Answered by Ustadh Salman Younas
Question: If a Quranic verse has not been written out in full, can a person touch it without wudhu?
Answer: wa `alaykum assalam
A person in a state of ritual impurity cannot directly touch a complete verse of the Qur’an. [Birgivi, Dhukhr al-Muta’ahilin]
Further, if the verse of the Qur’an is written on a piece of paper alone, or if the non-Qur’anic content on it is less than the Qur’anic content, it would be impermissible to touch the paper while in a state of ritual impurity even if one was not touching the verses themselves. This is because it would be given the ruling of being a mushaf. [ibid]
Precaution and respect would entail that one not touch even partial verses of the Qur’an in a state of ritual impurity. This is closer to having respect for the words of Allah Most High.
Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani