Question Summary:
Is it permissible to keep a cat as a pet? Question Detail:
Is permissible to own cats in Islam provided they are kept hygienically as I was once told they are not clean and therefore not appropriate for the household. More specifically, I was told they contaminate water supplies.
Answer :
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
In principle, it is permissible to keep a cat as long as one takes care of the cat. [1]
Hadhrat Abu Hurairah Radhiallahuanhu is a famous Sahabi/companion of Nabi (ﷺ). His name was Abdurrahman, and his title was Abu Hurairah, which means father of a kitten.
This title was given to him by Nabi (ﷺ) himself as Hadhrat Abu Hurairah Radhiallahuanhu was fond of his kitten pet.
A cat’s saliva is impure. However, Shariah has reduced the level of impurity of a cat’s saliva due to the cat frequenting the house.
This is understood from the following Hadeeth:
عن كبشةَ بنتِ كعب بن مالك، وكانت تحتَ ابن أبي قتادة أنَّ أبا قتادة دخلَ فسَكَبَت له وَضوءاً، فجاءت هِرَّة فشَرِبَت منه، فأصغى لها الإناءَ حتى شَرِبَت، قالت كَبشَةُ: فرآني أنظُرُ إليه، فقال: أتعجَبينَ يا ابنةَ أخي؟ فقلت: نعم، فقال: إنَّ رسولَ الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم -قال: "إنَّها ليست بنَجَسٍ، إنَّها مِنَ الطَّوَّافينَ عليكم والطَّوَّافات
Translation: Kabshah, daughter of Ka'b ibn Malik and wife of Ibn Abu-Qatadah, reported: Abu Qatadah Radhiallahuanhu visited (me) and I poured out water for him for ablution. A cat came and drank some of it and he tilted the vessel for it until it drank some of it. Kabshah said: He saw me looking at him, he asked me, Are you surprised my niece? I said: Yes. He then reported the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: It is not impure, rather it is amongst the (males or females) who intermingle with you.
(Sunan-Abu Dawood, Vol 1, Page 56)
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Muhammad I.V Patel
Student Darul Iftaa
Lusaka, Zambia
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
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[1] بذل المجود: جلد1 صفحة 422
شبهها بِالْمَمَالِيكِ وخدم البیت الذين يطوفون بالخدمة، قال الله طوافون عليكم بعضكم على بعض
وألحقها بهم، لأنها خادمة أيضا حیث تقتل المؤذيات أو لأن الأجر فی مواساتها کما فی مواساتهم
مرقاة المفاتيح شرح مشكاة المصابيح (2/ 454)
لِأَنَّهَا (" مِنَ الطَّوَّافِينَ ") : الطَّائِفُ الَّذِي يَخْدِمُكَ بِرِفْقٍ شَبَّهَهَا بِالْمَمَالِيكِ وَخَدَمَةِ الْبَيْتِ الَّذِينَ يَطُوفُونَ لِلْخِدْمَةِ. قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: {طَوَّافُونَ عَلَيْكُمْ بَعْضُكُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ} [النور: 58] وَأَلْحَقَهَا بِهِمْ ; لِأَنَّهَا خَادِمَةٌ أَيْضًا حَيْثُ تَقْتُلُ الْمُؤْذِيَاتِ، أَوْ لِأَنَّ الْأَجْرَ فِي مُوَاسَاتِهَا كَمَا فِي مُوَاسَاتِهِمْ،
مرعاة المفاتيح شرح مشكاة المصابيح (2/ 183)
{طوافون عليكم} [58:24] وهذا إشارة إلى علة الحكم بطهارتها، وهي أنها كثيرة الدخول والاتصال بأهل المنزل وبما في منزلهم، ففي الحكم بنجاستها حرج، وهو مدفوع
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