Muslim beliefs about dogs are sometimes confusing and contradictory. Most consider these animals to be ritually unclean. And these beliefs are not unanimous. Why is a dog an unclean animal in Islam? However, all opinions are not based on the Qur'an itself, but on hadiths, which are commentaries, analyzes and interpretations of the Qur'an. So why is a dog an unclean animal in Islam? Why do most Muslims disdain to touch it? Let's figure it out.
Attitude of Muslims
In Islam, dogs are considered unclean animals. Contacts of Muslims with these four-legged animals are not encouraged. Many Islamists only because of this explain their dislike for these creatures. The Qur'an describes a negative attitude towards any manifestations of cruelty. All animals are characterized as friendly to humans. Dogs are described as beings that defile things, food, and the owner.
Does the Koran forbid keeping dogs in the house?
There is no clear answer to the question of whether Islam prohibits people from keeping dogs at home as pets or touching them. Because in the Qurandogs used for hunting are mentioned, some believe that animals can be kept if they are used for a specific purpose. According to Islam, the answer to this question is that it is forbidden for Muslims to keep a dog unless they need the animal for hunting, guarding livestock or crops.
The original role of dogs among Muslims
Since most Muslims kept large herds of sheep and goats, there were many dogs several millennia ago. They helped protect these and other animals by preventing them from escaping and deterring would-be thieves and predators. Sheep and goats were food and capital, and dogs were first-class guards, helping to protect these investments.
A bit of history
In many of the largest Muslim cities in the world, dogs have long performed other important functions besides protection - they ate food waste. From Damascus and Baghdad to Cairo and Istanbul, city governments have supported populations of these animals as waste consumers to save city streets. Muslim leaders built gutters for dogs, many mosques threw away food for them, and butchers used them to kill rats and other vermin.
People who abused stray animals were often punished.
All this suggests that Muslims around the world have lived peacefully with many dogs. They realized how useful quadrupeds were and developed a relationship with them.
Negative attitudes towards dogs today
Given thisthe story of why the dog is forbidden in Islam? Short answer: due to the spread of infections. About two hundred years ago, knowledge about infectious diseases began to change. People in the Middle East, in Europe, began to see the close connection between outbreaks of plague, cholera and malaria and the proximity of the victims to places such as cemeteries, garbage heaps and swampy lakes. City planners and governments throughout the Middle East began to remove these sources of disease from the increasingly crowded areas in which people lived. They threw garbage outside the city walls, and unwittingly got rid of the dogs that ate this waste. There was no less garbage in the cities, and the waste that remained was considered a threat to public hygiene.
Indeed, in just a few decades at the beginning of the nineteenth century, dogs began to be seen as economically worthless and a public he alth hazard. Results? Several large-scale eradication campaigns, far fewer animals in Middle Eastern cities, and a change in attitude. And dogs are no longer useful, but dangerous, prone to disease and the spread of infections.
A fundamental principle of Islam is that everything is permissible, except for those things that were expressly forbidden. Based on this, most Muslims would agree that it is permissible to own a dog for the purpose of security, hunting, farming, or serving the disabled.
Many Muslims take a middle ground on dogs, allowing them to exist side by side but insisting thatanimals should occupy space away from the home with living quarters. Many keep the animal outdoors as much as possible and at least keep it out of areas where Muslims pray. For hygiene reasons, when a person comes into contact with dog saliva, washing clothes is necessary.
Quran about animals in Islam
Islam upholds the rights of all living beings to be treated kindly and fairly. Animals should not be abused. In the Qur'an, all living beings are like humans and have similar rights. Killing without any reasonable reason or ill-treatment leads to serious sin and violation of the rights vested by Allah. People should be gentle with animals, even when they have to be disciplined.
Islam teaches us to be very careful in our behavior towards animals and all living beings, as there is a great reward for their kind treatment and a great punishment for violating their rights. People should treat animals well, not transgress the limits set by Allah.
Attitude towards cats in Islam
Cat is a respected animal in Islam. They were loved by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Cats are considered typical Muslim pets. They have been revered since ancient times. According to many hadiths, Muhammad forbade the persecution and killing of them. They admire their purity and excessive caress. The roles of cats and dogs in Islam are completely opposite. There is an opinion that meowing creatures are ritually pure, unlike dogs, and therefore they are allowed to visit houses, mosques, includingMasjid al-Haram. Food selected by cats is considered halal.
For what purpose is it allowed to keep dogs
Why does Islam allow these animals to be kept? Can Muslims keep a dog? They are allowed to exist side by side with these animals only for this purpose:
- hunting;
- livestock protection;
- crop protection.
Keeping a dog as a pet at home is considered haram in Islam.
The role of the Prophet Muhammad in relation to dogs
Muhammad made harsh statements about dogs, and these remarks affected the animals in a tragic way. His teachings may have come from a cultural bias, pagan concepts, or his own imagination, but wherever they came from, they resulted in abuse. None of the negative statements about dogs are found in the Qur'an, but various collections of traditions (hadith) abound with them. They are the basis of Islamic theology and many Islamic laws. Hadiths describe dogs as unclean and instill a negative attitude towards these animals in Muslim believers.
