Thursday 6 Jumada al-ula 1446 - 7 November 2024
English

If one is not sure whether a dog has licked something

Question

If you think that a dog may have licked a piece of clothing but you're not sure for sure, then what should you do?  Is it okay to pray in it?  I really need to know because it's bothering me because I have a dog at home( I am a convert,) and sometimes I don't see if he is there or not.

Answer

Praise be to Allah.

Keeping a dog is haram, unless it is a dog for farming or hunting, or a sheep dog. It is haram to keep any kind of dog apart from these, because that takes away one qeeraat of reward from its owner each day. According to another report, it takes away two qeeraats. If it is kept for a purpose which is allowed, if it licks a vessel or anything else, it must be purified, by washing it seven times, one of which must be with soil. This is if one is certain that it has licked it. In cases where there is doubt, it is not obligatory to wash it if we are not certain, because the basic principle is that things are pure. 

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Source:  Shaykh ‘Abd al-Kareem al-Khudayr