Advanced search
Visit
28610
Last Updated: 2012/01/19
Summary of question
Why is the dog a najis animal in Islam?
question
Why is the dog a najis animal in Islam?
Concise answer

One of the fundamental teachings of Islam is that all legal rulings are based on the real benefits and harms behind them. If there were no benefits or harms, there would be no commands nor prohibitions, and no ruling regarding the najasah and taharah of things in religion.

The issue of the najasah of the dog is a legal issue established by traditions and consensus of the scholars.

Imam Sadiq (as) was asked about the dog. The imam answered: “It is najis. Throw away the leftover [water] of the dog and don’t perform wudu with it. First rub the container of the water with soil and then wash it with water [if you wish to make it tahir].”

Detailed Answer

This point is necessary to be noted, that it is one of the fundamental teachings of Islam that legal rulings are based on the real benefits and harms behind them. If there were no benefits or harms, there would be no commands nor prohibitions, and no ruling regarding the najasah and taharah of things in religion. [1]

So whenever we see that the Lawmaker, the exalted, has made something wajib, we can conclude with certainty that there is a benefit in it for us that we are in need of securing, although we may not know what it is exactly.

If the Lawmaker, the exalted, prohibits something and announces it to be najis, we can be sure that there is a harm and disadvantage in it that we must avoid. Nevertheless, because of the development of science, some of these benefits and harms have been discovered, as is the case with some of the reasons behind the najasah of the dog. Today, it is asserted that dog stool contains very tiny tapeworms ranging from two to seven millimeters in length by the name of “ taenia echinococcus ”. When dogs defecate, a large number of eggs of this worm‌ are expelled also, and many stick around the anus. Using its tongue when cleaning itself, the dog spreads this worm all over its body, parasitizing everything. If one of these tapeworms makes its way into a human’s intestine, it can disastrously be the cause of a great deal of diseases that can sometimes even be fatal. [2]

This is one of the reasons why Islam has announced the dog to be a najis al-ayn (a najis thing in and of itself) in order to block the harms that can be entailed. Nonetheless, there might be other reasons as well, such as hygienic, environmental or medical ones that are yet to be discovered.

The legal evidence for the najasah of the dog:

The najasah of the dog is a legal issue. In the Quran, nothing has been said regarding the najasah of the dog and pig. But, it is totally wrong to think that all legal rulings have been and must be specifically addressed in the Quran. The Quran has kept it at the general fundamentals when it comes to legal rulings, leaving their expansion and interpretation to the prophet (pbuh), and after him, to the infallible imams (as). For example, when we look at the rulings of prayer, we see that there are many detailed rulings, while the Quran has only mentioned a few of them. As for the legal evidence for the najasah of the dog:

1- Consensus: The great Islamic jurists all agree that the dog is a najis thing; this ruling is consensual among them. [3]

2- Hadiths: The consensus mentioned above, is a result of the many hadiths cited in hadith sources. Of course, r egarding the najasah of the dog, the hadiths that have reached us can be divided into two categories; ones that contain the term ‘najis’ in them and others that don’t have the exact term but nonetheless necessitate their najasah. In these hadiths, the najasah of the dog can be concluded judging from the questions that the imams have been asked regarding the leftovers of a dog and the corresponding answers they have given; here are some examples:

a) Imam Sadiq (as) was asked about the dog. The imam answered: “It is najis. Throw away the leftover [water] of the dog and don’t perform wudu with it. First rub the container of the water with soil and then wash it with water.” [4]

b) Ibn Shurayh asked Imam Sadiq (as) about the leftover of the dog, and the imam replied: “No, by Allah, it is najis.” [5]

c) Abi Suhayl asked Imam Sadiq (as) about the dog, and his eminence repeated three times: “The dog is najis.” [6]



[1] Mutahhari, Murteza, Majmu’eye Asar, vol. 20, pg. 52, Sadra Press, fifth edition, 1380 (2001).

[2] al-Minar Magazine, sixth year, pg. 307.

