Are Dogs Considered Impure?

There is a famous hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said “If a dog drank from a dish of yours, purify the dish by washing it seven times with dust being the first time”. Based on this hadith, the majority of scholars considered dogs to be impure(najas).

The Shaafi’iyyah and Hanabillah considered all the parts of a dog to be impure; while the Hanafiyyah considered the dog’s saliva, urine and sweat only as the impure.

They argued that, if dogs are not impure, the Prophet would not have commanded us to spill the water from which the dog drank because it would be considered a waste of money (Israaf) which Islam prohibits.

And scholars who maintained the dog’s impurity, some of them obligated washing the dish seven times along with one time with dust, and others (among those who considered dog to be impure) opined that it is only recommended to wash it seven time and one time with dust and they claim that the impurity of the drunk water by dog is similar to other forms of impurities. And this is the opinion held by the Hanafis. Their evidence is the hadith of Abu Hurairah in which the Prophet said, “If a dog drank from a dish, it should be washed three times”. This narration says 3 times unlike the earlier which says seven times.

Meanwhile, Imam Malik and the Maalikiyyah stated that the dog is pure (Tahir) with the claim that all living things are pure.

As for the hadith of spilling the water of the dish from which the dog drank and then washing the dish, they argued this is just a ritual act that is not subjected to reason and washing the dish does not indicate the impurity of the dog because impurities are not conditioned with a certain number.

Imam Malik and the Maalikiyyah supported their juristic opinion with the Quranic verse 4 of Suratu Al-Maidah in which Allah says, “So eat of what they catch for you..”. And they said if the dog was impure in itself, then it would make what it hunted impure as well.

Imam ibn Daqiq who lived in the Sixth Century and the author of the famous book “Ihkamul Ahkam Sharh ‘Umdat al Ahkam”, he said in his book that the Malikis supported their opinion regarding the purity of dogs through citing the example of the permissibility of dogs to hunt animals without persisting on its purity because hunting animals without touching them is very difficult.

Another evidence that is cited by the Maalikiyyah to prove the purity of dogs is a hadith which was reported by Imam Bukhari in which Abdullah ibn Umar stated that dogs used to come and go in the mosque at the time of the Prophet without spraying anything on it.

Ibn Bataal (d.449AH) said that for dogs to come and go in the mosque usually entails wiping their nose, drinking water and eating leftovers because the mosque was the sleeping place for strangers and delegations. They eat therein and the mosque was also the living place for Ahl Suffa (A group of poor Muslims, who were given permission by the Prophet to live in a corner of the Madeenah mosque). He further said, If dogs were impure, they would be prevented from entering the mosque because Muslims unanimously agree on the impressibility of impurities to enter mosques.

Also the fact that dogs used to “come and go” indicates the repetitive nature of dogs’ entrance to the mosque and not forbidding their entrance indicates that they posses no impurity because impurity does not accompany living things.

And all scholars unanimously agreed that, harming dogs or killing them is un-Islamic as Islam commanded us to be kind and merciful to all animals and dogs are certainly included.

In implication, if one’s clothe touches any part of the body of a dog, the clothe remains pure and the ablution is still valid – considering the stance of the Maalikiyyah. Until the clothes get in touch with the saliva or sweat or urine of the dog before it can be considered impure – according to the Hanafiyyah. And the clothe becomes impure generally if one favors the opinion of the Shaafi’iyah and Hanabillah.

Meanwhile, the predominant view of the Maalikiyyah is that it is disliked (makrooh) to keep a dog for purposes other than agriculture, herding, or hunting, but some of them said that it is permissible. And the Malikis never said eating dog is Halal.