Short answer
It is fine to play the Quran while you can still listen, such as in the car, while resting or doing light work. It is disrespectful to play it where no one is paying attention, over loud talk or music, or in a shop just for atmosphere. In the Hanafi school, those present should listen when the Quran is recited aloud.
Listening to the Quran when it is recited aloud is required of those present; if it is recited where people are busy and cannot listen, the sin falls on the one who chose to recite or play it there. So playing a recording as background noise while no one attends to it is makruh, while playing it to listen, even during light work, is permissible.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Allah says: when the Quran is recited, listen to it and be silent, so that you may receive mercy (7:204). The Hanafi texts say a reciter should not recite aloud in markets and places where people are busy with work, and that if he does, he is the one who has lost the respect due to the Quran. Contemporary Hanafi muftis apply the same rule to a recording, since the person who presses play chooses where it is heard. The four schools agree on the respect owed to recitation.
- In the car or while cooking: fine, as long as you are listening at least some of the time.
- Falling asleep to recitation: permissible, and many people find it calming.
- Shops, offices, waiting rooms, gyms: avoid playing it as ambient sound that no one listens to.
- Gatherings with chatter, laughter or music: turn it off or stop talking.
- Ringtones and alarms: many Hanafi muftis advise against ayat as ringtones, since they are cut off mid-ayah and ring in any place.
The Prophet ﷺ said Shaytan flees a house in which Surah al-Baqarah is recited. The hadith describes people reciting it; a recording can help a home that has few readers, but it does not replace your own recitation. On hearing an ayah of sajdah from a recording, see how to do sajdah tilawat.
To listen with attention at any hour, use Quran Radio. See also listening versus reading.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-A'raaf 7:204
وَإِذَا قُرِئَ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ فَٱسْتَمِعُوا۟ لَهُۥ وَأَنصِتُوا۟ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ ﴿٢٠٤﴾
So when the Qur'an is recited, then listen to it and pay attention that you may receive mercy.
The duty to listen when the Quran is recited aloud.
Sahih Muslim 780
Sahih... إن الشيطان ينفر من البيت الذي تقرأ فيه سورة البقرة ...
"Shaytan flees from the house in which Surah al-Baqarah is recited."
The virtue of reciting in the home, which a recording supports but does not replace.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Salah, chapter on the description of prayer, discussion of listening to recitation outside the prayer. Reciting aloud where people are busy puts the sin on the reciter; listening is required of those present.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.