Fatwā

QUESTION

I have a question regarding how to dispose of parts of the Qur’ān or any islamic scripture in a manner which is not degrading? I am asking in light of the Qur’ān burning in Sweden. So, a thought came to my mind, if me or anyone has or finds part of a Qur’ān or if the Qur’ān is not in a state in which it can be used, as a muslim you obviously dont want to throw it in the bin with dirt and rubbish. How do you then, in a beautiful manner, discard it.

ANSWER

As you are well aware, pages with Quranic script upon them are not to be disposed of casually. For this reason, two methods are given to do so:

1. To burn them completely, such that only ashes remain, which are to be buried in a clean location.
2. To bury them without prior burning in a clean location (paper generally takes 2-6 weeks to decompose). This is regarded by scholars as the better method.

With regards to the Qur’ān burning in Sweden, this should not have any bearing on your desire to respectfully dispose of Quranic pages, nor on your choice of method. That being said, the burial method is widely preferred over that of burning. As for the perpetrators of this crime, it is entirely evident they share no such respect toward the Qur’ān, as they were not disposing of worn or torn pages, and instead burning perfectly intact maṣāḥif for some vindictive, and ultimately misguided reason.

والله تعالى أعلم
And Allah knows best