Can I Pray on Carpets Cleaned by Dog-Handling Companies?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

Is it permissible to pray on carpets cleaned by companies that also clean homes with dogs?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

May Allah alleviate our difficulties and guide us to what pleases Him. Amin.

Yes, praying on carpets cleaned by companies that also clean homes with dogs is permissible. In Islam, the default principle is that everything is considered pure (tahir) unless proven otherwise. Unless there is clear evidence that the carpets were actually contaminated with najasa (ritual impurity) from dogs and were not cleaned appropriately afterward, one should not assume impurity.

Allah (Most High) says,

“…And He has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty…” [Quran, 22:78]

Furthermore, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

“Indeed, the religion is easy, and no one makes the religion hard upon himself except that it overwhelms him…” [Bukhari]

From this, we derive a general principle that Islam does not burden us with undue hardship or baseless suspicions. The cleaning services’ contact with dogs in other contexts does not affect the purity of your carpets unless there is actual, observable impurity. Purity in worship is a matter of certainty and evidence, not doubt or conjecture.

It remains permissible to pray on such carpets unless you are certain that the carpets were contaminated and not purified. Doubt alone does not render something impure. Stick to certainty and avoid unnecessary hardship.

I pray this is of benefit and that Allah guides us all.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town. He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.