Are Guard Dogs Allowed in Islam?

Question: 33668

Myself, my mother and sister are living alone in a house. Sometimes I`ve got to leave town due to work and my mother and sister stay alone. There is no one living below and the house is big. Can we rear any pets for some protection against intruders or thieves? If we can, what kind of pets can we rear?

Summary of answer

It is permissible to keep a guard dog, so long as you avoid letting it inside the house and do not allow it to make vessels and clothes impure.

Answer

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

It is permissible to keep a dog as a guard dog, so long as you avoid letting it inside the house and are careful to avoid letting it make vessels and clothes impure. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever keeps a dog, his reward for good deeds will decrease by one Qirat every day, except dogs used for farming or herding livestock.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari, 2322)

The version narrated by Muslim (1574) says: “Whoever keeps a dog, except a dog for hunting or herding livestock, his reward will be decreased by two Qirats every day.”

Dogs used for farming or herding livestock are those that are used to guard them.

This Hadith indicates that it is permissible to keep a dog to guard one’s property.

Al-`Iraqi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Tarh At-Tathrib, 6/28:

Our companions and others said: it is permissible to keep a dog for these three purposes, namely hunting and protecting one’s livestock and farmland. They differed concerning keeping a dog for the fourth purpose, which is to guard houses or roads etc. Some of our companions said that it is not permissible because of this hadith and others, which clearly state that it is haram except for one of these three things. But most of them said, which is the more correct view, that it is permissible by way of analogy, based on the reason that may be understood from this Hadith, which is necessity.”

With regard to preventing the dog from entering the house, that is because of the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “The angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog or an image.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari, 3322 and Muslim, 2106)

For more details, please see the following answers: 69840, 124154, 153894, 69777, 976.

And Allah knows best.

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