Home
Discover Islam
Quran Recitations
Lectures
Fatwa
Articles
Fiqh
E-Books
Women
Boys & Girls 
Enter Question
View By Subject
Fatwa Of The Week
Selected Fatwa
Fatwa CenterRuling on patting a dog on the head
Question
Assalamu alaykom respected scholar. I understand the impurity of dogs and agree that they are suitable for a muslim's home apart from what our Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, allowed. My husband recently went to a home to pick up a parcel that we had bought, and the owner had a dog. The dog ran to my husband in a happy mood to greet him. My husband ignored the dog and kept moving to the house. Is it permissable for a muslim to greet a dog with a simple pat on the head if he greets us in such a happy manner? I understand that we, as muslims, do not play with dogs nor are as affectionate with them like the disbelievers are. So i am asking about a simple pat on the head as a greeting for this animal.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
First of all, know that we could not find any scholarly view on this particular issue. What has been reported in this regard, that the sharee'ah forbids the possession of dogs with the exception of a watch dog or a hunting dog, does not necessarily entail that it is prohibited to touch or pat a dog. Merely patting the dog is not regarded as greeting it. The Islamic sharee'ah enjoined kind merciful treatment of dogs that are not harmful, and we are not commanded to kill them. It has been authentically reported that Allaah, The Exalted, forgave a prostitute from the Children of Israel for offering water to a thirsty dog. Abu Hurayrah 
narrated that the Prophet said, "While a dog was going round a well and was about to die of thirst, a prostitute from the Children of Israel saw it and took off her shoe and brought water for the dog in it. So Allaah forgave her because of that good deed." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Ibn ʻUthaymeen 
wrote, "This indicates that it is rewardable to show kindness to animals by means of offering them food, water, shelter from heat or cold and the like regardless of whether the animal belongs to you or to another person or is a stray animal..."
An-Nawawi said, "The hadeeth urges Muslims to treat the animals whose killing is not enjoined by the sharee'ah. As for those animals whom the sharee'ah ordains killing, the Muslim should abide by the sharee'ah and kill them. The sharee'ah enjoins the killing of the disbeliever who is at war (with Muslims), the apostate, the mordacious (biting) dog, and the five harmful creatures highlighted in the hadeeth, reading, "There are five harmful creatures that should be killed even if one is in the state of ihraam (ritual consecration for Hajj or 'Umrah): a snake, a speckled crow, a rat, a mordacious dog, and a kite," as well as any animal in the same standing (i.e. to which the relevant rulings apply). As for the animals whose killing is not enjoined by the sharee'ah, one will be rewarded for offering them water and showing kindness to them in terms of offering them food and the like, whether such animals are owned by him or by another person or not privately owned."
Scholars held different opinions regarding the ritual impurity of the dog in and of itself; many Muslim jurists held that its hair is pure. This is the view of the Maalikis, the Hanafis, and one of the two reported views of Imaam Ahmad in this regard. This opinion was chosen by Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and it is the one adopted in Islamweb. Since the dog’s hair is declared pure (by some scholars), there is no religious impediment to patting it.
In brief, we could not find any scholarly statement on the specific issue about which the questioner is asking. There is no doubt that the better and more prudent thing to do in this regard is to avoid such an act so as to avoid the scholarly difference of opinion given that some scholars maintained that the dog is ritually impure in and of itself. Moreover, the dog's hair may be wet with sweat and, accordingly, the impurity would be transferred to the hand of the person patting it. However, we do not place any blame on a person who does so since there is no reported evidence clearly stating or indicating that there is a religious impediment to patting dogs.
Allaah Knows best.
Search Fatwa
Fatwa Subject
