Playing Qur’aan in the audio chat room in which there is music

This action is not
something that is prescribed in sharee’ah, and it may cause people to be put
off Qur’aan and not respect it, and they may want to stop the recitation, in
addition to the fact that they will be busy with other things and will not
pay attention to it. That may also be accompanied by other evil actions. 

The one who wants to offer
advice should enter the chat room and explain the shar’i ruling on music and
images; it is not sufficient to recite Qur’aan or play a recording. 

Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said in al-Tibyaan fi Adaab Hamalat al-Qur’aan
(p. 92): What should be paid attention to and is showing respect to the
Qur’aan and avoiding matters that some negligent reciters do not pay
attention to. 

For example: not laughing,
engaging in idle talk and speaking during the recitation, apart from
essential talk, in obedience to the words of Allaah, may He be exalted
(interpretation of the meaning): “So, when the Qur’aan is recited, listen
to it, and be silent that you may receive mercy” [al-A’raaf 7:204].  

That also includes not
fidgeting with one’s hands and so on, for one is conversing with one’s Lord,
may He be glorified and exalted, so one should not fidget before Him. 

That also includes not
looking at things that may distract one and not letting one’s mind wander. 

Even worse than all of that
is looking at that at which it is not permissible to look, such as beardless
youths and so on. If those who are attending a gathering of Qur’aan
recitation see any of these evils or any others, they should denounce it as
much as possible, taking action to stop it if they can or speaking out
against it if they cannot take action, otherwise let them denounce it in
their hearts. And Allaah knows best. End quote. 

Al-Bahooti (may Allaah have
mercy on him) narrated in Kashshaaf al-Qinaa’ (1/433) that Ibn ‘Aqeel
(may Allaah have mercy on him) stated that it is haraam to read Qur’aan in
the marketplaces where people shout to sell their wares, and he quoted him
as saying: Hanbal said: Many words and actions are done as acts of obedience
by the common folk, but they are regarded as sins by the scholars, such as
reading Qur’aan in the marketplaces where people shout to sell their wares,
and the people of the marketplace are not able to hear it, and that is a
kind of disrespect. End quote.  

The following question was
addressed to the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas: 

The specialist hospital has
an excellent internal communication system which allows a person to put a
caller on hold, and answer another call for a short or long period, then go
back to the first caller. During this period when he is on hold, the caller
can listen to some appropriate recorded material. We wanted to fill this
period with some religious material, such as portions of Qur’aan or hadeeth.
But because this religious material may be interrupted with talk about
worldly matters which may include serious talk and joking, depending on the
status and circumstances of the speakers, we thought that we should consult
you first, before we introduce this religious material. 

They replied: 

Firstly: It is not
permissible to put the caller on hold, because that causes annoyance, unless
there is a reason for that, such as if the caller is behaving badly and it
cannot be stopped except by cutting him off, or if some emergency arises. 

Secondly: The Holy Qur’aan
is the Word of Allaah, which must be respected and guarded against anything
inappropriate such as mixing it with jokes before or after the recitation,
or using it as entertainment or something to fill empty time, as you have
mentioned. Rather one should intend to listen to it properly with the aim of
worshipping Allaah and drawing closer to Him, whilst pondering its meanings
and learning lessons from it, not just for entertainment and to fill time.
The same applies to the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him): it is not permissible to mix them with jokes and
chitchat, rather we should pay attention to it and guard it against anything
that is inappropriate. The aim should be to learn the rulings of sharee’ah
from it and act upon it. End quote. 

‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn
‘Abd-Allaah ibn Baaz, ‘Abd al-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ghadyaan,
‘Abd-Allaah ibn Qa’ood 

End quote from Fataawa
al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (4/84) 

Undoubtedly what is going
on in the chat rooms is far more serious than what is mentioned in the
question put to the Committee. Hence we say: You must protect the Qur’aan
from such situations, for the Qur’aan is too great to be recited alongside
music; in that case it may happen that it is being recited to people who are
careless and heedless, let alone those who are engaged in haraam things. 

We do not advise anyone to
enter these websites and programs, apart from daa’iyahs who are equipped
with sufficient knowledge and insight to ward off specious arguments and who
have strong faith which will help them to resist whims and desires. 

People should keep
themselves busy with that which will benefit them, and make use of good and
decent web sites, for hearts are weak and specious arguments may have a
great impact. A person may go in with the intention of offering advice, but
will soon become one of those who become confused. We ask Allaah to keep us
safe and sound. 

May Allaah help us to do
that which He loves and which pleases Him. 

And Allaah knows best.