Pet Owner in Islam?
By sugaplum21
@sugaplum21 (4)
United States
1 response
@ethereal (106)
• Egypt
16 Oct 08
No, you're not allowed to have direct contact with dogs as they are considered "najis" or unclean in Islam. Some Muslims with gardens may keep dogs as they would be outside the house but as far as I know you're not allowed to keep one inside the place where you live as touching them would defile your prayers.
Personally I find this hard to swallow as dogs are the most wonderful, loyal creatures on Earth.
For more information go to Islamonline.
@sugaplum21 (4)
• United States
16 Oct 08
My parents have said the same thing to me. I'm Muslim, and I know that most of the scriptures (Hadith) say that you should only have a dog as an outside watchdog, but they also go on to say that the "black dog is unclean." There are researchers that say that they may have been talking about coyotes. I don't understand why it is okay to have a cat and not a dog. As long as the dog is housetrained, and doesn't pee on the carpet that you pray on, I don't believe it should be a problem. I'm just wondering if there are other Muslims out there that have inside dogs, and justify it this way. Growing up, I never had a pet, not even a fish. Now that I'm an adult, and live on my own, I decided to adopt a chihuahua. He's been the best thing ever. I do agree with you, they are wonderful! That's why I don't believe that Islam would prohibit such a thing.
@ethereal (106)
• Egypt
17 Oct 08
No merciful God would punish a person for being an animal lover and no religion should make it a sin to own a dog as they are after all God's creatures.
There is no verse in the Koran banning dogs as pets and many of the sayings of Mohamed are believed to be unsubstantiated. So just follow your heart and enjoy your little friend!
