Is it permissible to use dogs for the purpose of guarding the house, and does touching them with the hand invalidate the ablution, and what is the ruling on using the vessels from which they eat or drink?
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The questioner : I live with some of my relatives in their house, and they have a dog in the house. They say it is for guarding their home. They often touch it with their hands and wash its body with their hands as well. Is it permissible to use dogs for such a purpose in the house only? Does touching it with the hand affect the validity of the ablution, or is it considered an invalidator? And what is the ruling on using the vessels in which its food and drink may be given?
The Shaykh : Using or keeping dogs is not permissible except in what the Shari'ah has granted a dispensation for. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) granted a dispensation for this in three matters: a dog for livestock to guard it from wild beasts and wolves, a dog for crops to guard them from livestock and sheep and others, and the third is a hunting dog from which the hunter benefits. These are the three in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) granted a dispensation for keeping a dog, and anything other than that is not permissible. Accordingly, a house that is in the middle of a built-up area has no need for a dog to be kept to guard it, so keeping a dog for this purpose in such a situation is forbidden and not permissible, and it diminishes the rewards of its owners by one qirat or two qirats every day. They must drive this dog away and not keep it. However, if this house is in a place in the desert, empty, with no one around it, then it is permissible to keep it to guard the house and those in it, and to guard its people; this is more effective in preservation than guarding livestock and crops. As for touching this dog, if it is touched without moisture, it does not make the hand impure. But if it is touched with moisture, such that a person touches its back while it is wet, or his hand, or the hand of the one touching it is wet, then this necessitates the impurity of the hand according to the opinion of many scholars of knowledge, and it is obligatory to wash it, meaning to wash the hand after it seven times, one of which is with earth.
As for the vessels in which food and drink are given, if it licks in the vessel, meaning it drinks from it, it is obligatory to wash the vessel seven times, one of which is with earth, as established in the two Sahihs and others from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)As-Sunan al-Kubra lil-Nasa'i 64:468.
The questioner : May Allah reward you. This listener, J M S D from Iran, sent a message asking, saying:
The Shaykh : Using or keeping dogs is not permissible except in what the Shari'ah has granted a dispensation for. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) granted a dispensation for this in three matters: a dog for livestock to guard it from wild beasts and wolves, a dog for crops to guard them from livestock and sheep and others, and the third is a hunting dog from which the hunter benefits. These are the three in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) granted a dispensation for keeping a dog, and anything other than that is not permissible. Accordingly, a house that is in the middle of a built-up area has no need for a dog to be kept to guard it, so keeping a dog for this purpose in such a situation is forbidden and not permissible, and it diminishes the rewards of its owners by one qirat or two qirats every day. They must drive this dog away and not keep it. However, if this house is in a place in the desert, empty, with no one around it, then it is permissible to keep it to guard the house and those in it, and to guard its people; this is more effective in preservation than guarding livestock and crops. As for touching this dog, if it is touched without moisture, it does not make the hand impure. But if it is touched with moisture, such that a person touches its back while it is wet, or his hand, or the hand of the one touching it is wet, then this necessitates the impurity of the hand according to the opinion of many scholars of knowledge, and it is obligatory to wash it, meaning to wash the hand after it seven times, one of which is with earth.
As for the vessels in which food and drink are given, if it licks in the vessel, meaning it drinks from it, it is obligatory to wash the vessel seven times, one of which is with earth, as established in the two Sahihs and others from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
If a dog licks in the vessel of any of you, let him wash it seven times, one of which is with earth.
إذا ولغ الكلب في إناء أحدكم فليغسله سبعاً إحداها بالترابThe questioner : May Allah reward you. This listener, J M S D from Iran, sent a message asking, saying: