Sadly,
this concept comes from fabricated hadith which claims that the Prophet
ordered the killing of dogs and gave numerous hadith that prohibit the
keeping of dogs except for hunting and guarding, due to their dirty
status!
However, by studying
the Quran we find no such truth. No where in the Quran are dogs
prohibited, nor is there any mention of any contaminating effect of
these lovely animals who are man's best friend. Consequently, we must
dismiss all these hadith that fabricate lies against the Prophet.
1- God tells us in the Quran about the story of the dwellers of the Cave (Surah 18). In verse 13 God tells us that they were good believers and that God guided them. In verse 18 God tells us that they had their dog with them.
Now if dogs are prohibited and dirty, would God speak of those dwellers of the Cave (who had a dog) as good believers?
2-
In 5:4 God tells us that it is okay to eat what the trained dogs catch
(dogs are used in hunting). Now if the dog is an animal which causes
contamination by mere touch, would God tell us it is perfectly okay to
eat what the dog catches with his mouth (let alone just touch the dog)?
3- The Quran contains a very important rule for all believers, and the rule is:
Nothing
is haram (unlawful) unless it is prohibited by God Himself, and since
God describes the Quran as complete, perfect and fully detailed, thus
all the prohibitions decreed by God are found in the Quran. The
following Quranic verses confirm this truth:
“Say, "Who prohibited the nice things God has created for His creatures,
and the good provisions?" Say, "Such provisions are to be enjoyed in
this life by those who believe. Moreover, the good provisions will be
exclusively theirs on the Day of Resurrection." We thus explain the
revelations for people who know.” 7:32
“Shall I seek other than God as a source of law, when He has revealed to you this book fully detailed?” 6:114
“You shall not utter lies with your own tongues stating: "This is halal (lawful), and this is haram (unlawful)," to fabricate lies and attribute them to God. Surely, those who fabricate lies and attribute them to God will never succeed.” 16:116
There is not one verse in the Quran where God says that dogs are dirty or that they are prohibited to keep.
4-
Is it logical that God would create an animal to be man's best friend
and serve him in many ways, and then prohibit such an animal?
5-
If this is what the Quran has to tell us about the issue of dogs, then
where does all the prohibition come from? Where do the claims that dogs
are dirty animals which if touched would void our ablution and render
us impure come from? As most other corruptions which have crept into
Islam, the source is always the fabricated hadith which are falsely
attributed to prophet Muhammad!
Hadith
tell us that the Prophet prohibited the keeping of dogs as pets. Other
hadith tell us that angels won't enter a room where there is a dog.
Other hadith tell us that if we touch a dog our ablution is void and we
become impure, and that we have to wash seven times to clean this
impurity, the final time in dust.
That seems inconsistent with the Quran saying you may eat what they
catch for you! Some other hadith go even beyond that to say that we must
kill all black dogs!
The following are some examples:
Malik's Muwatta, Book 54, Number 54.5.13:
"Malik
related from Nafi from Abdullah Ibn Umar that the Messenger of God
ordered all dogs (other than sheepdogs or hunting dogs) to be killed".
Ibn Hanbal's collection: The Messenger of God said:
"You shall kill all black dogs, because they are devils."
The
question is: Did the Prophet really issue these prohibitions? In
addition, did the Prophet have the authority to issue these
prohibitions?
The answer is given in the Quran:
"O you prophet, why do you prohibit what God has made lawful in order to please your wives? God is Forgiver Merciful" 66:1
Obviously
God did not include the words in 66:1 in the Quran to belittle the
Prophet in our eyes, but these words are placed in the Quran in order to
confirm to all believers across all time that the Messenger of God does
not have the authority to prohibit anything which is not prohibited by
God. God is the only Law Maker (6:114) and the only duty of the
messenger is to deliver God's message (5:92).
The
outcome of all the above is that we must discard all the lies
attributed to the prophet regarding prohibiting dogs and be focused on
the Quran as the only source of guidance and religious law.
