[Q 339] Swaying While Reciting the Quran

Question

Is it true that swaying while reciting the Quran is a practice of the Jews, as claimed by Zaid?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الجواب بعون الملك الوهاب اللهم هداية الحق والصواب

Answer

It is common practice in our community to sway while reciting the Quran for increased alertness and to maintain energy for prolonged recitation. There is nothing wrong with this and to call it a Jewish practice is incorrect.

The detailed ruling is that it is not permissible for Muslims to adopt the ways and customs of non-Muslims or to resemble them in any manner. However, this does not mean that basic actions such as eating, drinking, walking, or moving become impermissible for Muslims.

The principle is that resembling non-Muslims is prohibited if the intent is to imitate them or if the action is specifically characteristic of that non-Muslim community.

Moreover, this prohibition is context-dependent, meaning that this prohibition applies when such an action is uniquely characteristic of a non-Muslim community in that particular time and location.

If that is not the case, it won’t be prohibited.

However, if there is something inherently objectionable with the action itself in Islamic law, then it will be prohibited.

Now to address the act of swaying while reciting the Quran, there is no inherent objection to this action in Islamic Law. Therefore, swaying while reciting the Quran is not problematic in itself.

While some scholars have mentioned that Jews sway while reciting the Torah, it is not established that swaying is exclusively representative of them such that anyone who sways is commonly understood to be a Jew.

And, even if swaying is charactersitic of Jews, the prohibition of adopting that which is uniquely representative of another religious group is context-dependent, i.e. dependent upon the time and place, as mentioned above, whereas today swaying is not uniquely characteristic of Jews and neither is a person who sways as he recites the Qur’an ever considered to be a Jew, especially in the Indian subcontinent. One reason is that as the Qur’an reciters of our region sway, they do not sway in the same manner as Jews are known for. Hence, both forms of swaying are clearly distinct. So, the swaying of Muslims as they recite the Qur’an cannot even be said to resemble that of the Jews.

However, if someone sways with the specific intent of imitating Jews or if it is recognized as a distinct sign of Jews in a particular area, then it would be prohibited.

In Al-Jami’ al-Kabir by Imam Suyuti, it is narrated that Hazrat Ali رضي اللہ عنه described the Companions رضی اللہ عنهم:

“فذكروا اللہ عزوجل مادوا كما تميد الشجر في يوم الريح”

Translation: “When they remembered Allah, they swayed as trees sway on a windy day.”

(Al-Jami’ al-Kabir by Suyuti, Section Two, Musnad Ali ibn Abi Talib, Vol. 17, Pg. 626, Hadith 4/829, Cairo)

Under this narration, Allama Abdul Ghani Nabulsi رحمة اللہ عليه explains:

قال أهل اللغة: ماد يميد إذا تحرك، ومادت الأغصان تميد تمايلت. وهذا صريح على أن الصحابة رضي اللہ عنھم كانوا يتحركون في الذكر حركة شديدة يمينا وشمالا؛ لأنه شبه حركتهم بحركة الشجر يوم الريح، ومن المعلوم أن الشجر في يوم الريح يتحرك حركة شديدة، فثبت مطلقا إباحة الميلان بهذا الأثر، بعد أن  لا يكون منهيا عنه ولم يرد عنه صلي اللہ عليه وسلم  نهي عن الحركة في الذكر

Translation: “The linguists say: ‘ماد’ means to move, and ‘مادت الأغصان’ means the branches swayed. This explicitly indicates that the Companions رضی اللہ عنھم would sway intensely right and left during Dhikr, as their movement is compared to the swaying of trees on a windy day. It is well-known that trees sway intensely in the wind. Thus, swaying is generally permissible based on this report, provided there is no specific prohibition.”

