Ethical Disposal of Mashaf Al-Quran Damaged by Flood Disaster in Malaysia

Abstract

Flood disasters occur frequently in Malaysia, either unexpectedly or in stages, depending on the scale of river water level readings. This phenomenon had a severe impact on ecosystems and public settlements, resulting in increased losses and property damage. The post-flood situation this time revealed a bad situation with all the trash, property, vehicles, and especially the mashaf of the Quran and religious books that also drifted as a result of the flood. Therefore, this damaged mashaf must be disposed of as soon as possible. However, some parties attempt to dispose of the property without the supervision of the authorities. In fact, some people simply toss it in the garbage. Such possession is regarded as disrespectful to the holy words of the Quran and may result in insults to Allah's words. The purpose of this article is to discuss the methods and procedure of disposing Quranic text, according to the Islamic perspective and its management of disposal in the aftermath of the flood. Research methodology is through method of interview with the Mufti (an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion (fatwa) on a point of Islamic law) and Islamic religious department officers, also observation at a disposal centre at Bukit Beruntung. Research data was descriptively analyzed. Research results demonstrates that the disposal process of mashaf al-Quran applied two methods, namely burning and burying to save time and space for stacking and overcome problems in disposal. However, according to the study's findings, damaged Quran mashaf must be disposed of by a licenced authority body under the supervision of the State Islamic Religious Department. Furthermore, the mashaf of the Quran and wet Islamic publications must be dried before burning so that the material can be burned faster until it becomes fine ash. The Quran's ashes will then be dumped into flowing areas, such as the sea.