#24. THE SALAAT OF THE ONE WHOSE CLOTHES HAD BEEN TOUCHED BY THE DOG

” What’s the situation of a person who had encounter with a dog and the dog touch his body and clothes? Can he go ahead to offer salaat?”

ANSWER

Alhamdulillaah!

The majority of the Fuqahaa posit that the entirety of the dog is a Najis.

The madh’hab of the Hanafis – according to their official position – is that its physical body is pure while its leftover is Najis. The Maliki position is that both its body and leftover is pure.

The majority position holds the strong evidences.

Imaam An-Nawawi – rahimahullaah – said in ‘Al-Majmu’ Shar’hu Al-Muhadhdhab’:

“Our Madh’hab is that all of the dog is najis (impure), whether the hunting dog or other than it, the big or small. This is the position of Al-Awzaa’i, Abu Hanifah, Ahmad, Is’haaq, Abu Thawr and Abu Ubayd. Az-Zuhri, Maalik and Daawud hold that it is pure but that it is obligatory to wash the dish (that has been licked by the dog) as an act of Ibaadah. This is also narrated as the position of Al-Hasan Al-Basri, and Urwah Ibn Az-Zubayr. They make as evidence the wording of Allah – ta’aala –

ﻓَﻜُﻠُﻮﺍ ﻣِﻤَّﺎ ﺃَﻣْﺴَﻜْﻦَ ﻋَﻠَﻴْﻜُﻢْ‏( ﺍﻟﻤﺎﺋﺪﺓ : 4 ‏)

“So, eat of what they (hunting dogs) catch as prey for you”

And He (Allah ta’aala) never demanded the washing of the place their (teeth) held upon, and with the Hadith of Ibn Umar – radiyallaahu anhuma – where he said:

ﻛﺎﻧﺖ ﺍﻟﻜﻼﺏ ﺗﻘﺒﻞ ﻭﺗﺪﺑﺮ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﻤﺴﺠﺪ ﻓﻲ ﺯﻣﻦ ﺭﺳﻮﻝ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ ﻓﻠﻢ ﻳﻜﻮﻧﻮﺍ ﻳﺮﺷﻮﻥ ﺷﻴﺌﺎً ﻣﻦ ﺫﻟﻚ .

“Surely, dogs used to come in and out of the Masjid during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah – salallaahu alayhi wasallam – and they did not used to pour over their positions anything of water.” Al-Bukhaari mentioned this in the Sahih…
While the evidence of our fellows (in the Shafi’i madh’hab) is the hadith from Abu Hurayrah:

ﺇﺫﺍ ﻭﻟﻎ ﺍﻟﻜﻠﺐ ﻓﻲ ﺇﻧﺎﺀ ﺃﺣﺪﻛﻢ ﻓﻠﻴﺮﻗﻪ ﺛﻢ ﻟﻴﻐﺴﻠﻪ ﺳﺒﻊ ﻣﺮﺍﺕ

“If the dog licks the plate of one of you, then let him clean it and then wash it seven times.”

Recorded by Muslim.

Also the hadith:

ﻃﻬﻮﺭ ﺇﻧﺎﺀ ﺃﺣﺪﻛﻢ ﺇﺫﺍ ﻭﻟﻎ ﻓﻴﻪ ﺍﻟﻜﻠﺐ ﺃﻥ ﻳﻐﺴﻠﻪ ﺳﺒﻊ ﻣﺮﺍﺕ ﺃﻭﻻﻫﻦ ﺑﺎﻟﺘﺮﺍﺏ . ﺭﻭﺍﻩ
ﻣﺴﻠﻢ

“The purification of one of you’s dish if the dog licks from it is that it be washed seven times, the first of it with sand.”

Transmitted by Muslim….”

End quote of An-Nawawi

The reconciliation between the two positions is that there is nothing in the Hadith from Ibn Umar that says that there were excretion from the dog in the Masjid during the lifetime of the Rasul – salallaahu alayhi wasallam – that were neither washed or cleaned whereas the Hadith of Abu Hurayrah – radiyallaahu an hu – is clear that the saliva from the dog constitutes impurity.

What this means – and Allah knows best – is that the sweat, saliva and waste from the dog constitute impurity and must be washed.

This that we have said is the position of the majority of the Fuqahaa from both the predecessors (salaf) and the successors (khalaf).

Therefore, in the question asked, your clothe does not become impure merely by the touching of the dog but becomes impure if there are secretions from the dog left over on the cloth. In that case, what is obligatory is to wash only the part of the cloth affected by the secretion. Once that is done, he may observe Salaat in the said clothes.

Allaahu A’alam
Baarakallaahu feekum
Jazaakunullaahu khayran.