Salam alaykum shaykh Sajid.
Hope you are well. We have quite a lot paperwork that is not needed at our school which might have ahadith , verses of Quran etc .It’s not right to put in recycling bin is it? Can we shred them?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم،

الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله، وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين…

Wa alaykumus Salam wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.

May Allah bless you for writing in.

We have in our sources that which cites burning these sort of papers as acceptable, as per the practice of Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) after his efforts to standardise the copies of the mushaf (Qur’an in book form).

Some scholars have also cited burying these sort of papers as an acceptable alternative, as it protects the noble words and sentences on the papers in question from being disrespected.

In terms of shredding these papers; I believe that this would be an acceptable alternative to the practice of burning or burying, on condition that all the noble words and sentences are seperated from each other beyond recognition. By doing so, these words and sentences cease to be recognised, along with their meanings, which removes the chances of them being disrespected.

In terms of precedence for this view; the following would suffice:

1. The essense of protecting the noble words and sentences from being disrespected being achieved through the process of complete shredding.

2. Some narrations that we have in our sources that mention the term يخرق (tears) being mentioned instead of يحرق (burns).

And Allah Almighty knows best.

Shaikh Sajid Umar