Short answer: Muslims may keep a dog for a real need, such as guarding a home or farm, herding, hunting, or as a guide or service dog. Keeping a dog only as a pet in the house is discouraged by the hadith, which says the owner loses reward each day and that angels do not enter a house with a dog. On impurity the schools differ: in the Hanafi school a dog is not impure in itself, only its saliva is, so touching a dry dog changes nothing and you wash only where its saliva touched. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools treat the whole dog as impure, and the Maliki school treats a living dog as pure. Every school agrees that being cruel to a dog is a sin and kindness to one is rewarded.
What the Quran says about dogs
The Quran mentions dogs without contempt. The best known is the dog that stayed with the young believers in the cave:
وَتَحْسَبُهُمْ أَيْقَاظًۭا وَهُمْ رُقُودٌۭ ۚ وَنُقَلِّبُهُمْ ذَاتَ ٱلْيَمِينِ وَذَاتَ ٱلشِّمَالِ ۖ وَكَلْبُهُم بَٰسِطٌۭ ذِرَاعَيْهِ بِٱلْوَصِيدِ ۚ لَوِ ٱطَّلَعْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ لَوَلَّيْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِرَارًۭا وَلَمُلِئْتَ مِنْهُمْ رُعْبًۭا
Wa tahsabuhum ayqaazanw wa hum ruqood; wa nuqallibuhum zaatal yameeni wa zaatash shimaali wa kalbuhum baasitun ziraa'ayhi bilwaseed; lawit tala'ta 'alaihim la wallaita minhum firaaranw wa lamuli'ta minhum rubaa
"And you would think them awake, while they were asleep. And We turned them to the right and to the left, while their dog stretched his forelegs at the entrance. If you had looked at them, you would have turned from them in flight and been filled by them with terror."
Quran 18:18 · translation by Sahih International
The dog is counted with them in Quran 18:22: "the fourth of them being their dog". The Quran also allows eating game caught by trained hunting animals. The word used for training them, mukallibin, comes from kalb, dog:
يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ مَاذَآ أُحِلَّ لَهُمْ ۖ قُلْ أُحِلَّ لَكُمُ ٱلطَّيِّبَٰتُ ۙ وَمَا عَلَّمْتُم مِّنَ ٱلْجَوَارِحِ مُكَلِّبِينَ تُعَلِّمُونَهُنَّ مِمَّا عَلَّمَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ ۖ فَكُلُوا۟ مِمَّآ أَمْسَكْنَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱسْمَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ ۖ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَرِيعُ ٱلْحِسَابِ
Yas'aloonaka maazaaa uhilla lahum; qul uhilla lakumuttaiyibaatu wa maa'allamtum minal jawaarihi mukallibeena tu'allimoonahunnamimmaa 'allamakumul laahu fakuloo mimmaaa amsakna 'alaikum wazkurus mal laahi 'alaih; wattaqul laah; innal laaha saree'ul hisaab
"They ask you, [O Muhammad], what has been made lawful for them. Say, "Lawful for you are [all] good foods and [game caught by] what you have trained of hunting animals which you train as Allah has taught you. So eat of what they catch for you, and mention the name of Allah upon it, and fear Allah." Indeed, Allah is swift in account."
Quran 5:4 · translation by Sahih International
In Quran 7:176, a man who abandons Allah's signs for his desires is compared to a panting dog. That is a picture of restlessness, not a ruling on dogs.
What the hadith say
Kindness to dogs
- A man walking on a road was very thirsty, found a well and drank. Then he saw a dog panting and eating mud from thirst. He went back down, filled his leather sock with water and gave the dog a drink. "Allah thanked him and forgave him." The Companions asked whether there is reward for animals, and the Prophet ﷺ said: "There is a reward for every living thing."1
- A woman of bad character saw a dog circling a well, near death from thirst. She drew water with her shoe and gave it a drink, and she was forgiven for it.2
- Ibn Umar reported that in the time of the Prophet ﷺ dogs would come and go in the masjid, and the Companions did not wash the floor after them.3
Saliva and washing
طَهُورُ إِنَاءِ أَحَدِكُمْ إِذَا وَلَغَ فِيهِ الْكَلْبُ أَنْ يَغْسِلَهُ سَبْعَ مَرَّاتٍ أُولَاهُنَّ بِالتُّرَابِ
Ṭahūru ināʾi aḥadikum idhā walagha fīhil-kalbu an yaghsilahū sabʿa marrātin ūlāhunna bit-turāb
The purification of the vessel of one of you, when a dog has licked from it, is to wash it seven times, the first of them with earth.
Sahih Muslim 279, from Abu Hurayrah; also in Sahih al-Bukhari 172 without the mention of earth
Keeping dogs
- "Whoever keeps a dog, other than a dog for herding, hunting or farming, a qirat of his reward is lost every day."4 A qirat is a measure of reward, described elsewhere as like a mountain.
- "The angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog or an image."5 Scholars said this refers to the angels of mercy, not the angels who record deeds and guard people.
Is a dog najis? The four schools
This is where the confusion comes from. A Muslim who follows the Shafi'i school may be very careful never to touch a dog, while a Hanafi or Maliki Muslim may pat one. Both are following their school.
