Domesticated Dogs

Question :

We have a dog in our house; we purchased it before knowing that it is forbidden to keep a dog without a valid reason. Once we knew this, we released the dog and attempted to drive it away. To no avail, though: since it became so used to our home, that it refused to leave. I certainly don't want to kill it, so what should I do?

Answer:

Except for cases wherein the Shari'ah specifically men- tions for hunting, protecting one's livestock, and farmland it is forbidden to keep a dog. A person who keeps a dog loses a Qirat (a measurement) of reward every day, an indication of it being unlawful (forbidden), for losing rewards is like receiving a punishment: both indicate that something is unlawful.

Given this occasion, I advise all my brothers not to imitate the disbelievers by getting a dog; a dog is not merely filthy and impure, but it is the most impure animal. What it spoils cannot be purified except by washing that object seven times, once of which must be done with dirt. Even the filthy pig, which Allâh mentioned in the Qur'an to be prohibited and impure, does not reach this level.

We unfortunately see many people, impressed as they are by disbelievers, getting dogs for no reason. They obtain, raise, and clean these animals, animals that could not even be purified by plunging them into the sea. People, in their foolishness, spend large amounts of money for the care of dogs, while the Prophet forbade wasting wealth.

I advise these people to repent to Allah Almighty and to expel the dogs from their homes. But because the Prophet permitted keeping dogs in these instances, you may do so if you need one for hunting, for protecting livestock, or farmland. You still need an answer: when you expel and drive away your dog, you are no longer responsible for it. Don't keep it, and if it is left outside your home long enough, it will leave the city and seek Allâh's sustenance in the wild, just as other dogs do.

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