Are dogs and pigs najis (impure)?
Question A Christian asked me why Islam regards dogs and pigs as impure, despite the fact that they are created by Allah. He is not asking about their flesh; rather he wants to know why Muslims are afraid to let a dog come near them lest it touch them. He wants to know in particular…
Question
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
Perhaps the reason why this Christian is confused is because he thinks that
Allah, may He be exalted, cannot create anything evil or filthy or impure,
but this is a mistaken belief, because Allah, may He be exalted, is the
Creator of all things, good and evil, pure and impure, that which is clean
and that which is unclean. Indeed, Allah, may He be exalted, created Iblees
(Satan), who is the most evil of all creatures.
There
is divine wisdom in everything that He has created, by means of which life
is sustained, and people are tested.
See
the answer to question no. 12558 for a response to a
question like yours.
In the
answer to question no. 1239 you will find a
discussion of the wisdom behind the creation of harmful animals.
Secondly:
The
view that pigs and dogs are impure is not a ruling on which there is
consensus. Rather it is the view of most of the scholars; one of the
scholars who think that they are pure is Imam Maalik, and Shaykh al-Islam
Ibn Taymiyah regarded this as more likely to be correct. Some of the
scholars differentiated between dogs and pigs, saying that dogs are impure
but pigs are not. This is the view of some of the Shaafa‘is. Abu Ishaaq
ash-Shiraazi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: With regard to pigs, they
are impure because they are worse than dogs, and because it is recommended
to kill them even if they are not harmful, and it is stated in the texts
that they are haraam. If dogs are impure, then pigs are even more so. End
quote.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said, commenting on the words of
ash-Shiraazi quoted above: In his book al-Ijmaa‘, Ibn al-Mundhir
narrated that there was scholarly consensus on the impurity of pigs, and
this is the strongest evidence, if it is proven that there is consensus. But
the view of Maalik is that pigs are pure so long as they are alive. With
regard to the argument presented by the author [i.e., ash-Shiraazi], the
same argument was presented by others without evidence. We do not have any
clear evidence to suggest that pigs are impure when they are alive.
End
quote from al-Majmoo‘, 2/568
On the
contrary, others said that dogs are pure but pigs are not. This is the view
of some of the Hanafis.
Al-Kaasaani al-Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: With regard to
dogs, the discussion concerning them focuses on whether they are impure in
and of themselves or not. Our shaykhs differed concerning that. Those who
said that they are impure in and of themselves put them in the same category
as pigs, thus the ruling on them is the same as the ruling on pigs. Those
who said that they are not impure in and of themselves regard them as being
like all other animals apart from pigs, and this is the correct view.
End
quote from Badaa’i as-Sanaa’i‘, 1/63
See
also the answer to question no. 69840, in which we
have quoted from Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah concerning the basic principle
that all things – including animals – are pure; this includes a discussion
on the idea that dogs are pure in and of themselves, and that it is only the
saliva that is impure, because there is a text to prove that.
With
regard to the Muslims keeping away from dogs, that is for fear of being
licked by the dog, because dogs usually stick their tongues out and lick
things, and impurity caused by a dog is severe and can only be purified by
washing seven times, one of which should be with dust, because the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“The purification of the vessel of one of you, if a dog licks it, is to wash
it seven times, the first time with dust.”
Narrated by Muslim, 279
This
is why Muslims keep away from dogs and are worried in case they lick them,
because they want to keep themselves and their clothes clean.
And
Allah knows best.
