Is It Permissible for a Blind Person to Keep a Guide Dog?

Answered By Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad

Question

We know that keeping dogs is not permissible except in certain specific cases. Is the need for a guide dog to assist or guard a blind person one of those exceptions?

Answer

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon His noble messenger, his family, and all his companions.

Keeping Dogs in Islam

Introducing dogs into homes and allowing them to live with the household is a custom foreign to Muslims and contrary to the Islamic rulings, which emphasize avoiding impurities and maintaining cleanliness.

Keeping dogs without necessity is not permissible, as Abu Hurayra narrated that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

“Whoever keeps a dog, except a dog for hunting, or for herding livestock, or for guarding crops, will lose a qirat (a large portion) of reward every day.” [Bukhari; Muslim]

Valid Exceptions for Keeping a Dog

The scholars have unanimously agreed that keeping a dog is only permissible for a valid need, such as for hunting, guarding, or other beneficial purposes not prohibited by the Sacred Law, as indicated by the hadith.

The majority of scholars also apply the ruling for hunting and livestock-guarding dogs to those kept for guarding homes or similar purposes, provided there is a genuine need for it.

Blind Person

The reasons for keeping a dog mentioned in the hadith are justified by necessity, and the situation mentioned in the question—where a dog is needed to guide or guard a blind person—falls under the same category, if not more important. Assisting a blind person is certainly more significant than guarding livestock or crops.

Imam Nawawi stated: “Regarding the permissibility of keeping a dog to guard homes and roads, there are two well-known opinions mentioned by the scholars, along with their evidence. The correct opinion is that it is permissible, and this is the opinion stated in ‘al-Mukhtasar.’ Imam Shafi‘i said that keeping a dog is only allowed for hunting, herding livestock, guarding crops, or anything similar to these.” [Nawawi, al-Majmu‘]

We ask Allah to protect and guide all Muslims. All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.

[Shaykh] Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad

Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad, born in Damascus, Syria, in 1965, pursued his Islamic studies in the mosques and institutes of Damascus. A graduate of the Islamic University of Medina in 1985, he holds a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from Bahauddin Zakariya University in Pakistan.

He has extensive experience developing curricula and enhancing the teaching of various academic courses, including conducting intensive courses. Shaykh Awad has taught Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Quranic sciences, the history of legislation, inheritance laws, and more at several institutes and universities such as Al-Furqan Institute for Islamic Sciences and Majma‘ al-Fath al-Islami in Damascus.

He is a lecturer at the Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih Waqf University in Istanbul, teaching various Arabic and Islamic subjects, and teaches at numerous Islamic institutes in Istanbul. Shaykh Awad is a member of the Association of Syrian Scholars, a founding member of the Zayd bin Thabit Foundation, a member of the Syrian Scholars Association, and a member of the Academic Council at the Iman Center for Teaching the Sunna and Quran.

Among his teachers from whom he received Ijazat are his father, Shaykh Muhammad Muhiyiddin Awad, Shaykh Muhiyiddin al-Kurdi, Shaykh Muhammad Karim Rajih, Shaykh Usama al-Rifai, Shaykh Ayman Suwaid, Shaykh Ahmad al-Qalash, Shaykh Muhammad Awwama, and Shaykh Mamduh Junayd.