[3] Rohani, Seyyed Sadiq, Fiqh al-Sadiq, vol. 3, pg. 281, the software of this book entitled Mowsu’ah al-Imam al-Rohani; Najafi, Muhammad Hasan, Jawahir al-Kalām , vol. 5, pp. 366-368, seventh edition, Beirut, Daar Ihya’ al-Turath al-Arabi.

[5] Hurr Amili, Muhammad bin al-Hasan, Wasa’il al-Shi’ah, vol. 3, chapter 12 of the chapters on najasah, hadith 6, Daar Ihya’ al-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut.

[6] Wasa’il al-Shi’ah, vol. 3, chapter 12 of the chapters on najasah.

Question translations in other languages
Comments
Number of comments 0
Please enter the value
Example : Yourname@YourDomane.ext
Please enter the value
Please enter the value

Thematic Category

Random questions

  • What is the meaning of self-consciousness according to the Holy Quran?
    17982 Exegesis 2015/04/18
    According to the Quran, self-consciousness means realization of one's own self through nourishing or nurturing and reviving one's own inner and inborn talents and potentialities followed by a profound understanding of the realities of the universe and divine attributes. Self-consciousness has various degrees and it is of ...
  • Is there a problem in paying off one's debt in the evening or after dark?
    7251 Laws and Jurisprudence 2009/03/12
    Continue... ...
  • Will a husband and wife, after leaving this world, live together in paradise?
    14652 Traditional 2009/10/22
    The specific conditions and details of how we will live in the next world are not completely known to anyone except the infallibles (masoomeen). With this in mind the relationship between a husband and a wife is something that is related to this world and pious women are ...
  • What is the meaning of mutawatir and ma'roof traditions?
    10523 Contextual study 2014/10/01
    For information about the meaning of mutawatir traditions and its various types, see index "the criterion for verbal, spiritual and ambiguous mutawatir traditions", question 2412. Ma'ruf Hadith Different definitions have been presented for Ma'ruf tradition: 1. A ma'ruf tradition is one whose text and it is content ...
  • How can I repent from an illegitimate sexual relationship I had with one whom I planned to marry?
    9030 Laws and Jurisprudence 2010/11/22
    Zina or fornication (in Islamic terms, which is the subject of certain Islamic laws) means for a man’s penis to enter the vagina or anus of a woman until the glans is completely enveloped without the two being married or at least ‘similar to married’ (“similar to married” ...
  • Is it permissible to eat chips containing porcine enzymes?
    8238 Laws and Jurisprudence 2012/01/19
    The grand maraji’ responded to this inquiry like this:The office of the grand Ayatullah Khamenei:In the case of the question it isn't permissible.The office of the grand Ayatullah Makarem Shirazi:It isn’t permissible.The office of the grand Ayatullah Safi Golpaygani:If ...
  • Please let me how to get rid of masturbation?
    10527 Practical 2015/01/05
    Sin is like a foul-smelling swamp full of sewage; the more one sinks into it, the less he senses its smell, because he actually loses his sense of smell and can't tell that he is drowning anymore. At the same time, anytime one makes a strong decision ...
  • Is the story of the wedding of Hadrat Qasim in Karbala true or false?
    31431 تاريخ بزرگان 2012/10/01
    One of the concocted stories regarding the epic of Ashura is the story of the marriage of Qasim bin Al-Hasan (as), a story which has no basis and which has not been related by any authentic and reliable sources. In addition, such a thing is not rationally ...
  • Do my feet become najis when I walk on wet pavement that a dog has walked on?
    10868 Laws and Jurisprudence 2008/07/21
    If rainwater or any other water gathers in a ditch and is less than kur (there is a difference of opinion on what amount is exactly kur, and there are different ways of measuring it, according to Imam Khomeini, one way is that if ...
  • What is the Sunni opinion on Bilal al-Habashi?
    14612 تاريخ بزرگان 2008/07/02
    What Sunni references say about the great sahabi, Bilal, is that he was freed by Abu Bakr, a resistant believer against the tortures of the Kuffar, the Prophet's Mu'adhin, and one of the Mujahidin (soldiers) of Islam in different battles alongside the Prophet (pbuh). After the Prophet's demise, he ...

Popular