Search In Fatwa

New Muslim Woman Has Business of Selling Geckos and Breeding and Selling Cats

Question

al salam aalykom .. i new muslim women from ukraine . i have 2 small business from home . first is breeding and sell leopard geckos . is kind of lizard people buy here because have different colors and he not danger and easy to keep . seconde is breed and sell cats .. please i need know is Halal to have this 2 business or not . thank you

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

First of all, we praise Allah Almighty for guiding you to Islam, and we ask Him to make us and you steadfast on it until we meet Him.

We advise you, dear sister, to make every effort to seek Islamic knowledge and gain understanding of the religion, because knowledge is one of the greatest means of steadfastness (on the religion). The Muslim is in dire need of knowledge of the revelation from Allah, especially at this time and age when there is a lot of ignorance among Muslims of the religious law of their Lord, and there is little knowledge. Likewise, looking for good, righteous women to help you on the obedience of Allah and in staying firm on the truth.

As for the question, breeding and caring for cats is permissible and there is nothing wrong with it.

The Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) said about the cat: “It is not impure. It is one of those who roam around among you.” [At-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood, Ibn Majah and Ahmad]

Besides, Abdur-Razzaq  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him narrated in al-Musannaf on the authority of Ikrimah, may Allaah have mercy upon him, who said: “Ibn ‘Abbas was asked about a cat drinking from the vessel, should it be washed? He said: “It (the cat) mixes with people and they [the latter] enjoy its companionship in the house.

Those who keep cats must feed and water them and not expose them to death. The Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) said: “A woman was punished and entered Hellfire because she kept a cat in captivity until it died; she neither fed it nor gave it water to drink; nor did she set it free so that it could eat from the vermin of the earth.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Moreover, if you are breeding cats in order to sell them, then there is a difference of opinion among the scholars regarding the lawfulness of selling them. The majority of the scholars are of the view that it permissible to sell them, among whom are the scholars of the Four Schools of Jurisprudence. However, some of them are of the view that it is forbidden because the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) discouraged people from selling them, as in Sahih Muslim. Therefore, it is safer for a Muslim to avoid selling it, without a doubt.

As for the business of selling the mentioned lizards, what we have known about this species is that it is in fact a spotted gecko, and the Sharee’ah stipulated the killing of geckos. Umm Sharik  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  her narrated that the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention )Ordered the killing of geckos.” [Al-Bukhari]

The jurists mentioned the prohibition against selling this type of animal. Shihab ad-Din ash-Shalabi from the Hanafi School of jurisprudence said in his footnote on Tabyin al-Haqaa'iq: “The scholars are unanimously agreed that the sale of vermin of the earth is not permissible, including snakes, scorpions, geckos and lizards.” [End of quote]

Accordingly, you should look for a pure, permissible work other than what you have mentioned, and you can earn your expenses from it if you are in need money, and whoever leaves something for the Sake of Allah, Allah will compensate him with something better than it.

Allah knows best.

Related Fatwa