The Prohibition of hanging verses from the Quran and taking it as calligraphy
Explained by Shaykh Uthaymeen
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I want to warn against two affairs which are connected to the Noble Quran. One of them being: Many people hang the noble verses (from the Quran); they hang them on the walls in places throughout their homes. This hanging (of the verses) is considered an innovation that did not appear among the Companions or from those who followed them in goodness. And I do not know why they hang these verses.
Do they hang them in an effort to exalt the Quran? (If this is the case) then they are not more diligent in exalting the Quran than the Companions of the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم, and those that followed them in goodness; and it has not been narrated that they used to hang the verses of the Quran.
Do they hang these verses to repel from themselves evil? (If this is the case) then this is not the means by which to repel evil from them. Rather the method is for the individual to recite what has appeared in the Sunnah to repel evil. He reads that with his tongue. As the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
Whoever recites Ayatul Kursi during the night, there will continue to be for him a protector from Allah, and no devil will come near him until the morning.
And it is the statement of the Exalted:
Allah! La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists. Neither slumber, nor sleep overtakes Him. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on earth. Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His Permission? He knows what happens to them (His creatures) in this world, and what will happen to them in the Hereafter. And they will never compass anything of His Knowledge except that which He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.
Thus hanging this verse or any other verse will not avail them at all.
Or do they want to seek blessings by hanging the Quran upon the wall? (If this is the case) then seeking blessing with the Quran in this manner is not legislated, rather this is an innovated matter. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
Every innovation is misguidance.
Or do they want from that, for the person to remember the Quran when he raises he head towards it? But it you apply this affair to what really occurs you will find this has no effect. This is because in the gathering—all of them—you do not see anyone from those seated raising his head to recite this verse or (raising his head) so that he may reflect upon what it contains from the rulings and reports.
And the Salafi, may Allah be pleased with them, differed concerning the issue: Is it permissible for a sick person with a mental illness or a physical illness to hang something written from the Quran upon himself or not.
And the correct answer is that it is not permissible for a person to hang something on his chest or to place something beneath his pillow, from the verses of the Quran in an effort to be cured by way of it; because this method has not been narrated from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.
Or do those who hang these noble verses aimlessly for décor? For verily it is not befitting that the Quran is taking without purpose and for décor, becoming merely a decoration. Verily the Quran has a loftier and greater status than to be taken as beautification and to decorate the walls.
For that reason I call upon all of our brothers who have hung it to remove it because all of the possibilities you have heard show that hanging (the verses) is something which is not befitting.
As for the second affair which I want to bring caution too specifically; it is the calligraphers, those who draw for the people on paper or other than that. They take from the noble verses and draw them in fonts other than the Uthmani script. They make these fonts according to the specialty of the texts. Such that I have heard that when some of them want to write the statement of the Exalted:
يُكَوِّرُ اللَّيْلَ عَلَى النَّهَارِ وَيُكَوِّرُ النَّهَارَ عَلَى اللَّيْلِ
He wraps the night over the day and wraps the day over the night (Soorah Az Zummar 39:5)
So he will write the letter wāw (الواو) as though it is wrapped. Thus he wants to sketch the Quran according to what the meaning indicates. And this is no doubt impermissible. For it is not befitting to draw the words of the noble Quran as shapes to indicate the genius of the calligrapher, or to attract the eyes by way of its inscription; because the Quran is not intended for decorations and art. And whoever has any of that then it is upon him to burn it and efface it, such that the verses of Allah are not taken as jest. And the scholars—may Allah have mercy upon them—have differed concerning the issue: Is it permissible to write the Quran in other than the Uthmani script, even for the children. The scholars differ, having different three statements concerning this issue.
But as for writing it with this type of inscription, then there is no doubt that it is not permissible. Therefore it is upon us O brothers to honor the Book of Allah and glorify it, and to utilize it for what it was sent down for; to serve as an admonition and a healing for what is in the hearts, and a guidance and mercy for the believers. Listen to the wisdom for it being sent down, which is found in the statement of the Exalted:
(This is) a Book (the Quran) which We have sent down to you, full of blessings that they may ponder over its Verses, and that men of understanding may remember. (Soorah Sad 38:29)
It was not sent down to be hung on the walls, and it was not sent down in order to use it as calligraphy. And there is another warning against hanging it on the walls, which I do not believe anyone can avoid. These gathering which have something from the Quran in the places of impermissible vain speech; perhaps backbiting will be heard there, perhaps lying and insulting will be heard there, and perhaps impermissible acts will be performed there. Thus this will be an act of mockery with the Book of Allah, because the verse will be above the heads of those present while the disobey Allah the Exalted in front of the verses from the Book of Allah.
Translated by Rasheed ibn Estes Barbee
http://mtws.posthaven.com/the-prohibition-of-hanging-verses-from-the-quran-and-taking-it-as-calligraphy
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