Answered by: Maulana Sibghat Ullah
Question:
Is having a dog in Islam haram, makruh, or najis?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
Dogs cannot be haram if they are used for hunting and guarding. But if you are keeping dogs for pleasure then it will be impermissible as the angels will not come and you lose reward every day.
It is narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allaah said: “Whoever keeps a dog, a qiraat from his good deeds will be deducted every day, except a dog for farming or herding livestock.” i
It is also narrated from ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib that the Prophet said: “The angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog or an image.” ii
According to Imam Abu Hanifa dogs’ bodies are not najas so the splash of dogs bodies will not make clothes impure but the dogs’ saliva is impure. iii
It is narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah said: “If a dog licks the vessel of any one of you, let him wash it seven times, the first time with dust.iv
So, scholars said if the dog was not impure, the Prophet would not have commanded us to spill the water from which the dog drank because it would be considered a waste of water.
Only Allah knows best.
Written by Maulana Sibghat Ullah
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
I Sunan Ibn Majah, Book of Hunting, Chapter: The prohibition of keeping dogs except for dogs used for hunting, farming or herding livestock
ii Sunan Ibn Majah, Book of Dress
iii Raddul Mukhtar, Book of Purity, Chapter of water, 1/362
iv Sunan Nasai, Book of Water, Chapter: Rubbing a vessel licked by a dog with dust.