A question for Muslim dopers or those at least knowledgeable with regards to Islam:
A friend of mine spent her holidays in Egypt, helping out in an animal shelter run by an expat Swiss lady. While there, she inquired about the general situation of stray dogs and cats in the area, wishig to compare it with the situation in Hungary and Spain, where she is active herself.
She was told something like “the Quran says not to keep pets in the house, and not to sell them or give them as gifts”. Is this true?
all i can help you with is i have moslem friends who keep lots of cats. and another thing i can contribute is they can’t go near dogs. dogs are ‘dirty’ (i use this lightly, not dirty dirty but sort of like how they don’t touch pork) & you’ll have to find someone qualified to help you out why in that area.
There is nothing in Al Qur’an that forbids to keep pets.
About animals in general:
They are described as forming their own particular umma (community) and having a consiousness that makes them able to worship God “in their own way” (which is in fact said about any life-form and can be seen as indicating that this worship is done in a way that is not understood by humans).
Cruelty towards animals is as much condemned as cruelty towards humans.
The same for abuse of animals.
Responsiblility of humans towards all animal life (and other life) on theplanet is made very clear.
The fact that there are Muslims who - in particular - see a dog as an animal one should not keep in the house, or even should not touch or whatever is an aspect of culture and/or superstition of certain societies.
Even people who have no idea about what is said on the subject in Al Qur’an or hadith (for example because they can’t even read what is written there) firmly believe that a dog is “dirty”.
For example they believe the saliva of a dog makes then “unclean”. It doesn’t seem to come through when you try to explain that when you prepare for prayers (= make sure your clothing is clean and you performed your ritual washings) these actions also make sure that whatever a dog leaves on you is gone.
This aversion against dogs is in my eyes absolutely ridiculous and especially when you look at it in its context of “staying clean = avoid a dog”. Simply because of the fact that everyone who touches any animal (or any human or whatever matter, inlcuding your own body) inevitably becomes “polluted”.
Of course such cultural aspects of society, engrained and sustained for centuries, aren’t going to disappear over night.
But I don’t have much consideration for those who want to defend these kind of ridiculous superstitions “theologically” and for this give references to dubious hadith, for example the one who says that angels never enter a place where a dog is present, etc…
This in clear contradiction with Al Qur’an (especially in sura 18;18 = the story of the sleeping men in the cave where they have their dog with them) and they know very well they have no leg to stand on, whatever they come up with as “defence”.
But sadly enough that is not the only case where the Hadith Worshippers follow hadith that are in clear contradiction with the Message that can be read in Al Qur’an.
In my wild dreams I am able to lock them all up in a “re-education camp” in good old communist style to get them instructed about the real Islam. That would solve a lot of our current problems for good
Salaam. A
Hobbyist Saluki-breeder
Reading your link, I came already across a proof of what I said above:
Not only is it a bit ridiculous to say that “many Arabs” deny the existence of the Saluki. It is blasphemy to consider a dog as “holy”. And when it comes to the last sentence of the quote… This is a clear contradiction with what is said about hunting with animals in Al Qur’an.
**Al Qur’an, surat al-ma’ida (V); 4
They ask you what is lawful for them. Say : Lawful for you are the good things and [the catch of trained] dogs and falcons (preditors) which you trained by teaching them something of what God teached you. So eat from what they catch for you and mention God’s name thereupon. You shall observe God. God is most efficient in the reckoning. **
Salaam. A
