Malaysia: Man Fined For Selling Items with Wrongly Inscribed Quranic Verses

IQNA – A man was fined RM8,000 by the Magistrate’s Court in Serian for selling decorative items bearing Quranic verses that were incorrectly inscribed.

Magistrate Nurshahida Abdul Rahim imposed the fine on Pakistani national Khan Mahammad Hassan, 54, who pleaded guilty. Failure to pay will result in 10 months’ imprisonment, Bernama reported on Thursday.

According to the facts of the case, Khan Mahammad, who owns Salim Maju Jaya Enterprise, sold wall clocks and framed decorations featuring texts such as Ayat Kursi, Ayat 1,000 Dinar and the names of Allah.

Authorities said the inscriptions did not comply with approved Quranic text standards. The offence was committed at his business premises at Taman Pertiwi Indah on March 29 last year.

The charge was brought under Section 14(1) of the Printing of Quranic Text Act 1986 (Amendment 2023). The law sets standards for the printing, publication and sale of Quranic material in Malaysia, and carries penalties of up to RM50,000, a maximum of five years’ imprisonment, or both, upon conviction.

Officials have repeatedly reminded traders that all Quranic texts and related materials must receive approval from the authorities before being printed or sold, to ensure accuracy and prevent misuse.

Source: Agencies