READING THE QURAN IN THE SIDE OF THE DEAD

"TEXT
The Quran is read next to the deceased until he is taken to be washed. Indeed, it is said so in Kuhistani, referring to Netfe. I say that there is no entry for “washing” in Netif. There it is only said “until he is taken to be”. Bahir sahib interpreted this as the lifting of the soul. The expressions of Zeylei and others are as follows: “It is makruh to read the Quran next to the deceased until he is washed.” Şurunbulâli explained this in his work called imdâde'l-Fettah as “This is done to remove the Quran from the filth of the deceased. Because the deceased is filthy.” According to some, the filth of the deceased is the filth of impurity, and according to others, the filth of hades (lack of ablution). According to this explanation, it should be permissible. And it would be like reading it by someone without ablution.

EXPLANATION:
In some copies it is said, "The Qur'an is not read." The correct meaning is, "it is read." Because I did not see the word "it is not read" in Kuhistani's two copies, in Netif and Bahir. If it is said, "it is not read", then there is no disagreement between Netif and Zeylai. There is no need for the commentary of Bahir as "until the soul is raised." It would have been more appropriate for the commentator to mention this issue next to the author's statement, "It is disliked to read the Qur'an in the presence of the dead," which will come shortly afterwards.

Although the commentator says, "There is no record of washing in Netif," I applied to Netf. And I saw that the expression there is as Kuhistani narrated. It seems that the expression, "until he is taken up for washing," was dropped from the Bahir Sahib's copy; the commentator followed it without referring to Netf's expression. Yes, in the commentary on Durar al-Bihar it is said, "The Qur'an is read next to the dead person until he is taken up." This is also stated in the Miraj, according to Muntaqa. However, after this statement, it is said, "But our scholars have considered it undesirable to read the Qur'an next to him after death until he is washed." Muntaqa's statement is attributed to the period before death; and it is indicated that what is meant by being taken up is the taking up of the soul. Allahu 'alem.

"According to some, the filth of a dead person is the filth of impurity." Because man is one of the bloody animals. Therefore, like other animals, he becomes dirty when he dies. This is generally the opinion of the jurists. This is more obvious. It is obvious. The owner of this opinion has found this opinion to be correct.

I say that the absolute statement of Imam Muhammad, "Water used to wash a dead body is dirty," confirms this, as does the statement of the jurists, "If a dead body falls into a well without being washed, it dirtys it."

"According to some, the filth of the dead is the filth of the hades." What Bahir said about purification confirms this. It is stated there: "According to the basic opinion, the water used for washing the dead is acceptable. Imam Muhammad definitely called this water dirty. Because most of the time, there is no solution left from dirt."

I say: However, the statement in the above-mentioned Far'i issues is contrary to this. Unless it is said that the words there are based on the public opinion. It is stated in Fath al-Qadir as follows: «In the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, it is stated: 'Subhanallah, indeed, a believer is not impure while alive or dead.' If this hadith is authentic, it is preferable to consider it impure because of hadath.» The owner of Hilya said the following: «According to the narration of Hakim from Ibn-i Abbas (ra), Ibn-i Abbas said: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: 'Do not call your dead people impure, because a Muslim is not impure while alive or dead.' Hakim said, 'This hadith is authentic according to the conditions of Bukhari and Muslim.' Therefore, the opinion that says it is impure because of hadath is preferable.

I say: It seems to me that it is possible to answer as follows: What is meant by the hadith for a Muslim not being dirty is permanent dirt. And this statement is objected to by the unbeliever. Because the dirt of the unbeliever is permanent. It does not go away even by washing. This is confirmed by the fact that if the aim was that he should absolutely not accept dirt, it would be necessary for him not to become dirty even by getting dirt from outside. However, the reality is contrary to this. Therefore, what we say is confirmed. In this case, there is no evidence in the hadith that the dirt of the deceased is meant as the dirt of the hadith. Consider this with fairness!

“And it will be like reading without ablution.” Because if it is permissible for a person without ablution to read the Quran, it would be permissible to read it in the presence of a dead person without ablution. However, it would have been more appropriate to say, “It will be like reading the Quran in the presence of a janabah.” Because the state of death necessitates washing; and it is more like janabah. So, it is not considered as janabah. It is not that this is not considered as janabah, but the following words of the jurists: “The state of a dead person is because his joints become loose and his mind goes crazy before he dies.” In that case, this state should have been limited to the limbs of ablution. However, the analogy is to wash the whole body in the state of a living person. It is because it is difficult to be satisfied with the limbs of ablution because it will be repeated every day. Janaba is not like that. Death is like janabah in terms of not repeating itself. Therefore, they acted in a similar way to the jurists in death. Because it does not recur, there is no difficulty in washing the whole body.

TENBIH: In short, if death is hades, there is no dislike in reading the Quran near the deceased. If death is filth, reading the Quran is disliked. The statement of Netif is attributed to the first opinion, and the words of Zeylai and others to the second. According to Tahtawi's explanation, dislike is when the deceased is close to the deceased. If he is far away, there is no dislike in reading the Quran.

I say: According to the apparent view, this is also when the body of the dead person is not completely covered. Because if a person prays on a piece of cloth or a mat that is on top of filth, it is not makruh according to the apparent view. The same is true for reading the Quran next to covered filth. Likewise, the makruh should be stipulated as “if it is read openly”. It is stated in the Haniyeh as follows: “It is makruh to read the Quran in places of filth such as the washing room, the toilet and the slaughterhouse. As for the bathhouse: if there is no one in it whose private parts are exposed and the bathhouse is clean, there is no harm in reading the Quran out loud. If not, there is no harm if one recites it silently. As for the tasbih and tahlil, there is no harm even if one does it out loud.” After it is stated in the Qinyeh, “There is no harm in reading the Quran while riding an animal or walking, provided that the place is not a place of filth. If it is in a place of filth, it is makruh to read it.” It has been stated that "there is no harm in performing prayers in line with the channel of filth, as long as it is not near it."

The summary of these words is as follows: If the place where it is located is made for filth, such as a toilet or a slaughterhouse, it is absolutely makruh to read the Quran there. Otherwise, if there is no filth in that place and no one whose private parts are exposed, there is absolutely no forgiveness. If these are present; if filth is close by, it is only makruh to read out loud.” (Ibn-i Abdin, Funeral section)