Am I Blameworthy If I Rent a Space That Has a Dog Even If I Won’t Enter Where the Dog Is Kept?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I’m a Muslim seeking a room. I found a safe, affordable condo close to work with a dog in shared spaces. I will rent only one room and not keep or enter the dog-occupied areas. I’m concerned about a hadith stating angels don’t enter houses with dogs. Am I blameworthy for living there since I don’t own the dog? What precautions should I take?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
You can rent a room this way. You won’t have to worry if you can find another similar one without a dog. However, if you rent it, avoid sitting on the floor or in places where the dog may have sat, and wear slippers or shoes all the time.
The issue with dogs is their saliva and keeping them as pets. You do not own the apartment; your living space is considered your home, so it will not be viewed as keeping a dog in your own space.
In the Hanafi School, it is prohibitively disliked (makruh tahriman) to keep a dog as a pet, yet one may keep a hunting dog or a guard dog to protect one’s property, harvest, sheep, or cattle.
[‘Ala al-Din ‘Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-‘Ala’iyya; Nahlawi, al-Durar al-Mubaha]
I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. In sha Allah, you will receive guidance and direction.
Related
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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received a traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.
