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I was looking up a reference in 'Muhammad, A Biography of the Prophet' by Karen Armstrong, when I came across this excerpt which caught my eye.

pg 231

"Over the centuries in the West, we have tended to think of Muhammad as a grim figure, a cruel warrior and a callous politician. But he was a man of great kindness and sensibility. He loved animals, for example, and if he saw a cat asleep on a cloak he would not dream of disturbing it. It has been said that one of the tests of a society is its attitude towards animals. All religions encourage an attitude of love and respect for the natural world, and Muhammad was trying to teach Muslims this.

During the Jahiliyah [pre-Islamic time] the Arabs had treated animals very cruelly: they used to cut off lumps of flesh to eat while the beasts were still alive and put painful rings round the necks of camels. Muhammad forbade any painful branding or organised animal fights. One tradition has him telling a story in which a man who gave water to a dog on a thirsty day was sent to Paradise and a woman who starved her cat to death was sent to hell.

The preservation of these traditions shows how important the values had become in the Muslim world and how quickly the community had advanced towards a more humane and compassionate vision."

It's a shame that sometimes these high virtues aren't lived up to by people in Dubai today.

Cheers,
Shafique

one thing that always bothered me is that dogs are labelled "najis" by muslims - the fatwa i read specified that dogs are najis unless they're there to guide or herd other animals.

but dogs arent allowed under the fatwa's rule as pets....

not sure why, is the fatwa made up, or does the quran specifically say that the dog is najis?

Islam teaches that all animals to be treated kindly.

Muslims pray in their houses and prostrate on the ground, as you know. Therefore generally shoes are removed in the house and the ground kept clean (much like Japanese culture).

Allowing pets which roam outside to also roam inside a house compromises the cleanliness of the house in this regard, and therefore is one reason why dogs in Islam are discouraged as house pets - but they are not forbidden as pets, many muslims keep dogs, but they are kept outside of the house.

In many ways, it is more 'humane' for dogs to be kept outside than in the artificial indoors environment (but that is a different discussion).

The main issue is that Islam teaches animal rights need to be respected - something some Muslims need reminding of (we all need reminding some times).

Cheers,
Shafique

why would they label something that shoudl be treated kindly as najis?

if it snuck into your house and made it najis, should it be punished?

What does najis mean and why can't you be kind to a dog whilst keeping it outside the house?

Islam doesn't teach that we should punish an animal if comes into a house.

Cheers,
Shafique

thats not in line with the imams fatwa ruling regarding dogs..


and seeing that you're not an imam shafique, im more inclined to follow the imam as what the majority muslims accept as fact.


najis in literal meaning is "unpure" or "unclean" in a physical sense rather than spiritual.

No Imam, to my knowledge, says we should be cruel to dogs. This is the point - we need to be kind to animals and this is what Islam teaches. I don't see what is confusing you.

Yes, they are considered unclean because they shed hairs, drool etc - but dogs are still kept as pets by many Muslims - my parents and in-laws have dogs, for example. The dogs just aren't allowed in the house.

Cheers,
Shafique

shafique wrote::)

No Imam, to my knowledge, says we should be cruel to dogs. This is the point - we need to be kind to animals and this is what Islam teaches. I don't see what is confusing you.

Yes, they are considered unclean because they shed hairs, drool etc - but dogs are still kept as pets by many Muslims - my parents and in-laws have dogs, for example. The dogs just aren't allowed in the house.

Cheers,
Shafique

i never said that any imam has allowed people to be cruel, but they have mentioned that if a dog happens to touch your clothes, or your house, the dog should be punished so not to repeat offence - aknowledging that dogs have intelligence... but also asserting heavily that dogs are unpure.

this is specific to dogs.... now the question to be raised, a horse would have the same sort of charachteristics you outlined, hair, drool, etc etc etc, so would a camel.... yet they're not labelled "najis"

so something doesnt quite add up?

Ok, we agree Islam doesn't advocate cruelty towards animals.

Whenever my kids go to a petting zoo, they always wash their hands afterwards. It's called basic hygiene. This is quite good advice, is it not?

Cheers,
Shafique

shafique wrote:Ok, we agree Islam doesn't advocate cruelty towards animals.

Whenever my kids go to a petting zoo, they always wash their hands afterwards. It's called basic hygiene. This is quite good advice, is it not?

Cheers,
Shafique

of course it is.

you seem to still miss my point

why is the dog najis, and camels and horses arent?

Perhaps dogs are carnivores and harbour more germs? Perhaps dogs are small enough to come into houses and will go into areas that are dirtier than a horse or camel will. Many reasons - but to be honest, I don't know the answer as it isn't really something I have thought about.

I think it would be a bit stupid for someone to say 'don't keep an elephant in your house because it is unclean', but not so stupid to say the same about a dog. I would not necessarily conclude that an elephant is not unclean.

Anyway, for practical purposes let me repeat that we are in agreement that Islam does not condone mis-treatment of animals (and nor does any religion, I would add).

Cheers,
Shafique