Islamic Rulings - Living Shariah Verdicts

Islamic Questions & Answers

What is the ruling on playing Qur'aan in audio chat rooms in which there is music and cameras?.


Praise be to Allaah.

This action is not something that is prescribed in sharee'ah, and it may cause people to be put off Qur'aan and not respect it, and they may want to stop the recitation, in addition to the fact that they will be busy with other things and will not pay attention to it. That may also be accompanied by other evil actions.

The one who wants to offer advice should enter the chat room and explain the shar'i ruling on music and images; it is not sufficient to recite Qur'aan or play a recording.

Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Tibyaan fi Adaab Hamalat al-Qur'aan (p. 92): What should be paid attention to and is showing respect to the Qur'aan and avoiding matters that some negligent reciters do not pay attention to.

For example: not laughing, engaging in idle talk and speaking during the recitation, apart from essential talk, in obedience to the words of Allaah, may He be exalted (interpretation of the meaning): "So, when the Qur'aan is recited, listen to it, and be silent that you may receive mercy" [al-A'raaf 7:204].

That also includes not fidgeting with one's hands and so on, for one is conversing with one's Lord, may He be glorified and exalted, so one should not fidget before Him.

That also includes not looking at things that may distract one and not letting one's mind wander.

Even worse than all of that is looking at that at which it is not permissible to look, such as beardless youths and so on. If those who are attending a gathering of Qur'aan recitation see any of these evils or any others, they should denounce it as much as possible, taking action to stop it if they can or speaking out against it if they cannot take action, otherwise let them denounce it in their hearts. And Allaah knows best. End quote.

Al-Bahooti (may Allaah have mercy on him) narrated in Kashshaaf al-Qinaa' (1/433) that Ibn ‘Aqeel (may Allaah have mercy on him) stated that it is haraam to read Qur'aan in the marketplaces where people shout to sell their wares, and he quoted him as saying: Hanbal said: Many words and actions are done as acts of obedience by the common folk, but they are regarded as sins by the scholars, such as reading Qur'aan in the marketplaces where people shout to sell their wares, and the people of the marketplace are not able to hear it, and that is a kind of disrespect. End quote.

The following question was addressed to the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas:

The specialist hospital has an excellent internal communication system which allows a person to put a caller on hold, and answer another call for a short or long period, then go back to the first caller. During this period when he is on hold, the caller can listen to some appropriate recorded material. We wanted to fill this period with some religious material, such as portions of Qur'aan or hadeeth. But because this religious material may be interrupted with talk about worldly matters which may include serious talk and joking, depending on the status and circumstances of the speakers, we thought that we should consult you first, before we introduce this religious material.

They replied:

Firstly: It is not permissible to put the caller on hold, because that causes annoyance, unless there is a reason for that, such as if the caller is behaving badly and it cannot be stopped except by cutting him off, or if some emergency arises.

Secondly: The Holy Qur'aan is the Word of Allaah, which must be respected and guarded against anything inappropriate such as mixing it with jokes before or after the recitation, or using it as entertainment or something to fill empty time, as you have mentioned. Rather one should intend to listen to it properly with the aim of worshipping Allaah and drawing closer to Him, whilst pondering its meanings and learning lessons from it, not just for entertainment and to fill time. The same applies to the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): it is not permissible to mix them with jokes and chitchat, rather we should pay attention to it and guard it against anything that is inappropriate. The aim should be to learn the rulings of sharee'ah from it and act upon it. End quote.

‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Baaz, ‘Abd al-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ghadyaan, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Qa'ood

End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah (4/84)

Undoubtedly what is going on in the chat rooms is far more serious than what is mentioned in the question put to the Committee. Hence we say: You must protect the Qur'aan from such situations, for the Qur'aan is too great to be recited alongside music; in that case it may happen that it is being recited to people who are careless and heedless, let alone those who are engaged in haraam things.

We do not advise anyone to enter these websites and programs, apart from daa'iyahs who are equipped with sufficient knowledge and insight to ward off specious arguments and who have strong faith which will help them to resist whims and desires.

People should keep themselves busy with that which will benefit them, and make use of good and decent web sites, for hearts are weak and specious arguments may have a great impact. A person may go in with the intention of offering advice, but will soon become one of those who become confused. We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound.

May Allaah help us to do that which He loves and which pleases Him.

And Allaah knows best

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