Putting things on top of religious books

Praise be to Allah.

There is nothing wrong with putting religious books on top of one another, but they should not be placed on top of the Mushaf.

Al-Hakim at-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Because of the sanctity of the Mushaf, if it is placed on a shelf it should not be left open, and no other books should be put on top of it, so that it will always be above other books."(Nawadir al-Usul 3/254).

Other books should not be placed on top of religious books, such as educational books or others. Also, other things – such as vessels, clothes, food and so on –should not be placed on top of them, out of respect for what they contain of mention of Allah and Islamic sciences.

Al-Haytami (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Al-Bayhaqi – like al- Halimi – said: The best is not to put anything on top of the Mushaf except another Mushaf, such as a book or garment. Al-Halimi added to that: books of hadith from the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)."(Al-Fatawa al-Hadithiyyah  p. 164).

The ruling could become a prohibition if that is indicative of disrespect or mistreatment of religious books.

Ibn Muflih (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Ibn ‘Abd al-Qawiy said in his book Majma‘ al-Bahrayn: It is haram to lean on the Mushaf and on books of hadith and anything that contains some Qur’an, according to scholarly consensus."(Al-Adab ash-Shar‘iyyah  2/393).

For more information, please see the answer to question no. 222344 .

And Allah knows best.