Assalaamu alaykum. I read some of your fatwas about the ruling on leaving something with one of the names of Allaah or one of the prophets in a dirty place. I would like to know what the exact extent/definition of a dirty place is. If I have a book containing the name of Allaah, for example, can it be kept on a table if the floor near that table contains some dirt (not impurity but ordinary household dirt like food crumbs etc.)? What if the book was kept in a room that also had a bin with rubbish in it, but not near the book? Do things like dust and fibers from clothing count as dirt? I try to be very careful about this issue but it is hard to keep the house completely free of crumbs etc. May Allaah reward you.

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

We have mentioned in many fataawa that anything on which a verse, hadeeth, or any of the Names of Allaah or of His Messengers or Angels is present should be treated in a respectful manner and placed in a (clean and pure) place away from any possible disrespect in any given way; and when disposing of them, it should be done by means of shredding or burning. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {That [has been commanded], and whoever honors the sacred ordinances of Allaah - it is best for him in the sight of his Lord...} [Quran 22:30] He also says (what means): {That [is so]. And whoever honors the symbols of Allaah - indeed, it is from the piety of hearts.} [Quran 22:32]

An-Nawawi wrote, “The Muslim nation collectively agreed on the obligation of respecting the Quran in an absolute way, honoring it as due, and protecting it against any form of disrespect or abuse...” [At-Tibyaan]

The Fataawa of the Standing Committee for Scholarly Research and Fatwa reads, “The worn-out copies of the Quran and books and papers including the verses of the Quran should be properly buried in a pure place, away from the places where people normally walk or throw their trash. They may also be burned so as to preserve them from any form of disrespect or abuse following the example of ʻUthmaan .”

Ibn Hajar avowed, “The Mus-haf and all that contains sacred names such as the Names of Allaah or names of His Prophets should be duly respected, honored, and revered...”

What decides the proper place for the mus-haf is the place that is in direct contact with the mus-haf; the very place on which the mus-haf is placed. It is not necessary that the whole house must be clean and free of dust or that the area around the table on which the mus-haf is placed must be cleaned as well. However, it is disliked to put the mus-haf in a place where it would be exposed to dust. The research papers of the Council of Senior Scholars cited Ibn An-Nahhaas as he wrote:

“Chapter on the religious innovations seen in the mosques: some mosques have Quranic verses written on the walls. According to our school, this is disliked because it exposes the Quranic verses to dust. Al-Haleemi underlined in his book Al-Minhaaj that the due respect and glorification of the speech of Allaah and words of His Messenger entails wiping out the dust from the mus-haf and Sunnah books. Moreover, nothing of the household items should be placed over them out of the due respect that should be assigned to them. It is also disliked to write the Quran on any walls apart from the mosque. If this wall is normally climbed over to reach the upper floor or the like, for instance, as is the case in houses, it is rather more disliked and maybe deemed prohibited...” [Tanbeeh Al-Ghaafileen]

Allaah knows best.