Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

 

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

The Answer ofr Question no 2 says that "

I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) saying; "Angels (of Mercy) do not enter a house wherein there is a dog or a picture of a living creature (a human being or an animal)."

I am kind of curious to know why Dog has been mentioned but not the other animals

 

Can you please let me know

Regards

 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

 

Answer:

 

Why dogs not allowed as pets

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person,  no grave, no prophet,  no imam,  no dai,  nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

 

Dear and Beloved brother in Islam, it should be the unshakeable belief of every believer who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day that the deen or ‘way of life’ called Al-Islam is based on the Perfect Wisdom and Knowledge of the All Knowing Lord, and every single command of the All Wise Lord is abundant in common-sense and logic. 

 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzaab verse 36:

It does not behove a believing man and a believing woman that when Allah and His Messenger have given their decision in a matter,  they should exercise an option in that matter of theirs.  For whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger,  has indeed strayed into manifest error.

 

Thus if a believer is convinced that a matter in the deen is Decreed by Allah or His Messenger (saws), he is duty bound to accept, obey and follow it without any hesitation whatsoever.

 

After having accepted the matter decreed with one’s heart and soul, one has the liberty to gain more knowledge of the matter concerned if one wishes only to confirm the Truth so that one’s heart is more content, or to understand and thus follow with more conviction the dictates of the deen. 

 

Your Question: I am kind of curious to know why Dog has been mentioned but not the other animals

Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenager of Allah (saws) said, "Purifying a container that a dog has licked is done by washing it seven times, the first washing being with dirt (that is, water mixed with dirt until it becomes muddy)."

Related by Muslim, Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and al-Baihaqi.

 

A dog is considered amongst the absolutely ‘najis’ or impure and filthy animals and the Messenger of Allah (saws) specifically forbade the believers to keep them as pets.  Medical science today has determined the evil and harmful effect of a dogs bite and its ever-dropping saliva, and Allah Alone Knows what other evil and harm this animal breeds with its faeces, urine, fur or hair discharge, the germs and ‘tics’ it discards, etc.  From the above quoted guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws), it seems the prohibition of keeping dogs as pets is for the safety and well-being of human beings.  It may be in time that science discovers more evil that emerges from this animal which may compel them to enforce a ban on keeping them as domestic pets, and the ones who don’t believe may wait till science enforces the ban on them which Allah and His Messenger (saws) have already guided and safeguarded the believers.

 

We wish to clarify here that only the dogs which are kept as domestic pets or as a display of fashion are forbidden for the believers; there is absolutely no harm if one keeps a dog for hunting, or a dog to guard its property, etc.

 

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 4102        Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mughaffal

The Prophet (saws) said, " No family attaches itself to a dog without a qirat (measure) of their good deeds being deducted daily, except in the case of a hunting dog, a farm dog, or a sheepdog."

 

Your Statement: I am kind of curious to know why Dog has been mentioned but not the other animals

Beloved Brother, what should inspire and arouse our curiosity and the question which needs to be answered is that when man already knows the evil and harmful effects of the dog, its bite, its saliva, the ‘tics’ is discharges, etc.; why do the majority of people who keep pets insist on keeping dogs in preference to other good and wholesome domestic pets like cats, birds, fish, etc.?? 

 

Besides it is indeed strange that even in a world when the dog is the most preferred pet of the disbelievers, every connotation related to a dog used by even them has a negative undertone and is considered a curse and a bad-word!  If one says that one is as graceful as a swan, or has the eyes of a gazelle, or one purrs like a cat, or one swims as fast as a fish, or moves as gracefully as a horse, or sings as beautifully as a canary, etc. one would take it as a compliment.  But associate anyone with any quality of a dog, and it will be considered an evil and obnoxious abuse! 

 

Amongst the best known qualities of a dog is that he is a loyal and an obedient animal; but try calling someone that he is ‘as loyal or as obedient as a dog’ and a fight is almost ensured!

 

If one trusts,  obeys,  and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws),   one can be assured of never ever being misled;   but if one believes,  obeys and follows any other guidance,  other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws),  one can be assured of being led astray.  

 

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

 

 

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

 

Burhan