Decorating the Qur'an in Gold

We see many times that the Qur’ān is decorated in gold or even written in gold. According to the Ahl al-Bayt (عليهم السلام) this is incorrect, and they do not like that the Qur’ān be decorated in gold.  Here is a Muwaththaq (Reliable) ḥadīth that a man asked Imām al-Sādiq (عليه السلام) about decorated the Qur’ān in gold, the Imām (عليه السلام) said this is incorrect.

The second ḥadīth that is found in al-Kulaynī’s al-Kāfī says the Imām (عليه السلام) did not object to a Qur’ān being decorated in gold, he (عليه السلام) only objected to the Qur’ān being written in gold. This ḥadīth is da`īf (weak), because the primary narrator (Muhammad bin al-Warrāq) from the Imām in red is majhūl (uknown).

مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْحَسَنِ بِإِسْنَادِهِ عَنِ الْحُسَيْنِ بْنِ سَعِيدٍ عَنْ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ عِيسَى عَنْ سَمَاعَةَ قَالَ سَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ رَجُلٍ يُعَشِّرُ الْمَصَاحِفَ بِالذَّهَبِ فَقَالَ لَا يَصْلُحُ فَقَالَ إِنَّهُ مَعِيشَتِي فَقَالَ إِنَّكَ إِنْ تَرَكْتَهُ لِلَّهِ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَكَ مَخْرَجاً

From Samā`ah said I asked him (عليه السلام) about a man decorating the masāḥif (The Qur’ān) with gold? So he (عليه السلام) said: ‘This is not correct.’ So he (the man) said: ‘That is my livelihood.’ So he (عليه السلام) said: ‘If you abandon it for (the sake) of Allāh, Allāh will make for you an escape (way out)’

Source:

1. Al-Tūsī, Tahdhīb al-Aḥkām, 10 vols., (Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah, 4^th Edition, 1407 AH), vol. 6, pg. 366, hadeeth # 176

Grading:

1. Al-Majlisī said this hadeeth is Muwaththaq (Reliable)à Milādh al-Akhyār, 16 vols., (Qum: Maktabah Ayatollah al-Mar`ashī al-Najafī, 1406 AH), vol. 10, pg. 361

عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ صَفْوَانَ عَنِ ابْنِ مُسْكَانَ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْوَرَّاقِ قَالَ عَرَضْتُ عَلَى أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ع كِتَاباً فِيهِ قُرْآنٌ مُخَتَّمٌ مُعَشَّرٌ بِالذَّهَبِ وَ كُتِبَ فِي آخِرِهِ سُورَةٌ بِالذَّهَبِ فَأَرَيْتُهُ إِيَّاهُ فَلَمْ يَعِبْ فِيهِ شَيْئاً إِلَّا كِتَابَةَ الْقُرْآنِ بِالذَّهَبِ وَ قَالَ لَا يُعْجِبُنِي أَنْ يُكْتَبَ الْقُرْآنُ إِلَّا بِالسَّوَادِ كَمَا كُتِبَ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ

From Muhammad bin al-Warrāq said, I presented a Qur’ān to Abī `Abd Allāh (عليه السلام) that was decorated with gold and the final chapters were written in gold. So I showed it to him, and he did not criticize anything in it, except the writing of the Qur’ān in gold. So he (عليه السلام) said: “I am not pleased that the Qur’ān is written in (anything) except in black, like it was written the first time”

Source:

1. Al-Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, ed. `Alī Akbar al-Ghaffārī, 8 vols., (Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah, 3^rd Edition, 1388 AH), vol. 2, pg. 629, hadeeth # 8

Grading:

1. Al-Majlisī said this hadeeth is Majhūl (Unknown)à Mir’āt Al-`Uqūl, 26 vols., (Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah, 1410 AH), vol. 12, pg. 519