In the relied-upon view of the school, a dog is not impure in itself (not najis al-ayn). Its saliva is impure, and so is anything wet from its mouth. Touching a dry dog, or its dry fur, does not make you or your clothes impure. Where its saliva touches your body, clothes or a dish, wash that place. A dish a dog has licked is washed three times, like other impurities, and washing it seven times is recommended to follow the hadith. Earth is not required.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i, Hanbali
- The whole dog is impure, with the heaviest kind of impurity (mughallazah). Anything touched by its saliva, or by its body when either is wet, is washed seven times, one of them with earth or soil, as in the hadith of Sahih Muslim.
- Maliki
- A living dog is pure, including its saliva. The seven washes for a dish it drank from are an act of obedience (ta'abbud), not because of impurity, and apply only to a dish with water.
| What happened | Hanafi | Shafi'i and Hanbali | Maliki |
|---|---|---|---|
| You stroked a dry dog | Nothing to wash | Nothing to wash if both were dry | Nothing to wash |
| A dog licked your hand or clothes | Wash that place until clean (three times is the usual way) | Wash seven times, once with earth | Nothing required; washing is good manners |
| A dog with a wet nose touched you | Wash the wet place | Wash seven times, once with earth | Nothing required |
| A dog drank from your bowl | Wash three times; seven is recommended | Wash seven times, once with earth | Wash seven times (as worship) |
| You touched a dog, then want to pray | Your wudu is still valid; wash any saliva | Wudu is still valid; wash as above | Wudu is still valid |
Touching a dog does not break wudu in any of the four schools. Wudu is broken by things like using the toilet or sleep, not by touching an animal. If impurity is on your body or clothes, you wash that place before praying. See how to make wudu for what does break it.
Can Muslims keep a dog?
Keeping a dog is allowed for a need: hunting, guarding livestock or crops, or guarding a house or property from thieves. It should be kept outside the living areas where possible. Keeping a dog only as a pet, with no need, is not allowed (makruh tahrimi), because of the hadith about losing reward and the angels. Selling or buying a working dog is valid in the Hanafi school.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i, Hanbali
- Keeping a dog without one of the needs named in the hadith is haram. Selling a dog is not valid.
- Maliki
- Keeping a dog without need is disliked (makruh) in the main view, and some Maliki scholars allowed it. The school allows selling a working dog in one view.
Guide dogs, service dogs and working dogs
Contemporary scholars, Hanafi scholars included, count a guide dog for a blind person, an assistance dog for a disabled person, and police, rescue and detection dogs as a clear need, like the guard dog of the hadith. In many countries a taxi driver or shop owner must by law accept a guide dog. Many scholars say a Muslim driver should accept it, keep the saliva rules of their school, and clean the seat afterwards if needed.
If you already have a dog
- Never abandon it or treat it badly. If you decide to rehome it, find it a good home.
- Give it a space of its own, such as a yard, a kennel or a room you do not pray in.
- Keep its bowls separate, and keep your prayer clothes and prayer place free of its saliva.
- Feed it, give it water and shelter, and take it to a vet when it is sick. The Prophet ﷺ said a woman was punished for locking up a cat and neither feeding it nor letting it eat.6
Why cats are treated differently
The Prophet ﷺ said of the cat: "It is not impure. It is one of those who go around among you."7 Cats were allowed in homes and around the masjid, and water a cat drank from may be used for wudu, though the Hanafi school calls it slightly disliked when other water is available. The difference with dogs comes from the hadith themselves, not from culture.
FAQ
Are Muslims allowed to have dogs?
Yes, for a need such as guarding, herding, hunting or as a guide or service dog. Keeping a dog only as a house pet is discouraged by the hadith; the Hanafi school calls it makruh tahrimi and the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools haram.
Does touching a dog break wudu?
No. Touching a dog does not break wudu in any school. If its saliva touched you, wash that place; in the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools wet contact is washed seven times, once with earth.
Is a dog najis in the Hanafi madhhab?
In the relied-upon Hanafi view, the dog itself is not impure, but its saliva is. So a dry dog's fur is not impure, and you wash only where its saliva or wet mouth touched.
What does the Quran say about dogs?
It mentions the dog of the Companions of the Cave (18:18 and 18:22), allows game caught by trained hunting animals (5:4), and uses a panting dog as a picture of restless desire (7:176). It has no verse calling dogs impure; that comes from the hadith.
Can I pray if a dog licked my clothes?
Wash the place it licked first. Hanafis wash it until clean, usually three times; Shafi'is and Hanbalis wash it seven times, once with earth. Malikis consider the saliva pure.
Sources
- Sahih al-Bukhari 173 and 2363; Sahih Muslim 2244, from Abu Hurayrah.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3467; Sahih Muslim 2245, from Abu Hurayrah.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 174, from Ibn Umar.
- Sahih Muslim, from Abu Hurayrah; Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim from Ibn Umar, with "two qirats".
- Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Abu Talhah.
- Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Ibn Umar.
- Sunan Abi Dawud, Jami at-Tirmidhi and Sunan an-Nasa'i, from Abu Qatadah; at-Tirmidhi graded it hasan sahih.
- Hanafi rulings: Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar (Kitab al-Taharah, Bab al-Miyah; Kitab al-Buyu'); al-Fatawa al-Hindiyyah. The other schools are summarised from their standard manuals (an-Nawawi, al-Majmu'; Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni; ad-Dardir, ash-Sharh al-Kabir).
- Quran 5:4 and 18:18, translation by Sahih International.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.