Q: I have a question regarding dogs, I know that keeping dogs is prohibited in Islam and that one can only keep a dog if they need it for herding cattle or hunting or guarding the house otherwise 2 qirats will be deducted daily and it is also a major sin, however I want to ask about the dog mentioned in Surah al Kahf and also how can we use dogs for hunting animals, won’t the dog fetch the animal to his master by gripping from its mouth which contains saliva which is naajis. I also have read somewhere that you should clean any thing touched by a dog 7 times and the 8th time with soil, can we use soap to clean impurity or is soil to be used which opinion is correct. With regards to saliva of the dog I read on websites which say that imam Abu hanifa said that a dog’s saliva is impure but their hair is clean provided it’s not wet. Imam Malik said that both their hair and saliva is clean while imam Shafii differed the most saying that both their hair and saliva is unclean who is correct and what to follow. A question can one walk someone else’s dog on a rope provided you do not touch the dog mouth and walk it without any cost and don’t bring it inside the house is this okay. Finally I don’t know but if you want to guard house using a dog can you keep him in the house provided that you don’t pray or eat or sleep in that area.
A: The dog that was used by the Ashaabul Kahf was a dog for security purposes and this is allowed.
A dog that is used for hunting purposes will kill its prey by biting the prey, and with the biting it will bleed and the saliva will be thrown out with the blood.
To keep a pet dog is impermissible.
The guard dog should be kept out of the house.
And Allah Ta’ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
Answered by:
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)