The Ruling on Worn-Out Books

Question

It is stated in “ad-Durr al-Mukhtar” that if books become old and are no longer fit for use, the Names of Allah, Exalted is His Majesty, and the names of the prophets and angels are to be erased, and the remainder burned; while in “ash-Shami” it is written regarding a Noble Qur’an unfit for recitation: “it is not burned, and this is what we act upon” (lā yuḥraq wa-bihi na’khudh). So if the narration that Hazrat ‘Uthman ﵁ burned [copies of] the Qur’an is authentic (sahih)

Answer

In “Sharh al-Siyar al-Kabir”, p. 277, vol. 2, regarding this matter attributed to Hazrat ‘Uthman ﵁, it is written: “it can hardly be considered sound” and “this hadith has no [sound] basis” — end of quote. However, this account is mentioned in Sahih al-Bukhari, so in terms of the chain of transmission (isnad) it is difficult to call it baseless.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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