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Is a Muslim allowed to have a dog for the sake of Allah ?

Question:

Assalamu'alaikum I'd like to ask you about having a dog. I know that the hadith said that moslems are not allowed to have one at home. But, will be okay to have one for the sake of Allah's grace? Once there was a prostitute who went to heaven just because she gave a thirsty dog some water. Can we do the same to save dogs on the street or ones in cage to have it at home........??

Answer:

In the name of Allah the Ever Merciful.

Walaykum salam.

It is not allowed for a Muslim to have a dog or dogs except for two reasons: for security or for hunting. In both cases the dog or dogs must be kept outside the house.

The correct narration of the Hadith you mentioned is that the Prophet (swa) said in an authentic Hadith: “The Prophet (peace be on him) told his Companions a story concerning a man who found a dog in the desert panting and licking the dust due to thirst. The man went to a well, filled his shoes with water, and relieved the dog’s thirst. Said the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him), “Allah appreciated this and forgave him all his sins.” (Reported by al-Bukhari.)

We understand from this hadith that we are commanded to treat the animals with compassion and not to abuse them. The animals are all creatures of Allah and we must be merciful to them, but this does not mean that we could keep the animal in the house. Accordingly, there are several other Hadiths where our Prophet (swa) prohibited us to have dogs in the houses. Here I have cited a couple:

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Angels do not enter a house wherein there is a dog or an animate picture." (Reported by Bukhari).
It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever keeps a dog, except a dog for herding livestock or a dog that is trained for hunting, two qiraats will be deducted from his reward each day.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5163; Muslim,

Allah knows best.

Jazakallah khyer.

Skh. Mostafa

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