Praise be to Allah.
On our website we have previously explained that it is not permissible for a menstruating woman to touch the Mushaf during her menses, because of the hadith of ‘Amr ibn Hazm (may Allah be pleased with him) in which it says: “No one should touch the Qur’an except one who is in a state of purity.” Narrated by Maalik in al-Muwatta’ (468); classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel. For more information, please see the answer to question no. 70403.
Some scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) also included with the Mushaf which contains only the words of Allah those Mushafs that contain some footnotes and commentaries in the margin, if what they contain of Qur’an is more than what they contain of commentary or footnotes containing the words of human beings. However, if what they contain of commentary or other words of human beings is more than what they contain of Qur’an, it is permissible to touch these books without a barrier.
It says in al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah (13/98-99): According to the majority of fuqaha’ it is permissible for one who is in a state of minor impurity to touch books of tafseer, even if they contain verses of Qur’an, and to hold them and read them, even if he is in a state of janaabah. They said: That is because the purpose of tafseer is to explain the meanings of the Qur’an, not to recite it, so it does not come under the same rulings as Qur’an.
The Shafaa‘is stated clearly that this permissibility is on condition that the tafseer is more than Qur’an (in that book), because there is no element of disrespect in this case and this book is not like the Mushaf. The Hanafis had a different view and stated that it is obligatory to do wudoo’ before touching books of tafseer. End quote.
Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If something else is written alongside the Qur’anic text, then the ruling depends on whichever forms the majority of the book. It is permissible to touch books of tafseer, hadith, fiqh and essays that contain something from the Qur’an, according to the well-known view narrated from him, because such books are not Mushafs.
End quote from Sharh al-‘Umdah (1/385)
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: As for books of tafseer, it is permissible to touch them, because they are regarded as tafseer, and the verses they contain are less than the words of tafseer.
He quoted as evidence for that the fact that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) sent letters to the disbelievers in which there were verses from the Qur’an. This indicates that the ruling is based on whatever forms the majority part of the text.
But if the tafseer and Qur’an form equal parts of the text, then in that case it is a combination of something that is permissible and something that is not allowed, and neither of them is distinguished by being greater in quantity, so precedence is given to the aspect that is disallowed, and it is regarded as coming under the rulings on Qur’an.
But if the tafseer forms the greater part, even by a small margin, it is regarded as coming under the rulings on tafseer.
End quote from ash-Sharh al-Mumti‘ (1/323)
To sum up:
The tajweed Mushaf is not regarded as being something other than a Mushaf because of the presence of a few tajweed rules or the meanings of a few words, because what it contains of Qur’an is greater than other material. Hence it is not permissible for a menstruating woman, or anyone else who is in a state of impurity, to touch the colour-coded tajweed Mushaf.
And Allah knows best.
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