Is it permissible to read Quran while a women is having mensus (periods)?
Praise be to Allaah.
This is one of the issues on which the scholars, may Allaah have mercy
on them, differed.
The majority of fuqahaa' say that it is haraam for a woman to recite
Qur'aan during her period, until she is taahir (pure) again. The only
exceptions they make is in the case of dhikr (remembrance of Allaah)
and phrases that are not intended as tilaawah (recitation), such as
saying "Bismillaahi'r-Rahmaani'r-Raheem" or "Innaa Lillaahi wa innaa
ilayhi raaji'oon", or other phrases from the Qur'aan which are
repeated as general du'aa's.
They base their evidence for forbidding menstruating women to recite
Qur'aan on several things, including the following:
Menstruation is seen as coming under the rulings that apply to one who
is junub (in a state of impurity following sexual intercourse),
because both states require ghusl. This is based on the hadeeth
narrated by 'Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah be pleased with him),
according to which the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) used to teach the Qur'aan and he never prevented
anyone from learning it except those who were in a state of janaabah
(impurity)." (Reported by Abu Dawood, 1/281; al-Tirmidhi, 146;
al-Nisaa'i, 1/144; Ibn Maajah, 1/207; Ahmad, 1/84; Ibn Khuzaymah [??],
1/104. Al-Tirmidhi said: a saheeh hasan hadeeth. Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar
said: the truth is that it is the type of hasan hadeeth that could be
used as evidence).
The hadeeth of Ibn 'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both),
according to which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: "The menstruating woman and the one who is in a state of
impurity (janaabah) should not recite anything of the Qur'aan."
(Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 131; Ibn Maajah, 595; al-Daaraqutni (1/117);
al-Bayhaqi, 1/89. This is a da'eef hadeeth, because it was reported by
Ismaa'eel ibn 'Ayyaash from the Hijaazis, and his reports from them
are da'eef as is well known to those who are conversant with the study
of hadeeth. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said (21/460): it is a da'eef
hadeeth by the unanimous agreement of the scholars of hadeeth. SeeNasb
al-Raayah, 1/195;al-Talkhees al-Habeer, 1/183).
Some scholars say that it is permitted for a menstruating woman to
recite Qur'aan. This is the opinion of Maalik, and one opinion
narrated from Ahmad, which Ibn Taymiyah preferred and which
al-Shawkaani believed to be correct. The scholars based the following
points on this opinion:
The principle is that things are allowed and permitted unless there is
evidence to the contrary. There is no such evidence to say that a
menstruating woman is not allowed to recite Qur'aan. Shaykh al-Islam
Ibn Taymiyah said: "There is no clear, saheeh text to indicate that a
menstruating woman is forbidden to recite Qur'aan... It is known that
women used to menstruate at the time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and he did not forbid them to
recite Qur'aan, or to remember Allaah (dhikr) and offer du'aa'."
Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, commands (Muslims) to recite
Qur'aan. He praises the one who does so, and promises him (or her) a
great reward. No one is excluded from this except the one concerning
whom there is solid evidence (daleel), and there is no such evidence
in the case of menstruating women, as stated above.
The analogy between the menstruating woman and the one who is in a
state of janaabah is made despite the fact that there are differences
between them. The one who is in a state of janaabah has the option of
removing the "barrier" by making ghusl, unlike the menstruating woman.
A woman's period usually lasts for some length of time, whereas the
person who is in a state of janaabah is required to do ghusl when the
time for prayer comes.
Preventing a menstruating woman from reciting Qur'aan deprives her of
the chance to earn reward, and it may make her forget something of the
Qur'aan, or she may need to recite it for the purposes of teaching or
learning.
From the above, it is clear that the evidence of those who allow a
menstruating woman to recite Qur'aan is stronger. If a woman wants to
err on the side of caution, she can limit her recitation to the
passages which she is afraid of forgetting.
It is very important to note that what we have been discussing here is
restricted to what a menstruating woman recites from memory. When it
comes to reading from the Mus-haf (the Arabic text itself), a
different rule applies. The correct view of the scholars is that it is
forbidden to touch the mus-haf when one is in any kind of state of
impurity, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):"... which
none can touch except the purified." [al-Waaqi'ah 56:79]. In a letter
to 'Amr ibn Hazm, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) told the people of Yemen: "No one should touch the Qur'aan except
one who is taahir (pure)." (Reported by Maalik, 1/199; al-Nisaa'i,
8/57; Ibn Hibbaan, 793; al-Bayhaqi, 1/87. Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said: A
group of scholars classed this hadeeth as saheeh because it is so well
known. Al-Shaafi'i said: It is proven by them that it was a letter
sent by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him). Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said: "This letter is famous among the scholars
of seerah, and is so well known among the scholars that it does not
need an isnaad. It is like tawaatur because the people accepted and
recognized it. Shaykh al-Albani said that its is saheeh.Al-Talkhees
al-Habeer, 4/17. See also:Nasb al-Raayah, 1/196;Irwaa' al-Ghaleel,
1/158).
(Haashiyat Ibn 'Aabideen, 1/159;al-Majmoo', 1/356;Kashshaaf al-Qinaa',
1/147;al-Mughni, 3/461;Nayl al-Awtaar, 1/226;Majmoo' al-Fataawaa,
21/460;al-Sharh al-Mumti' li'l-Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen, 1/291)
And Allaah knows best.