FatwaSelangorSocial & Contemporary Issues
#8 Taudhih al-Hukmi : Hukum Memelihara dan Memegang Anjing
What is the ruling on keeping and touching dogs in Islam?
Short answer
Keeping a dog is permitted only for specific needs such as hunting, guarding crops or livestock, police and investigative work, and security.
A reference, not a fatwa. First sentence of the summary below — read the original fatwa and consult your state authority before acting.
- Authority
- Selangor State Mufti Department
- Date
- Status
- Opinion (irsyad)
- Series
- Taudhih Al-Hukmi (artikel penjelasan, bukan pendirian rasmi Mufti Selangor)
- Topic
- Social & Contemporary Issues
No evidence of gazettement in the source — this is not a gazetted fatwa.
Summary
Keeping a dog is permitted only for specific needs such as hunting, guarding crops or livestock, police and investigative work, and security. Keeping one without a purpose allowed by Islamic law is not permitted and reduces one's reward daily, and the cited Penang fatwa rules that keeping a dog as a pet is haram. Under the Shafi'i school followed in Malaysia, dogs are severe impurity (najis mughallazah), so deliberately touching one without a specific need is haram.
Written in our own words from the original fatwa — check the source before acting on it.
Hukum memelihara anjing adalah diharuskan untuk keperluan dan keadaan tertentu sahaja seperti yang diriwayatkan oleh Abu Hurairah RA bahawa Rasulullah SAW bersabda:
Read the full fatwa on the Selangor website (new tab)
How to cite
Cite the original fatwa and its authority. Rujuk Fatwa is only where you found it.
Selangor State Mufti Department. “#8 Taudhih al-Hukmi : Hukum Memelihara dan Memegang Anjing”, 17 October 2023. https://www.muftiselangor.gov.my/2023/10/17/8-taudhih-al-hukmi-hukum-memelihara-dan-memegang-anjing/. Found via Rujuk Fatwa: https://rujukfatwa.com/en/fatwa/ruling-on-keeping-and-touching-dogs/