If a person has a guard dog, what is the ruling on that?
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The questioner : If a person has a dog for guarding, what is the ruling on that?
The Shaykh : Keeping dogs is forbidden because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This indicates the prohibition of keeping dogs for purposes other than those mentioned in the hadith. This is because the punishment attached to an action is either for the loss of something beloved or the occurrence of something disliked. The punishment mentioned by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is the loss of something beloved, because a reduction in reward implies the loss of something beloved for the person.
However, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made an exception for these three: hunting, farming, and livestock. This is because a person needs a hunting dog to hunt with, needs a livestock dog to protect the animals from wolves and dogs, and needs a farming dog to protect the crops from grazing animals. Anything similar to these needs is like them, because the Shari'ah does not distinguish between similar things.
If a person is in a house far from the town and needs a dog to guard the house to alert the household if an enemy, thief, or the like approaches, then he is like the owner of the farm, livestock, or hunting dog. There is no blame on him for keeping it for this purpose.
As for those who keep it merely as a hobby, as some foolish people do who imitate the disbelievers, whether Westerners or Easterners, they have lost both religion and worldly life:
As for the loss of religion, a qirat is deducted from their reward. As for the loss of worldly life, these dogs they keep are usually of high price. Then they take care of them with extreme care, more than they take care of themselves and their children. I was told that they wash them with soap every day, perfume them, and buy them the best food. This is great foolishness, because if you poured the waters of the seas and all the soap and other purifiers in the world on this dog, it would never become pure, because its impurity is intrinsic. Intrinsic impurity does not go away as long as the substance remains. For this reason, I advise my Muslim brothers to fear Allah in themselves and to avoid such nonsense, from which they gain nothing but sin and loss in this world and the Hereafter.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Keeping dogs is forbidden because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Whoever keeps a dog, except a hunting dog, a farming dog, or a livestock dog, a qirat is deducted from his reward every day.
من اقتنى كلباً إلا كلب صيد أو حرث أو ماشية انتقص من أجره كل يوم قيراطHowever, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made an exception for these three: hunting, farming, and livestock. This is because a person needs a hunting dog to hunt with, needs a livestock dog to protect the animals from wolves and dogs, and needs a farming dog to protect the crops from grazing animals. Anything similar to these needs is like them, because the Shari'ah does not distinguish between similar things.
If a person is in a house far from the town and needs a dog to guard the house to alert the household if an enemy, thief, or the like approaches, then he is like the owner of the farm, livestock, or hunting dog. There is no blame on him for keeping it for this purpose.
As for those who keep it merely as a hobby, as some foolish people do who imitate the disbelievers, whether Westerners or Easterners, they have lost both religion and worldly life:
As for the loss of religion, a qirat is deducted from their reward. As for the loss of worldly life, these dogs they keep are usually of high price. Then they take care of them with extreme care, more than they take care of themselves and their children. I was told that they wash them with soap every day, perfume them, and buy them the best food. This is great foolishness, because if you poured the waters of the seas and all the soap and other purifiers in the world on this dog, it would never become pure, because its impurity is intrinsic. Intrinsic impurity does not go away as long as the substance remains. For this reason, I advise my Muslim brothers to fear Allah in themselves and to avoid such nonsense, from which they gain nothing but sin and loss in this world and the Hereafter.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.