The Permissibility of Reciting the Qurʾān Lying Down

*Salaamun 'alaykum wa rahmat-ul-lahi wa barakātuh* 

```The Permissibility of Reciting the Qurʾān Lying Down

| Al-ʿAllāmah Sāliḥ al-Fawzān |```

*Evidence in favour of it being permissible to recite the Quran in any position, so long as a person is not in a state of janābah.*

_In the name of Allaah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) ._

*[Q]: Is it permissible to recite the Qurʾān whilst lying down in bed ?* Otherwise, what is the correct interpretation of the noble āyah:

الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ

*“Those who remember Allāh (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides…”*

(Āl-ʿImrān, 3:191)

*[A]: There is nothing wrong with reciting the Qurʾān whilst lying down, whether on a bed or the ground. If one is reciting from memory, he may do so in whatever state he may be: standing, sitting or lying down, regardless of his state of wuḍūʾ.*

 *However, if one is reciting from the muṣḥaf, it is impermissible for anyone in a state of minor impurity to touch the muṣḥaf until he performs wuḍūʾ.*

*In summary, reciting the Qurʾān is permissible regardless of one’s physical state so long as he is not in a state of janābah [sexual impurity]. If one is in a state of janābah, it is not permissible for him to recite the Qurʾān until he performs the ghusl (ritual bath).*

*Likewise, it is impermissible for any woman experiencing either menstruation or postpartum bleeding to recite the Qurʾān, except in cases of necessity; for example, if she fears forgetting memorised portions of it.1*

📚 Endnotes:

[1] Translator’s note: Ibn Abī Shaybah authentically reports in his Muṣannaf: 8569 that ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها) said: *“Indeed, I recite my daily portion of the Qurʾān, or the majority of it, whilst lying in my bed.”*

📚 Source: Silsilat al-Muntaqá min Fatāwá Ṣāliḥ al-Fawzān: al-Qurʾān al-Karīm: 8.

*May Allaah accept our ibaadat and forgive our shortcomings.*

_❞Keep Reminding, for Indeed the ʀᴇᴍɪɴᴅᴇʀ ʙᴇɴᴇꜰɪᴛs ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇʟɪᴇᴠᴇʀ ❝_

*Allaahu l-Musta'aan*