Dogs as Pets

 

Aslam O Alaikum,
I belong to a Muslim family and live in America. I really want to have a small dog as a pet in the house but my parents believe that angels do not come in the house if you have a dog. I did some research and found very controversial information ranging from Prophet Mohammad ordering dogs to be killed to Dogs being allowed to be kept as hounds. So I am really confused.

If we keep a dog, he will stay out of the house in the backyard for the most part but during winter we would have to let him in otherwise he would die from the cold. If we keep the dog out of the room that we all pray in, he train him to not make a mess in the other areas of the house, would it be alright to keep a dog?
Your help would be really appreciated. Thank you.

Rajaa

 

 

Answer:

Salaam Brother

In reference to your query, in the opinion of our scholars, as per Islamic Shariah,  which entails the Qur'an and Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh, there is no restriction in keeping dogs as pets.
 
There is mention of dogs in Quran in surah Al-Kahf (surah no 18) which mentions the Companions of Kahf who remained in the cave for a very long time and they were accompanied by a dog . This dog did not cause a break in the supply of God’s mercy to them. Surah Maidah ( surah no 5) verse 4 mentions that it is lawful to eat what the animals of prey (which includes hunting dogs) catch after pronouncing the name of Allah.
 
In the opinion of our scholars,  the notion that dogs are unclean, should not be kept as pets, and that the angels of mercy do not come in the house where there are dogs, are taken from Ahadith without knowing their context and with no certainty about their accuracy.
 
I enclose links from our sister web sites that provide further explanation on this issue:
 
http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/query.aspx?id=669
 
http://www.al-mawrid.org/pages/questions_english_detail.php?qid=48&cid=424&search=dogs
 
http://www.understanding-islam.org/related/text.aspx?type=question&qid=256
 
http://www.understanding-islam.org/related/text.aspx?type=discussion&did=60
 
You mentioned your parents. Surely you appreciate that if you are staying with your parents, your appreciation that keeping dogs is allowed is not enough. You also need to make sure that your parents are okay with this.

If there are any queries that are still unanswered, please do not hesitate to contact us.
 
Best regards
 
Waseem Aslam
 
UIUK web team

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