QUESTION ASKED ON ANOTHER FORUM
[Please contact Joseph Islam for further details of the original thread]
Ruling on keeping a Dog
It is haraam to keep a dog unless it is for the purposes for which Islam permits keeping dogs. Whoever keeps a dog – except a dog for hunting or farming – his reward will decrease each day by one or two qeeraats.
It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: ‘Whoever keeps a dog, except a dog that is trained for hunting or a dog for herding livestock, his reward will decrease each day by two qeeraats.’” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5059; Muslim, 2941; according to another version narrated by them both, “one qeeraat”).
The word qeeraat refers to a large amount of reward; if a person’s reward decreases by one qeeraat, that means that he is sinning, for losing reward is like earning sin, both indicate that something is haraam because of the consequences it leads to.
The impurity of dogs is the greatest of animal impurities. The impurity of a dog can only be removed by washing seven times, one of which should be with earth. Even pigs, which the Qur’aan states are haraam and describes as an abomination (rijs) are not naajis (impure) to such an extent.
Dogs are impure and filthy, but unfortunately we find that some people are attracted to the ways of the kuffaar and their filthy habits, so they have started to keep dogs unnecessarily for no reason, keeping them, training them and cleaning them even though they can never be clean, even if they were washed with the waters of the ocean, because they are essentially impure.
Our advice to them is to repent to Allaah and to get the dogs out of their homes.
But in the case of dogs which are needed for hunting, farming and herding livestock, there is nothing wrong with that because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) gave permission for that. If you throw this dog out of your house, you will no longer be responsible for it, so do not keep it with you.
The ruling on touching a dog
If you touch it when it is not wet, then your hand does not become impure, but if you touch it when it is wet, this means that the hand becomes impure, according to the opinion of many scholars, and the hand must be washed seven times, one of which should be with earth.
With regard to vessels, if a dog has licked a vessel (i.e., drunk from it), then the vessel must be washed seven times, one of which should be with earth, as was proven in al-Saheehayn and elsewhere, in the hadeeth narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If a dog licks the vessel of any one of you, let him wash it seven times, one of which should be with earth.” It is better if the washing with earth be the first washing. And Allaah knows best.
See Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 11/246; Fataawa Islamiyyah, 4/447.
http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=13356&ln=eng&txt=spitKeeping a dog, touching it and kissing it
Question:
Keeping a dog is najis & - If a muslim man keep dog just to guard the house, outside the house - put the dog at the end of the compound, how should he cleans himself, what if he cannot find any earth or mud to clean himself, is there other alternative way of cleaning himself? [sometime, he take the dog for jogging, pat the dog, kiss the dog etc] .
Answer:
Firstly:
Islam forbids Muslims to keep dogs, and the punishment for that is that the one who does that loses one or two qiraats from his hasanaat (good deeds) each day. An exception has been made in the case of keeping dogs for hunting, guarding livestock and guarding crops.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever keeps a dog, except a dog for herding, hunting or farming, one qiraat will be deducted from his reward each day.” Narrated by Muslim, 1575.
It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever keeps a dog, except a dog for herding livestock or a dog that is trained for hunting, two qiraats will be deducted from his reward each day.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5163; Muslim, 1574.
Is it permissible to keep a dog to guard houses?
Al-Nawawi said:
There is a difference of opinion as to whether it is permissible to keep dogs for purposes other than these three, such as for guarding houses and roads. The most correct view is that it is permissible, by analogy with these three and based on the reason that is to be understood from the hadeeth, which is necessity. .
Sharh Muslim, 10/236
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Based on this, if a house is in the middle of the city there is no need to keep a dog to guard it, so keeping a dog for this purpose in such situations is haraam and is not permitted, and it detracts one or two qiraats from a person’s reward every day. They should get rid of this dog and not keep it. But if the house is in the countryside and there is no one else around, then it is permissible to keep a dog to guard the house and the people who are in it; guarding the members of the household is more important than guarding livestock or crops. .
Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 4/246
There are several scholarly views about reconciling the reports which say “one qiraat” and those which say “two qiraats”.
Al-Haafiz al-‘Ayni (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
(a) It may be that they have to do with two types of dogs, one of which could cause more harm than the other.
(b) It was said that “two qiraats” applies in cities and villages, and “one qiraat” applies in the countryside.
(c) It was said that they were said at two different times – “one qiraat” was mentioned first, then the warning was made more strict and two qiraats were mentioned.
‘Umdat al-Qaari, 12/158.
Secondly:
With regard to the words of the questioner, “keeping a dog is naajis”. This is not exactly correct, because the najaasah (impurity) is not in the dog itself, rather it is in its saliva when it drinks from a vessel. If a person touches a dog or a dog touches him, that does not mean that he has to purify himself, whether with soil or water. But if a dog drinks from his vessel, then he has to throw away the water and wash it seven times with water and the eighth time with soil, if he wants to use it. If he makes it just for the dog then he does not have to purify it.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The purification of the vessel of one of you, if a dog licks it, is to wash it seven times, the first time with soil.” Nararted by Muslim, 279.
