Quran board bans printing of Quranic verses on sheets laid on graves

LAHORE: The Punjab Quran Board has banned printing of Quranic verses on sheets laid on shrines and graves to prevent the desecration of Quranic verses as the sheets worn out after some time and thrown to garbage or the shreds come under the feet.

The decision was taken last week by the 51stmeeting of PQB chaired by Qari Hanif Jallundhari, in the light of the recommendations of Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) and the religious edicts and decrees by scholars of all four schools of thought.

Quran Publishers Association (QPA) president Qudratullah and other office-bearers hailed this decision and demanded the government to enforce the decision by issuing directives to the relevant authorities and quarters.

Addressing a meeting on Monday, QPA president Qudratullah, chairman Ahsan Mehmood Shah, chief patron Hafeez ul Barkaat Shah and others demanded the government issue instructions for implementation of this decision in letter and spirit.

They noted that every year thousands of sheets of thin cloth are laid on graves with printed Quranic verses, which are blown away by strong winds, get soaked in rain, and shreds come under the feet of humans and animals due to lack of proper arrangements for their disposal. They said it causes disrespect to the Quranic verses, while drug addicts also use these sheets immorally and illegally.

They said scholars have been demanding this ban for long and several decrees and edicts were issued in this regard, and the CII has also issued recommendations of prohibiting printing of Quranic verses on sheets laid on graves.