Muhammad claimed to be the prophet of Allah, and therefore his instructions were listened to and carried out inexorably.
Mention of a dog in the Quran
It is interesting to know that dogs are mentioned 5 times in the Qur'an. And nowhere is it indicated that Allah calls dogs "dirty", gives any indication that they should be avoided. Islam teaches its followers to be mercifulto all creatures, and all forms of cruelty to animals are prohibited. Why do so many Muslims seem to have such a problem with dogs?
Is it unclean?
Why is a dog in Islam an unclean animal? Most Muslim scholars agree that dog saliva is unclean.
Can I touch a dog?
According to Islam, Muslims who have made contact with this animal are required to perform ablutions 7 times. In clothes that have come into contact with an animal, you cannot pray or pray. This decree comes from a hadith: "The Prophet said: "If a dog licks a vessel, let a person throw away everything in it, and it must be washed seven times, once with earth." It should be noted that one of the main Islamic thoughts indicates that this is not a matter of ritual purity, but simply a common sense method to prevent the spread of disease.
Hadith about dogs
There are several hadiths that warn of the consequences for pet owners:
- "Whoever keeps a dog, his good deeds will decrease every day by one kearaat (unit of measurement), only if it is not a dog for farming, cattle breeding."
- "Angels will not enter a house where there is a dog or a picture of animals."
- Other hadiths tell us that if we touch a dog, our ablution is invalid and we become impure, and we need to wash seven times to cleanse this dirt, the eighth time with earth.
This seems inconsistent with the Quran saying you can eat whatever these animals catch onhunting. It is also specifically mentioned that any prey caught by hunting dogs can be eaten without any need for further cleaning. Naturally, the prey of a game animal comes into contact with saliva, and this does not make the meat unclean.
Hadith about black dogs
Some hadiths even go beyond understanding, saying that black dogs in Islam are considered evil (literally described as ferocious creatures in which the devil has moved in), and calling to kill all animals of this color. When interpreting this hadith in a modern way, you should not take everything literally. It gives an idea of why the prophet ordered the killing of dogs. This must be due to the excess of stray animals and, consequently, the danger of rabies in the city of Medina and its suburbs. Therefore, the prophet called for their destruction. It was discovered that his companions exterminated everyone indiscriminately. He did not encourage it and forbade them from doing it. They were told that only cruel animals, which are a source of danger to life, can be killed. There is no direct call to violence in the Koran.
Not hatred but lack of knowledge
In many countries, dogs are not usually kept as pets. For some people, their only contact is with stray animals, huddled in packs, wandering the streets or countryside. People who don't grow up around friendly dogs may have a natural fear. They are not familiar with the behavior of dogs, so an animal that runs towards them is perceived as aggressive. ManyMuslims who seem to "hate" dogs are simply afraid of them out of ignorance. They may make excuses ("I'm allergic") or emphasize the religious impurity of these animals simply to avoid interacting with them.
Benefits from dogs
Many people believe that these animals can be useful, and show goodwill towards these creatures, believing that dogs can even be useful in people's lives. Guide dogs are an important companion for Muslims with disabilities. Working animals such as guard, hunting or herding animals are useful and industrious.
What is unacceptable in relation to dogs in Islam
- A dog is forbidden in Islam as a pet. In fact, if a Muslim keeps it as a pet, Allah will take away some heavenly reward for good deeds.
- Eat the meat of this animal.
- Enter the mosque. This hadeeth states that if a dog passes in front of people who are praying, it will annul their prayer. Nullifies means "reduces to nothing" or "makes ineffective or inoperable". If a group of people pray and a dog walks between them in Mecca, then their prayer becomes invalid.
- Living in the same house. Main reason: Dogs have numerous microbes. The second reason, more of a religious nature, is that they don't allow angels to enter your home.
- If a dog touches the garment, you cannot start praying in this garment, it must be washed and cleaned of wool.
- Nobuy or sell a dog. Muhammad believed that the money received from the sale is considered "evil", like money received from prostitution, witchcraft or usury.
Modern Muslims
In today's world you can meet Muslims living side by side with a dog. More and more people are realizing and seeing the benefits of keeping such an animal at home. Here are some reasons why some Muslims keep a dog at home:
- regular walking helps lower blood pressure;
- playing with a dog improves mood;
- large breed dogs give a sense of security and provide reliable protection for the owner, property;
- helps with recovery from serious illnesses such as heart attacks.
Owning a pet is a huge responsibility that Muslims will have to answer for on the Day of Judgment. Those who choose to own a dog should be aware of all the responsibilities that are incumbent on them. They must provide animals with food, shelter, education, exercise and medical care. However, most Muslims accept that pets are not part of the family, and they have no desire to provide proper conditions for four-legged animals.
