The legal Status of Income from Selling Copies of the Holy Quran

“I once heard abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), saying, ‘Pages (of al-Quran) can never be bought; if you buy say, ‘I buy from you the sheet and whatever is in it, like skin and decoration and the work of your hand for such and such amount.’”

“This is concerning my question before abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about buying and selling pages of al-Quran. He (the Imam) said, ‘The book of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, cannot be purchased but iron sheets and covers can be bought. One can say, ‘I buy from you such and such items for such and such amount.’”

“This is concerning my question before abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about buying pages of al- Quran and selling them. He (the Imam) said, ‘Only pages (of al-Quran) were placed near the pulpit. The passage between the wall and the pulpit was no bigger than what a sheep could pass through or a man in a sideways manner.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘A man would come and write down from the pages that were there. Thereafter they bought them.’ I then asked, ‘What do you say about it (buying).’ He (the Imam) replied, ‘I like buying more than selling.’ I then asked, ‘What do you say if I pay for writing al-Quran?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘It is not harmful but in their time that was their way of dealing.’”

“This is concerning my question before abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about the case of my selling al-Quran saying, ‘If you prohibit I stop selling.’ He (the Imam) asked, ‘Is it not the case that you buy pages and write down on them?’ I replied, ‘Yes, that is true and I put more work in it.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘It is not harmful.’”