One of my cousins told me that he subscribes to an Urdu newspaper. On Fridays and festivals, the newspaper has a supplement on religion which carries articles along with photos of the Kaaba, Masjid-e-Nabavi, and Quranic verses in Arabic. The newspaper boy throws this paper in his compound, and it worries him that there is always a possibility of somebody trampling it under the feet. Such newspapers may later end up in the dustbin or may be sold to the raddiwalah (scrap dealer). We have seen newspapers used for packing and other purposes end up in the garbage. Why expose the sacred texts to such impiety?
Twice I wrote to the newspaper’s editor to stop publishing verses of the Qur’an in Arabic and photos of holy places, but there was no response. Therefore, before handing over the old accumulated newspapers to the raddiwalah, I take out the pages on religious matters and keep them apart along with the Ramzan fast timings, Urdu calendars, and marriage invitations: all containing sacred texts or photos. But how to dispose of these things without forsaking reverence to their holiness is the question.
MUSHAF
Muslims believe that the Qur’an contains the exact words of Allah. In the Islamic tradition, it is the Arabic text of the Qur’an that is considered as sacred original scripture and has to be treated with due respect. Therefore, the written copy or book of the Qur’an, which is called Mushaf in Arabic, has to be treated with much reverence. But it happens that the Qur’an stored in the house or mosque becomes old, gets faded or torn, and its binding may come off, resulting in loose sheets. These cannot be just thrown into the trash like other things and have to be disposed of with veneration.
The South African monthly magazine Al-Ummah carried an article captioned “Respectable means of Qur’an disposal now available” (February 2008) about a farmer from Durban named Baker Vahid. Baker Vahid was convinced that Muslims in the area did not treat their old, worn-out copies of the Qur’an with due respect. Therefore, he started collecting such copies along with other Qur’anic material and respectfully buried them in his own farm land. Later, he started taking care of old newspapers and pamphlets that contained extracts from the Qur’an in Arabic to dispose of them in the same manner. This is an example of reverence for the holy texts.
Islamic teachings suggest five ways of disposing of Mushaf and other sacred texts.
BURYING
This is the most preferred method of disposing of the Qur’ans, which are no longer in use, and also the other holy documents. They have to be wrapped in a cloth to protect them from the soil and buried in a deep hole in a place where people normally do not walk. A Khabrastan (Muslim burial ground) best fulfills this requirement.
In Judaism, when a Torah becomes worn out, it is reverently buried. Jewish cemeteries often have special graves for sacred texts. They also place the sacred texts in a dedicated room called “Geniza”. When the Bible becomes worn out and is no longer in use, most Christians bury it. Sacred texts, across all religions, are disposed of with sanctity and respect.
DROPPING IN A RIVER
The torn and damaged pages of the Qur’an and other holy documents can be immersed in a river with flowing water, preferably tied to a heavy object like a stone. This is possible only for people who live in the proximity of a river. This method should not be resorted to if there are local restrictions on dropping books/papers in the river.
STORAGE
Some people keep the disused Qur’an in permanent storage instead of disposing it of. In some places in Pakistan, wrapped Qur’ans are often stored in caves. In many Muslim countries, ancient Qur’ans have been discovered while renovating mosques, indicating that they were not destroyed but stored.
BURNING
Most Islamic scholars agree that burning old copies of the Qur’an in a clean and isolated place and in a respectful manner is permissible as a last choice. Care should be taken that the burning should be complete and no word is left legible. Some people who have a fireplace at home take out individual pages from the old Qur’an and burn them in the fireplace. The justification for burning the mutilated copies of the Qur’an comes from the following precedent: Caliph Hazrath Usman bin Affan (Raziullahu anhu), after getting the official version of the Qur’an prepared and its copies made, got the old and non-conforming Qur’ans burnt respectfully.
SHREDDING
Shredding is the modern way of disposing of the sacred texts. By shredding, the letters are shredded finely and the text becomes unreadable. It is also recommended that the shredded pieces of paper be buried or dropped in flowing water. Qazi Minhaj Azher, a social activist, suggests that people should buy a portable Shredder to dispose of sacred papers, calendars, and invitation cards, and after shredding, they should be disposed of with other recycling materials. Another alternative suggested by Mr. Minhaj deserves serious consideration. He suggests that the Masajid should provide the facility of shredding. The Masajid should keep a bin for collecting paper material with religious inscriptions and photos on a fixed day of the week or month. The Mosque management should arrange to shred the collected material weekly, fortnightly, or monthly and thereafter dispose of the same either in a shredded form or in a dried pulp form.
Mr. Minhaj believes that this concern for the correct disposal of Qur’anic texts is genuine and valid. Finding a solution to it will surely reduce the guilt of disposing of the religious inscriptions printed on paper inappropriately, he adds.
Paper and ink will perish, but the word of Allah lives forever.
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