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generations, the followers of the Prophet went into a state of religious degeneration, thus abandoning the revealed Book. Today, we see that most Muslims respect the Quran by kissing it and keeping it in ‘sacred’ places, but they do not really follow its guidance in their lives. Instead of being accessed as source of guidance, it seems to have acquired the status of being an item of display. This verse of the Quran is an admonition for the Muslim community. They are forewarned that they should save themselves from developing the tendency of simply reciting the Quran while at the same time heeding the dictates of their own desires. If some verses of the Quran were for only a specific time or age, how can the Quran be meant for every generation? The teachings of the Quran and every other book have to be re-applied according to changing situations. This is applicable to every book and constitution. In the matter of belief there will be no change. However, in the matter of application there can be temporary modifications. Can I gift the translation of the Quran to a non-Muslim friend, knowing the fact that he is going to read it without ablutions (wudu)? Can one read the translation of the Quran without ablutions? Yes, absolutely! The misconception about not reciting the Quran without performing ablutions comes from a misunderstood Hadith of Umar ibn al-Khattab (a Companion of the Prophet). According to a teaching recorded in a Hadith, when Umar heard his sister reciting the Quran in her house, he went inside and asked for the pages from which the Quran was being read. At this, his sister asked Umar to first perform ablutions (wudu) before he could read the Quran. This was a psychological gesture from a sister who requested his brother to clean himself before he read the Book of God. The fact that one does not need to perform ablutions before reading the Quran is affirmed by another incident concerning Umar. During the days when he was Caliph, he was discussing a verse from the Quran with some people. During the discussion he picked up a copy of the Quran from a shelf and started reading the verse being discussed. One of the participants asked him if he had performed ablutions. At this Umar became furious and strongly condemned it by asking if Musaylima (a false prophet) had given him a fatwa (ruling) in this regard? In other words, he meant: ‘Which hypocrite told you of this wrong practice?’