Nisaa
There is the same difference of opinion here as during hayd, since the rulings of nifas follow hayd on this question exactly as they do on the others.
The Hanafi, Shafi'i, and Hanbali schools say a woman may not recite the Qur'an while nifas blood is present, comparing this impurity to Janabah, which requires Ghusl. They cite a hadith narrated by 'Ali (Radi Allahu Anhu) that the Prophet (Salla Allahu 'Alayhi Wa Sallam) used to teach the Qur'an but did not prevent anyone except those in Janabah from reciting (reported by Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, al-Nasai, Ibn Majah, Ahmad, Ibn Khuzaymah). They also cite a hadith from Ibn 'Umar stating: “No menstruating woman or person in Janabah should recite anything from the Qur'an,” but this hadith is weak by agreement of scholars.
Imam Malik and Ibn Taymiyyah permit recitation in both hayd and nifas, judging the comparison to Janabah weak: a person in Janabah can lift the impurity immediately through Ghusl, while nifas runs for days, up to forty or sixty depending on the school, and depriving a new mother of the Qur'an for that length of time is unreasonable. This is the same necessity-based reasoning that lets nifas borrow the Maliki concession on touching the Mushaf for teaching and learning; it applies here for the same reason.
Reasons supporting the permitting view:
- No authentic evidence forbids recitation specifically during nifas, any more than it does during hayd.
- Women experienced nifas in the Prophet's time; if reciting were forbidden the way prayer is, it would have been stated plainly and transmitted by the Mothers of the Believers.
- The analogy to Janabah is weak for the reason above: Janabah lifts in minutes, nifas does not.
The opinion allowing recitation, without touching the Mushaf directly, is the stronger one on the same grounds it is for hayd.
This permission is about recitation itself; touching the Mushaf during nifas is a related but separate question, decided by its own evidence, with its own barrier, teaching and phone-app exceptions. Janabah is not treated the same way: the hadith of 'Ali applies to a person in Janabah directly rather than by comparison, so the ease granted for hayd and nifas does not extend there; see can you recite Qur'an during Janabah. If nifas bleeding continues past the recognised maximum, it is reclassified as istihadah, and istihadah is lighter still, since it is not hadath akbar at all and this entire debate never reaches her; see can you recite Qur'an during istihadah for why.