Darul Uloom Trinidad & Tobago

QUESTION:

As Salaamu Alikum

Did rasullulah sallalahu alayhi wasalam have a cat? If yes what was its name? If i keep a cat in my home, and it urinates and poops in its box then walks freely around my home, on my prayer mat and also on my bed. Would my prayer mat, bed and home be considered najis? If by accident the cat urinates or poops on my bed or floor then how should i clean this up?

ANSWER:

Wa Alaikum As Salaam,

It is not evident in any authentic narration that the Prophet (S.A.S) had a cat. It is however, narrated by the mother of the believers, Aisha (R.A) that a cat used to come to the Prophet (S.A.S) and he used to lower the container with water and the cat would drink from it. After this, the Prophet (S.A.S) would use the remaining water in the container to perform Wudhu (Al Kamil) by Ibn Addi-Hayat Al Hawaan by Allama Damiree Vol. 2 page 703 Islamic Kutub Khana Lahore)

If the cat urinates and defecates in its box, then it does not mean that the cat will walk about with its impurities all over the house etc. However, if you see signs of impurities of the cat in the house, on your prayer mat or on your bed, then remove the impurity and clean these places by wiping and washing out the areas where the impurities are. If you do not see anything or you do not smell anything (from the impurities), then there is no reason for you to consider these areas to be Najis (impure).

If the cat urinates or defecates on the floor, then you must clean it by removing the impurity itself and then washing the area. The Fuqaha have mentioned that one should wash areas soiled with such impurities three times to ensure the area is properly cleaned. However, if you pour sufficient water on one occasion, which you think would remove all the impurities, then this will be sufficient. If the cat urinates on the bed, then you need to wash out the urine properly. Seeing that the urine is an impurity which you cannot see when it falls/soaks into the bed/mattress, you will pour water on the entire area which was soiled with the urine and then use a cloth to dry the area (that is, to absorb the water of the mattress). Do this three times and then leave it to dry. With this, the area will become clean.

In the case where the cat defecated on the bed/mattress, then you need to first clean out the impurity properly and then wash the area (which was touched by the impurity). Wash it three times as mentioned before. In this way, it will become pure.

And Allah Knows best

Mufti Waseem Khan

30/10/2019