Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu. Can I take Hisn-ul-Muslim, the Quran, and Islamic books in my school bag? We keep the bags on the floor and sit in our chairs. So the Quran and other books are thus disrespected. What can I do? The desk is very small, and the compartment under the desk is very dirty. Can I keep them in the bag?

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger. 

There is no harm in putting the Quran and Islamic books containing supplications and the like in the bag and putting the bag on the floor while you sit on a chair as long as it is not done out of disrespect for them. The statements of the Shaafi‘i scholars in this regard indicate that this is not disliked as long as no disrespect or abuse is intended. They stated that this is permissible with regard to the Quran, so the ruling applies to Islamic books with greater reason.

Haashiyat Qalyoobi reads, “It is allowable to do what does not imply disrespect, such as spitting on the board (on which Quran is written) to clean it because this helps in learning, stretching out one's legs with the Quran in the same room, or turn one’s back to it while sleeping or sitting provided that no disrespect of abuse are intended. The same also applies to placing the Quran on a shelf inside a closet and placing something like a comb on a higher shelf...”

Allah knows best.