Is It Permissible to Wear a Backpack With Religious Books or the Quran in It?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Question: Assalam alaykum
Is it bad adab to wear a backpack with religious books or the Quran in it? (my back is then facing the books…)
Answer: Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,
No, it is not poor etiquette (adab) to place religious books or a copy of the Qur’an into a bag which is held behind your back.
However, this also wouldn’t be the best etiquette with regards to carrying the Qur’an, as Shaykh Ali Hani noted when I asked him this question.
Allah Most High says, “And whosoever venerates God’s waymarks, that is of the godliness of the hearts.” [22:32]
Often, the jurists (fuqaha) would permit [without dislike] a number of ways of carrying the Qur’an which would ordinarily seem unbecoming. This was primarily due to the need found in doing so, and in cases of legitimate excuses.
Hence, similarly here, as long as the person maintains respect for the mushaf and carries it in this way for ease or convenience, or to keep it safe, dry and the like, it would be permissible.
[al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya; Tahtawi, Hashiyat al-Tahtawi `ala Maraqi al-Falah (1.206/212)]
Consider taking the following free course: Living the Quran: Ghazali’s Manners of Qur’an Recital with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Please also see: Ghazali on the Inner Manners of Qur’an Recital and: Why is There so much Concern with ‘Manners’ (Adab) in Islam? and:
Carrying a Small Copy of the Qur’an and:Etiquette of Reading and Handling the Qur’an
And Allah Most High alone knows best.
wassalam,
[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorised the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.
