Can I listen to Quran while working?
Can I listen to the Quran while I’m working in my office? I want to listen as much as possible but I’m concerned that it might be disrespect to the words of Allah (swt)?
Ayah states that Quran should be listened with “attention” and “silence”
“When the Qur'an is read, listen to it with attention, and hold your peace: that ye may receive Mercy.” (Surah al A’raf, 204)
According to the Hanafi School of Thought, it is fard al-kifaya (Sufficiency duty) to listen to the Quran if it is recited by another person loudly. However, when it is recited on electronic devices like television, radio, computer etc. there is no harm in listening to it while working. This issue is explained by Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır in the interpretation of the 204th verse of Surah al A’raf in his Tafseer:
As silent recitation of a book cannot be called as “qiraat”, listening to resonating or playing sound is not considered as listening to “qiraat” either but listening to an “echo”. In that case, the sound of a radio or a gramophone conveying the voice of a Quran recitation is not called “qiraat”. Such sounds are not qiraat but echos of a qiraat. The Quran recitation which is fard to be listened in silence is the sound of the Quran that is read by a person (present) but not the sound played in a gramophone.
However, even though it is not fard to listen to a Quran recitation played in a radio or a gramophone, it is not permissible to disrespect it either. It is thawab to listen to the holy Quran no matter where it is recited. (Haq Dini Quran Dili, the Quran Tafseer of Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır)
So, it is allowed to listen to the Quran while working or performing other activities. And it is surely more proper to try to pay attention to the recitation as much as possible.