Book, letter and writing (kitab)

In the lexicon kitab is the noun of writing; it is used for a written thing, a letter, a bound set of sheets, and the revelation sent down by God. In the jurists' terms it is a work containing matters from one or more fields of knowledge, and for the theorists of jurisprudence it is the Qur'an ¹. In fiqh the word has three senses: a written letter, a document or covenant, and a book of learning ².

A sijill is a judge's record of his ruling and is narrower than a kitab. A daftar is broader than a kitab, because a kitab implies that it is written and a daftar does not ^{2 8}.

A judge may write to another judge what evidence has been established before him; the detail belongs to the entry on judgeship ⁸. A husband may divorce his wife by writing. If he writes "you are divorced" or "she is divorced", the divorce takes effect at once by agreement, whether or not the letter arrives ⁸. If the divorce is made conditional on the letter's arrival, the Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis hold that it does not take effect until it arrives, and the Malikis differ on the particle used ^{8 9}.

If the part of the letter with the divorce is erased, or only part of the letter arrives, the schools differ on whether the divorce takes effect. A letter written on a sheet and copied out by another is not counted as the husband's unless he acknowledges it or it is proved by witnesses; the Hanafis hold that a wife cannot be divorced on a denied letter without proof ¹⁰. The Hanbalis require two just witnesses to attest the husband's letter, and the wife may hear the testimony without it being brought before a judge ¹¹.

It is recommended to open a letter with the basmala, after the example of the heavenly books, and the custom of the Companions to close the letter with it as well; some regard that as sunna ^{3 12}. The address is written "to so-and-so", not "for so-and-so", as Ahmad ibn Hanbal is reported to have said ³. Most scholars have the writer begin with himself, while some held that in their time it was better to begin with the addressee ¹². Answering a letter is recommended, and some say it is obligatory where neglect would breed suspicion or enmity ³.

The Qur'an commands the writing down of a deferred debt (Surat al-Baqara, verse 282). Among the Prophet ﷺ's documents are a sale contract that al-Tirmidhi gives and calls good, and a treaty with the polytheists ¹². Details are in the entry on documentation ⁴.

Books of learning, religious or not, are those that contain matters of one or more fields ⁴. The rules that follow:

• Using books for istinja: all agree it is forbidden with books that bear the name of God, and differ on others. The Malikis forbid it with books of magic, philosophy, the Torah and the Gospel for the sanctity of the letters, while the Shafi'is allow it with those that are not sacred, if their alteration is known; Ibn Abidin states that letters carry sanctity ^{4 13}.
• Touching books without purity: the Malikis and Hanbalis allow the non-purified to touch books of exegesis, since they are not called a mushaf; most Hanafis forbid touching the words of the Qur'an, and the Shafi'is forbid it where the Qur'an predominates. The Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis allow touching books of fiqh and hadith even if they contain verses, and some Hanafis dislike it ^{13 14}. The three schools allow touching the Torah and the Gospel, and the Shafi'is dislike touching them where one thinks them unaltered ¹⁴.
• Resting on books: the Hanafis dislike placing the mushaf under the head except to guard it from theft; the Shafi'is forbid resting on the Qur'an, but allow it to protect the copy from ruin; the Hanbalis forbid resting on the mushaf and, for books of learning, forbid it when they contain Qur'an and dislike it otherwise, allowing it to guard them from theft ¹⁴.
• Stacking books: the Hanafis rank them, from the lowest: grammar and lexicography, interpretation of dreams, theology, fiqh, reports and exhortations, exegesis, and the mushaf above all ¹⁵.
• Reading the books of the People of the Book: the Hanafis and Hanbalis forbid it. The book reports that Umar brought a copy of part of the Torah to the Prophet, who was displeased. Ibn Hajar says the dislike is for reprehension rather than prohibition, and that the firmly grounded may read such books when needed to answer an opponent. The Hanbalis forbid the books of innovators and mixed books; al-Qalyubi forbids certain popular and fabricated narratives ^{15 16}.
• Selling books: the Shafi'is allow selling books of literature, the Hanbalis allow books of learning, and Malik disliked selling books of fiqh, though others allowed it. The Shafi'is forbid selling books of unbelief, magic, astrology, sleight of hand and philosophy, and require them to be destroyed ⁵. The Hanafis, Malikis and Shafi'is allow selling and buying copies of the Qur'an; the Hanbalis forbid selling it, but allow buying it, as a rescue like buying a captive ^{5 17}.
• Selling books of learning to a non-Muslim: the Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis forbid it, and the Malikis forbid selling the altered Torah and Gospel to them as aid to their error ¹⁷.
• Pawning books: the Shafi'is differ on pawning hadith books to a non-Muslim, and the Hanbalis allow it if the books are kept with a trustworthy Muslim. The Hanafis, Malikis and Shafi'is allow pawning a copy of the Qur'an, while the Hanbalis give two views ^{17 18}.
• Endowing books: permitted by the Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis, while the Hanafis differ according to their view on endowing movable property. The Shafi'is and Hanbalis forbid endowing for the Torah and the Gospel ^{19 7}.
• Lending books: lawful by agreement. The Shafi'is and Hanbalis require lending a copy of the Qur'an to someone who needs it to recite in prayer, when the owner does not need it himself ²⁰. The Hanafis allow correcting an error in a borrowed book when the owner is willing, and make correction obligatory in the Qur'an; the Shafi'is forbid corrections that reduce its value ^{20 6}.
• Hiring books: the Hanafis and Malikis forbid it, the Hanbalis allow it; the Malikis allow hiring a copy of the Qur'an, and the Hanafis forbid it ⁶.
• Selling the books of an insolvent debtor: the Hanafis and Malikis allow it. Al-Abbadi of the Shafi'is leaves a scholar his books, while a copy of the Qur'an may always be sold ^{6 21}.
• Reading another's book: the principle is the hadith that whoever reads his brother's book without leave is reading the Fire; Ibn Hajar limits it to where no lesser harm can be averted ²¹.
• Destroying books: the Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis allow destroying forbidden books; the Shafi'is require it for books of unbelief and magic; the Hanafis say the name of God is to be erased from useless books and the rest burned ¹⁹.
• Stealing books: the Malikis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis and Abu Yusuf impose the hadd on stealing useful books worth the minimum theft value; the Hanafis and Hanbalis do not impose it for the mushaf, and the Hanafis do not for useful books of exegesis, hadith and fiqh, since the thief may claim to be reading and learning ^{7 22}.