(Jam’ al-Asrar fi Man’a al-Ashrar, under the explanation of swaying during Dhikr, Pg. 27, Manuscript)

In Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit (Vol. 5, Pg. 218) & Mir’āt-ul-Zaman fi Tawarikh-il-A’yān, Sibt ibn Al-Jawziyy Al-Hanafiyy (d. 654 Hijriyy) says:

وقال الحسن: لما أنزل اللہ تعالى التوراة لم يبق على وجه الأرض حجر ولا شجر ولا جبل إلا اهتز، فليس على وجه الأرض يهودي إلا ويهتز عند قراءة التوراة

(Mir’āt-ul-Zaman, Vol. 2, Pg. 87. Dar-ul-Risalah Al-Aalimiyyah, Damascus)

In Bahr al-Raiq, it is mentioned:

التشبيه بأهل الكتاب لا يكره في كل شيء وإنا نأكل ونشرب كما يفعلون إنما الحرام هو التشبه فيما كان مذموما وفيما يقصد به التشبيه

(Bahr al-Raiq, Chapter on What Invalidates Prayer and What is Disliked in It, Vol. 2, Pg. 11, Dar al-Kitab al-Islamiyy)

Allama Ali Qari رحمۃ اللہ علیہ in Sharh al-Fiqh al-Akbar states:

“فالمدار علی الشعار”

(Sharh al-Fiqh al-Akbar by Mulla Ali Qari, Section on Resembling Non-Muslims, Pg. 342, The Uthmaniyy Publication, Istanbul)

Regarding specific symbols, Imam Ahmad Rida Khan رحمۃ اللہ عليه writes:

“However, it is necessary that that action is a specific identifier of that community in that particular time and place and isn’t shared by another community. Otherwise, it will not be considered resembling them. If the action itself is inherently condemned in Shariah, then it will be prohibited due to that reason, not because of resemblance (with non-Muslims).”

(Fatawa Ridawiyyah, Vol. 24, Pg. 533, Raza Academy)

Imam Ahmad Rida Khan also mentions regarding wearing a dhoti (an unstitched cloth wrapped around the lower part of the body):

“Muslims who wear dhotis do not intend to resemble disbelievers. There is no inherent objection with wearing a dhoti in Islamic Law. Thus, the two reasons for prohibition are not present. Regarding it being a specific symbol of disbelievers, that is also false. In regions like Bengal, it is a common dress for all residents, both Hindu and Muslim. Similarly, in Indian villages, it is a common dress for both Muslims and non-Muslims. If Muslims there consider it to specifically be a dress of disbelievers, then it must be avoided.”

(Fatawa Ridawiyyah, Vol. 24, Pg. 535-536, Raza Academy)

Note (1): In places where swaying is specifically associated with Jews, to sway there in the manner of Jews will be spoken against.

Allama Athir al-Din Andalusi Gharnāti رحمة اللہ عليه (d. 745 AH) states in Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit:

أما في بلادنا بالأندلس والغرب فلو تحرّك صغير عند قراءة القرآن أدبه مؤدب المكتب وقال له لا تتحرك فتشبه اليهود في الدراسة

Translation: “In our regions of Andalus and the West, if a child moves while reciting the Quran, the teacher disciplines him, saying, ‘Do not move, lest you resemble the Jews in their study.'”

(Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit, Surah Al-A’raf, Vol. 5, Pg. 218, Beirut)

Note (2): Sometimes, the reciter of the Quran may experience an overwhelming spiritual state due to the miraculous nature of the Quran. This ecstasy can cause the body to shiver or move. This is a characteristic of the Awliya’.

Allah Almighty says:

اَللّٰهُ نَزَّلَ اَحْسَنَ الْحَدِیْثِ كِتٰبًا مُّتَشَابِهًا مَّثَانِیَ تَقْشَعِرُّ مِنْهُ جُلُوْدُ الَّذِیْنَ یَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ ۚ ثُمَّ تَلِیْنُ جُلُوْدُهُمْ وَ قُلُوْبُهُمْ اِلٰى ذِكْرِ اللّٰهِ

Translation from Kanz-ul-Irfan: “Allah sent down the best Book, similar and repeatedly recited; [1] the skins of those who fear their Lord tremble due to it. Then their skins and their hearts soften for the remembrance of Allah.”

(Quran 39:23)

Answered by: Mufti Sajid Attari

Translated Answer

Date: 16th July 2024