According to Islam, a dog may be kept out side the house for useful purposes like guarding, hunting, leading a blind person, sniffing narcotics, detecting explosives etc
What the Holy Quran says
The Grand Mufti of Dubai, Dr Ahmed Al Haddad, told Khaleej Times that keeping a dog at home is not advisable according to Islam, as affirmed by Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). "If dogs were not a nation among nations, then I would order that they be killed. There is one inhabiting a home in which they keep a dog but their deeds are decreased by one Qirat every day - except for a hunting dog, or a farm dog, or a sheep dog."
As such, Muslims are advised to be proud of their religion and culture, and refrain from blindly imitating others, Dr Haddad said. "If a dog is needed for guarding, herding, or hunting, it must be kept in a proper place and as per need."
The Grand Mufti of Dubai, Dr Ahmed Al Haddad
When you can and cannot keep a dog
"Raising or keeping a dog inside the house is not allowed in Islam under any circumstances, and even prevents the Angels of Mercy from entering the house, and deducts a large amount of a Muslim's worship reward on every single day," Dr Ali Mashael, Chief Mufti at the Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities in Dubai, told Khaleej Times.
However, a dog may be kept and benefited from outside the house for permissible reasons, such as farming, hunting or herding as explained by Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), he said.
Street dogs are either harmful or not, he stated. "If harmful, they should be banished or killed if needed, but not because they are dogs or just homeless," he underlined. "If harmless, they should be kept away or in a safe shelter, but never neutered or locked up until death."
Dr Ali Mashael
Prof Dr Ahmed Omar Hashim, former president of Al-Azhar University, said the angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog as "authentically warned by the Prophet (PBUH)."
Prof Dr Ahmed Omar Hashim
Reiterating the same, Dr Shaikh Khalid Al Jundi, said keeping a dog inside the house has nothing to do with civilisation or modernity, and is not allowed for any reason, particularly for having fun, as a prestige factor, or for scaring people. "However, a dog may be kept outside the house for guarding, hunting, leading a blind person, sniffing narcotics, detecting explosives, etc."
Dr Shaikh Khalid Al Jundi
