By Mawlana Abu Asim Badrul Islam
During the blessed month of Ramaḍān, it is observed in many masājid[1] that some of those who pray behind the imām hold the muṣḥaf[2] in their hands. They do this in order to follow the recitation of the imām. With the global transmission today of live footage of the beautiful and mesmerising tarāwīḥ prayers from Al-Masjid al-Ḥarām in Makkah and Al-Masjid al-Nabawī in Madīnah most Muslims in the developed countries are aware of such following of recitation during the congregational prayers. In imitation there are now Muslims here in the western world who also hold the muṣḥaf in their hands during ṣalāh. This normally involves holding the muṣḥaf with one hand and turning the pages with the other, during ṣalāh. When such a person goes down to prostration, he normally places the muṣḥaf on the ground. There are several ills in this practice, some of which are obvious. This paper will seek to analyse the permissibility or otherwise of the practice of holding the muṣḥaf during ṣalāh from the perspective of the ḥanafī school of sacred law.