Is it allowed to sell school notebooks and books that cannot be benefitted from?

Is It Allowed To Sell School Notebooks And Books That Cannot Be Benefitted From?

Darulifta Ahlesunnat

(Dawateislami)

Question

  What have respected Islamic scholars and Muftis ruled on the following issue? Is it allowed to sell children’s school notebooks and books that are no longer needed? Should these things be burnt? And, what is the ruling on the papers that have Arabic writings on them?

بِسْمِ اللہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ

اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ

  Cut away the portions that contain the verses of Quran, Ahadees, rulings related to Islamic jurisprudence and the blessed names of Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ, angels and Prophets from papers that have Arabic writings on them and also from school notebooks and books which cannot be benefitted from. Now the rest can be sold. Otherwise, pack these notebooks and books into a bag, etc. Then tie a heavy stone to the bag and put the bag into the deep water of the river or the sea so that it will go down the depth of the sea. This bag should not float over the water and should not reach the place where there is a risk of the sacred papers being desecrated [i.e. disrespected]. The best way is to wrap them into some pure piece of cloth and bury them. The method of burying is as follows: Make a Lahad (by digging the ground and making an opening in the Qiblah side of the wall) or make a coffin-like grave and cover it with slabs and then cover the slabs with soil so that the soil will not fall on the papers directly. This will be similar to the grave prepared for a deceased person.

وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ  عَزَّوَجَلَّ  وَرَسُوْلُہ اَعْلَم صَلَّی اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّم

Answered by:Mufti Muhammad Qasim Attari