua, such as the three Quls or Ayat al-Kursi, is allowed. Some scholars make an exception for women who are memorising the Quran, so that they do not lose what they have learned (Darul Ifta Birmingham on reciting during periods). Other schools hold their own positions, so ask a scholar you trust if you follow a different school.

A simple routine

1. Recite from memory freely, whatever your state of wudu, unless you are in janabah.
2. Before picking up a printed mushaf, make wudu. Follow how to perform wudu if you need the steps.
3. If you are reading in a spare moment without wudu, use a screen or a mushaf you do not touch.
4. Set a reading slot around your daily prayer times, for example a page after Fajr.

New to reading? Start with how to read the Quran for beginners.