Why Islam forbids keeping dogs as household pets and companions?

Islam has forbidden humans from keeping dogs as pets inside the home, and as all Islamic laws, there are logical and health reasons behind this ruling as well.

Muslim scholars say owning dogs as household pets is a departure from moral and religious values and highlights the tendency toward material desires.

Although the Quran has not specifically prohibited Muslims to own dogs as pets, the narrations from Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his successors clearly state the prohibition and harm from this practice.

However, Islam allows keeping dogs to guard property or livestock, as well as for hunting and rescue operations.

In a famous and widely quoted hadith, the Prophet said: 'Angels do not enter a house where there is a dog.'"

Anything that Allah has permitted or required for humans has inevitable and indisputable benefit in it, and anything he has banned has an inevitable loss and harm.

In Islam, dogs are considered as rritually unclean, or Najis in Arabic, and that objects or persons that come into contact with a dog must be washed with water.

Experts say some of the reasons for a dog’s uncleanliness have been discovered by science, while others are still unknown.

For example, dogs are common carriers of rabies, which is usually a fatal disease in animals and humans.

Another problem with pets are dog bites. Nearly five million people in the US are bitten by dogs each year. The most common victims are children, most of whom are bitten by family pets.

Dog bites result in minor to life-threatening injuries, and in some cases death.

The concerning rise in pet ownership in some Muslim countries comes as those nations are experiencing a rapid rise in the proportion of singles, while many of those who establish families are having fewer -- or no -- children.

Islamic scholars say replacing family and children with dogs cannot fill the void of loneliness, and they warn that the love and affection that should be between family members should not be directed towards animals.

Demand for dogs is also believed to have increased in the US during the COVID- 19 pandemic, with Americans seeking furry companionship amid the increase in social isolation due to coronavirus restrictions.

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