(Part No. 4; Page No. 84)  Fatwa no. 5959 All praise be to Allah Alone, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family and Companions.The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta’ read the question submitted by Dr. Nizar ibn Muhammad Futayh to His Eminence Chairman with reference no. 1007, dated 10/5/1403 A.H. It reads as follows: "The specialist hospital has a great internal communication system that enables the person who is on a call to put the caller on hold to take an incoming call for a long or a short time, according to the need, and return to the waiting caller. While they are on hold, the first caller can listen to some suitable recorded material. We would like to use some religious material, such as portions of Qur’an or Hadith, to fill this time. However, as this time is likely to be interrupted with discussions about worldly matters, which may include both serious and trivial matters depending on the position and circumstances of the speakers, we thought it proper to consult Your Eminence before we introduce any religious material."

The Committee gave the following answer: Firstly, it is not permissible to cut off a caller or put them on hold, as it causes harm to them, unless there is a good reason for doing so, such as if the caller insults the receiver of the call and this cannot be stopped (Part No. 4; Page No. 85) other than by ending the call, or if an emergency or something important occurs that necessitates putting the call on hold or ending it. Secondly, the Qur’an is the Words of Allah and it should be respected and guarded against all things that are not compatible with its exalted status, such as being mixed with trivial matters or joking, either before or after the recitation, or using it for entertainment or something to fill empty time, as you mentioned above. The foremost intention behind reciting the Qur’an should be to worship Allah and draw closer to Him, while contemplating its meanings and learning lessons from it, not just for entertainment, fun, and filling empty time. Similarly, it is not permissible to mix the Hadiths of the Prophet (peace be upon him) with trivial matters and banter. They should be paid attention to and guarded against anything that does not befit them, and should be used with the intention of understanding the rulings of Shari‘ah (Islamic law) through them and act upon them.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.