Answered by Shaykh Yūsuf Badāt
Question
Can we read Qur‘ān without ablution?
Answer:
بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
If one is not in the state of major impurities (janābah or menstrual cycles), one can recite the Qurʾān without wudhū (ritual ablution). In order to touch the Qurʾān, one is required to have wudhū according to mainstream Islamic jurists.
Abd Allāh ibn ‘Omar (may Allāh be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said, “A menstruating woman or a seminally defiled person should not recite any part of the Qurʾān”. (Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī )
“The Qurʾān is only to be touched by the one who is in purity” (Ṭabrānī)
One should also note that since the Qurʾān is not any ordinary book, one should treat and handle it with appropriate etiquette, purity and respect.
And Allāh Knows Best