I say, and with God's success: In this matter, there are many evidences, including: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: {None shall touch it except the purified, a revelation from the Lord of the worlds} [Al-Waqi'a: 79, 80]. Al-Nawawi said in Al-Majmu' 2: 86: "If they say: The intended meaning is that only the purified angels may touch the preserved tablet... the answer is that His saying: {revelation} is clear in referring to the Quran and cannot be interpreted otherwise except with a valid, explicit proof... This is the view of Ali, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, and Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), and no one is known to have disagreed with them among the companions." And the consensus, as stated by Al-Nawawi, Ibn Qudamah, and others, is that it is prohibited for one in a state of ritual impurity to touch the Quran without a barrier. Ibn Qudamah said: "And none should touch the Quran except one who is pure, meaning pure from both types of ritual impurity. This has been narrated from Ibn Umar, Al-Hasan, 'Ata, Tawus, Al-Sha'bi, and Al-Qasim ibn Muhammad, and it is the view of Malik, Al-Shafi'i, and the scholars of opinion, and we do not know of anyone who disagrees with them except Dawood, who permitted touching it." Thus, if they have no dissenters, it is a consensus, which is undoubtedly a proof, and Dawood's dissent is not taken into account. From Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "None should touch the Quran except one who is pure" in Sunan Al-Bayhaqi Al-Kabir 1: 88, and Sunan Al-Daraqutni 1: 121. Al-Haythami said in Majma' Al-Zawa'id 1: 276: "It was narrated by Al-Tabarani in the large and small collections, and its narrators are trustworthy." From Hakim ibn Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sent me to Yemen, he said: "Do not touch the Quran except when you are pure" in Al-Mustadrak 3: 552, and he said: "The hadith is of sound chain and they did not narrate it," and in Al-Mu'jam Al-Awsat 3: 327, Al-Mu'jam Al-Kabir 3: 205, 12: 313, Al-Mu'jam Al-Saghir 2: 277, Al-Marasel of Abu Dawood p. 122, Sunan Al-Darimi 2: 214, and Al-Muwatta 1: 199. Malik said: "No one should carry the Quran by its strap or on a pillow except when he is pure; if it were permissible, it would have been carried in a concealed manner, and it would not have been disliked; because the one who carries it should not have anything that would defile the Quran. But it is disliked for one who carries it to be impure out of respect for the Quran and to honor it. Malik said: The best explanation I have heard regarding this verse: {None shall touch it except the purified} [Al-Waqi'a: 79] is that it is similar to this verse in 'Abasa, where Allah, Blessed and Exalted, said: {Indeed, it is a reminder; so whoever wills may remember it, in honored sheets, exalted and purified, in the hands of scribes, noble and righteous} [Abasa: 11-16]. In another narration: "Except in a state of purity" in Musannaf Abdul Razzaq 1: 341, and others. Dr. Nour Al-Din Ittar said in I'lam Al-Anam 1: 221: "The hadith indicates that it is prohibited for one who is not pure to touch the Quran, and the majority of scholars have agreed on this since the time of the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and those after them, and the four imams and others have endorsed it. Dawood Al-Dhahiri and Ibn Hazm held that it is permissible for one in a state of minor or major ritual impurity to touch the Quran, and some who claim to exercise independent reasoning have adopted this view... They have no evidence for their deviation except relying on the principle of original permissibility, that the default state of things is permissibility. They relied on this and were satisfied with criticizing the evidences of the Islamic imams, and it is known that the principle of original permissibility is not strong; rather, it can be opposed by any valid evidence, and the evidence of the scholars contradicts it, and its implications are sound and strong, not subject to objection." From Al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: Osman ibn Abi Al-Aas — who was young — said: We came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and found that I was the best among them in reciting the Quran, and I had excelled them with Surah Al-Baqarah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "I have appointed you over your companions, and you are the youngest among them, and do not touch the Quran except when you are pure" in Al-Mu'jam Al-Kabir 9: 44. Al-Haythami said in Majma' Al-Zawa'id 1: 277: "It was narrated by Al-Tabarani in the large collection in the context of what is obligatory for zakat, and in it is Ismail ibn Rafi', whom Yahya ibn Ma'in and Al-Nasa'i deemed weak, and Al-Bukhari said: He is trustworthy and close to the hadith. Indeed, honoring the Quran is obligatory, and it is not considered honoring to touch the Quran with a hand that has been rendered impure by ritual impurity. See: Bada'i' Al-Sana'i' 1: 33, and others. And Allah knows best.