Disposing Religious Artifacts

[ShiaMan14]

Salaam,

What is the proper way to dispose of old religious materials such as:

• Quran
• Dua books
• Tasbeeh
• Taweez (Amulets)
• Alam

Burn, bury, shred, recycle???

[Lion33]

I am not sure of the proper fiqh ways but I have heard burning or shredding is good.

[Hameedeh]

An old Holy Qur'an should be donated to a museum and even a damaged one is not to be burned. Some Sunni scholars recommend burning, but our Shia Ulema do not agree with that. 

[ShiaMan14]

1 hour ago, Hameedeh said:

An old Holy Qur'an should be donated to a museum and even a damaged one is not to be burned. Some Sunni scholars recommend burning, but our Shia Ulema do not agree with that. 

What about burying? I saw that happen in the UK where they buried a bunch of books including quran, old mohrs, etc in the grave of a person being buried.

[Hameedeh]

17 minutes ago, shiaman14 said:

What about burying?

Burying or dissolving in water. 

[muhibb-ali]

We have narrations which prohibit burning of papers which have (Islamic) writing on them.

Abu ‘Abd Alla (as) said, "Do not burn the papers, but wipe or wash them away and then you may burn them."

You can find these narrations in al-kafi, vol. 2 chapter 30 - باب النهي عن احراق القراطيس المكتوبة

Edited May 12, 2017 by muhibb-ali

[Sumerian]

Question: How could one go about dispensing with papers carrying the names of Allãh or the Infallibles, as well as some loose pages of the Qur’ãn, when it is not possible for us to throw them in the sea or the river? That said, we do not know where would the garbage end up and what is done with it?

Answer: They should be buried in a clean ground or be thrown unto river.

http://www.sistani.org/english/qa/01296/