And according to another report by Muslim (280): “If a dog licks the vessel of one of you, let him wash it seven times and rub it with soil the eighth time.”
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
With regard to dogs, there are three views among the scholars:
1 – That they are taahir (pure), even their saliva. This is the view of Maalik.
2 – That they are naajis (impure), even their hair. This is the view of al-Shaafa’i and is one of the two views narrated from Ahmad.
3 – Their hair is taahir but their saliva is naajis. This is the view of Abu Haneefah and of Ahmad in the other report narrated from him.
This is the most correct view. So if the wetness of the dog’s hair gets onto one’s garment or body, that does not make it naajis. End quote.
Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 21/530.
Elsewhere he said:
That is because the basic principle is that substances are taahir, and it is not permissible to regard anything as naajis or haraam without evidence, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“while He has explained to you in detail what is forbidden to you, except under compulsion of necessity?”
[al-An’aam 6:119]
“And Allaah will never lead a people astray after He has guided them until He makes clear to them as to what they should avoid”
[al-Tawbah 9:115]
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The purification of the vessel of one of you, if a dog licks it, is to wash it seven times, the first time with soil” – and in another hadeeth, “If a dog licks a vessel…”
All of the ahaadeeth mention licking only; they do not mention any other part of the dog, regarding them as naajis is based only on analogy.
Moreover, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) granted a concession allowing people to keep dogs for hunting, herding and farming. The one who keeps them must touch the wetness of their hair, just as happens in the case of mules, donkeys, etc. To suggest that their hair is naajis when touching them cannot be avoided could impose undue hardship, which is not what the Lawgiver intended for this ummah.
Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 21/217, 218
To be on the safe side it is better, if a person touches a dog and there is something wet on his hand, or if there is something wet on the dog, to wash his hand seven times, one of which should be with soil.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:
With regard to touching this dog, if there is no wetness then it does not make the hand naajis, but if he touches it and there is any wetness, then this means that the hand becomes naajis according to the view of many scholars, and the hand must be washed after that seven times, one of which should be with soil. End quote.
Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 11/246.
Thirdly:
What must be done is to wash off the najaasah of a dog seven times, one of which should be with soil. If soil is available then it must be used, and nothing else will do. If no soil is available, then there is nothing wrong with using some other cleaning agent such as soap.
Fourthly:
What the questioner mentions about kissing the dog is something that causes many diseases. The diseases that people may get as the result of going against sharee’ah by kissing dogs or drinking from their vessels before purifying them are many, such as pasturella which is a bacterial disease, the cause of which exists naturally in the respiratory systems of humans and animals, but under certain circumstances this germ can invade the body and cause disease.
Another of these diseases is a parasitic disease that affects the intestines of humans and animals, and usually affects the liver and lungs, the abdominal cavity and the rest of the body.
This disease is caused by tapeworms, which are small worms 2-9 millimeters long, which are formed of three sections, a head and a neck; the head has four suckers.
The adult worms live in the intestines of their hosts, such as dogs, cats, crows and wolves.
This disease is transmitted to human who love dogs, when they kiss them or drink from their vessels.
See: Amraad al-hayawaanaat allati tuseeb al-insaan (Animal diseases that affect humans) by Dr. ‘Ali Ismaa’eel ‘Ubayd al-Snaafi.
Conclusion:
It is not permissible to keep dogs except for hunting or guarding livestock and crops, and it is permissible to keep them for guarding houses so long as that is outside the city and that there is no other means of guarding the house. The Muslim should not imitate the kuffaar by running with the dog or touching its mouth and kissing it, which causes many diseases.
Praise be to Allaah for this pure and perfect sharee’ah, which came to set people’s spiritual and worldly affairs straight, but most people do not realize.
http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=69840&ln=engTouching dogs and their saliva does not nullify wudoo’
Touching dogs or their saliva does not nullify wudoo’ because if tahaarah is done according to the rules of sharee’ah, nothing can nullify it except things for which there is evidence in sharee’ah. There is no such evidence that touching dogs or their saliva have this effect. It was not mentioned by the scholars among the things that nullify wudoo’.
Ibn Qudaamah mentioned in al-Mughni (1/264) things that nullify wudoo’, and he did not mention touching dogs or their saliva. Then he said: “These are all the things that nullify tahaarah, and it cannot be nullified by anything else according to the view of the majority of scholars…”
But there is no doubt that dogs’ saliva is very dirty and extremely naajis (impure), and it can only be removed by washing seven times, one of them with earth. There is a difference between this and something which nullifies tahaarah.
http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ref=5212&ln=engAnd Allaah knows best.
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