Islam's View on Dogs and the Permissibility of Keeping One
I'm a revert in the US, and I wanted to make my first post on here to talk about dogs, specifically how they should be viewed and also if we should keep them as pets, as I know many struggle with it like myself. I know many conservatives/Wahhabis/Salafis will say that I have no authority to speak on this, but after doing talking to an Imam/Mufti and reading and pondering myself, I've come to this conclusion.
Before reverting, I had a dog, and he was truly one of my best friends and helped me a lot emotionally, even now he does. After reverting, I used to have quite a bit of guilt having him, and I thought that in the future, I wouldn't be able to have another dog when I'm older (For context I'm a uni student and live with my parents)
I just want to point out a couple things. As Muslims, we SHOULD
- Have the Quran as the primary source of what we can and can't do (Doesn't say to kill all dogs here and it also doesn't say you will go to hell for having a dog)
- Follow the five pillars that Rasulallah ﷺ mentioned before passing away in his final sermon: O People, listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, say your five daily prayers (Salaah), fast during the month of Ramadhaan, and give from your wealth in Zakaat. Perform Hajj if you have the means. So these are what makes one fundamentally Muslim. Even if you believe Hadiths are infallible like our Salafi friends and should be followed word for word across every era, a Muslim is not a kafir for having dog and won't be thrown in hell simply based off that.
So even if you believe in the truthfulness of all Hadiths, we should follow these things.
For the main points of this post, I want to talk about how the role of dogs changed throughout human history. In the time of our beloved Prophet ﷺ, dogs kept by humans were mainly used for hunting and guarding. Back then, there was no hygiene for them and no way to ensure that they didn't carry any diseases or pests. Another point to note is that also back then, commoners and our Sahaba and Prophet ﷺ lived in very small houses as they lived like commoners too. So having an animal without any health precautions would increase the chance for disease and bugs inside of already tiny houses. Now this is my own take on this, but it is known that a prayer is not accepted if a dog comes in front of the prayer from Hadith. In small houses where you do everything in one room including praying, that dog will always be across your prayer. However, in bigger houses like we are able to have these days (Alhamdulillah) dogs won't be coming in front of you if you have a separate salah room which you don't allow them to enter. My local Mufti/Imam also said that if you keep a dog, to keep it in a separate room from your salah room and that it's not completely forbidden to have a dog inside your house, and I believe that his reasoning is what I've said in this paragraph.
Now the MOST important argument I have that we should keep dogs is that again in the time of the Prophetﷺ dogs along with other animals were allowed to roam freely throughout society as they didn't interrupt the happenings of society. People walked and used camels and horses for travel, and dogs and cats and other domestic animals running around towns posed no harm to them or us. However, in current society where cars and huge vehicles are the norm, if we let dogs run around, that is a harm to both them and us and can cause accidents and would impede the efficiency of our society. If we keep them in shelters without adopting them, they are euthanized, something that goes against the broader Islamic principles of being kind to all things and not killing another life unless absolutely necessary.
Finally, I know for sure that some people will say that it's allowed to keep a dog, just not inside the house even though they know what I mean by this post, and I want to address that as well. Dogs are social animals. Having a dog and keeping it outside the house will just bring it sadness as they also feel love and care for their owners. With the amount of hygiene and healthcare like vaccines we can afford for them now(Alhamdulillah) I want to say that it is fine if we keep them inside now, as long as they are not kept or let in the place that you do salah in. To the conservatives and Salafis that say Hadiths are perfect and unchanging, I want to remind them about how slavery was practiced in our religion, and it was slowly dragged out. I want to also start dragging out the exclusion of dogs from society as I believe we have been in place where having them won't cause harm. Dogs are beautiful creatures and they deserve the utmost care and respect, and I thank God for letting me have one.
Allah knows best and Jhazakallah for everyone that made it here to the end.