Question Summary:
1) Do you have to have wudu when handling a digital quran?…Can a Maazur be imam and lead namaaz?

Question Detail:

Answer :

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
1. The Noble Quran is the speech of Allah Ta’ala and is from amongst the salient signs and symbols of Allah Ta’ala. Allah Ta’ala says:
 
{ ذلك ومن يعظم شعائر الله فإنها من تقوى القلوب (32الحج) }
If one observes the sanctity of the symbols of Allah,
then such things emanate from the piety of the hearts. [22:32]
The Quran should be respected, honoured and revered. Hereunder are some etiquettes of the Quran:
1.      Keep the Quran need and tidy.
2.      Cover it with fabric cloth.
3.      Keep the Quran on a high and clean place.
4.      Do not put anything on top of the Quran even if it may be another Islamic book.
5.      Do not stretch ones legs towards the Quran.
 
Allah Ta’ala says in the Noble Quran:
 
لا يمسه إلا المطهرون (الواقعة 79)
The Quran is not touched except by the purified ones (the angels). 56:79
 
موطأ مالك - 473 -
حدثنى يحيى عن مالك عن عبد الله بن أبى بكر بن حزم. أن فى الكتاب الذى كتبه رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- لعمرو بن حزم  أن لا يمس القرآن إلا طاهر
Nabi صلى الله عليه و سلم wrote in a letter to Amr ibn Hazm “None should touch the Quran except he who is pure.”
The ruling regarding a Mushaf (textual copy of the entire Quran) is one has to have wuzu in order to touch any part of the Mushaf. If any verse of the Noble Quran is written in anything besides the Mushaf, on a slate for example, then one will only be prohibited from touching that part of the slate on which the verse is inscribed if he does not have wuzu.(Hashia ibn Abideen 1/173) A digital Quran could not be classified as a Mushaf, as it is a mere electronic storage of the Noble Quran been projected on the screen. Once the verses of the Quran appear on the screen of the digital Quran, it will not be permissible to touch the screen without wuzu. Touching other parts of the device will be permissible. The same ruling would apply for computers and other electronic devices. However, in view our responsibility to show respect to the Quran, to have wuzu when touching the digital Quran is an expression of respect for the Quran.
 
2. A ma’zoor cannot be the imam for one who is not a ma’zoor. If at the time of imamat the uzr is not accompanied with any impurity then it will be permissible for such a ma’zoor to be imam for a non ma’zoor also. If two people have the same uzr (excuse), then one could be the imam for the other. However, if the uzr is not the same, then one cannot be the imam for the other.
الدر المختار مع حاشية ابن عابدين 1/578
And Allah knows best
Wassalam
Ml. Ismail Moosa,
Student Darul Iftaa
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah