BUYING AND SELLING DOGS FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAKING MONEY
QUESTION:
As Salaamu Alaikum,
Is it Haram or Halal to buy and sell dogs. My only purpose is to get money from it, there is no other purpose.
ANSWER:
Wa Alaikum As Salaam,
According to the Madhhab of Imam Shafi (A.R) and Imam Ahmad bin Hambal (A.R), it is not permissible to buy and sell dogs. They have based their opinion/verdict on the hadith of the Prophet (S.A.S) in which he prohibited receiving payment for the sale of dogs, the earning of the prostitute and a fee of soothsayers.
In the Madhhab of Imam Abu Hanifa, and according to Sahnoon from the Maliki Madhhab, it is permissible to buy and sell dogs because it is something from which benefits can be taken (Al Maw soo’atul Fiqhiya Vol. 35 Page. 128 Maktaba Uloom Islamiya Baluchistan 2011).
With respect to the dogs which can be bought/sold, the Hanafi Madhhab states that they should be trained dogs (that is, they are trained to hunt, guard etc.) or they are such dogs which are capable of being trained for these purposes. If they are not trained or capable of being trained, then it will not be permissible to buy or sell.
و فى الهندية بيع الكلب المعلم عندنا جائز…. و بيع الكلب الغير المعلم يجوز إذا كان قابلا للتعليم و الاّ فلا هو الصحيح
(Al Fatawa Al Hindiya Vol. 3 page.122 Qadimi Kutub Karachi; Qamoos Al Fiqh Vol. 4 page 568 Zam Zam Publishers Karachi 2007).
With respect to the details of the Maliki Madhhab, the great scholar, Ahmad ibn Ghunaym Nafrawi has stated in his famous work ‘Fawakih Al Dawani, that according to the Maliki Madhhab, it is not allowed to buy/sell dogs which are not allowed to keep in Islam. As for those which are allowed to be kept for hunting, guarding etc, there are three opinions of the Malikis.
These are:-
- It is prohibited to buy and sell.
- It is Makrooh (disliked)
- It is permissible.
Having quoted these opinions, Shaikh Ahmad said that the famous opinion of Imam Malik is that it is prohibited.
(Al Mawsoo’ah Al Fiqhiyyah Vol. 35 Page. 128 Maktaba Uloom Al Islamiya Baluchistan).
However, Hafiz ibn Hajar Asqalani has quoted the statement of Imam Qurtubi in his famous book, Fath Al Bari, in which he said, ‘Al Qurtubi has stated, ‘The famous Madhhab of Imam Malik is that it is permissible to keep a dog and it is disliked to do the sale of a dog. However, the sale will not be broken/invalid if it was done’. (Fath Al Bari Vol. 4 page. 537 Qadeemi Kutub Karachi).
With respect to the Hadith recorded by Imams Bukhari and Muslim which states that the Prophet (S.A.S) prohibited from the price of a dog, and in another hadith by Muslim, which states that the Prophet (S.A.S) said, ‘The price of the dog is impure’, Imam Abu Hanifa and the scholars of the Hanafi Mazhab have given the following explanations:
The hadith of Muslim which states that the Prophet (S.A.S) said, ‘The price of a dog is impure (Khabeeth)’, this, as explained by Imam Abu Hanifa, does not mean Haram. In other words ‘Khabeeth’ (impure) as used in the hadith does not mean haram. It only means that it is not pure and that it is Makrooh. Imam Abu Hanifa has explained that the Prophet (S.A.S) also used the same word for the earnings of one who does cupping, however, no one says that the earnings of the cupper is haram.
In this regard, the Prophet (S.A.S) said, ‘the earnings of a cupper is ‘Khabeeth’ (impure).’ None of the scholars have stated that here, Khabeeth means haram. (Mirqaat – Sharh Mishkat by Mulla Ali Qaari vol. 6 pg. 12. Faisal Publishers India 2006).
- The hadith which states that the Prophet (S.A.S) ‘Prohibited from the earnings of the dog’, this, according to the Hanafi scholars refers to a prohibition which was given at a time when the Prophet (S.A.S) ordered that the dogs should be killed. At that time, using a dog was totally prohibited. After this, seeking benefit from a dog was allowed (in situations mentioned in other ahadith). It is also narrated that the Prophet (S.A.S) ordered a man to pay 40 dirhams for killing a hunting dog. The Prophet (S.A.S) ordered another to pay a ram for having killed a watchdog.
These narrations show that a value was applied to the hunting dog as well as the watchdog. Imam Abu Hanifa therefore, considered the sale of a dog which is beneficial to be permissible. (Mirqaat – Sharh Mishkat vol. 6 pg. 12).
Imam Abu Hanifa has also taken the hadith of Abu Hurairah as a proof which states that the Prophet (S.A.W) prohibited from the buying and selling of dogs except the dogs which are used for hunting. (Tirmidhi Hadith No. 1281). Imam An Nasa’i has also mentioned a similar tradition from Jabir (R.A).
With respect to your question, ‘if it is haram or halal to buy and sell dogs, the only purpose is to get money from it’, then the explanation to this is as follows:-
With respect to whether it is halal or haram to buy/sell dogs, I have given these explanations above which show that some of the great Imams (Imam Shafi, Ahmad and Malik (A.R) have stated that it is not permissible because its clear prohibition is given in the Hadith. The allowance to buy/sell given by Imam Abu Hanifa, as we can see, is only based on a need/necessity which extends only to the hunting dog or one which can be used as a guard/security, Other than this, it is not permissible to buy/sell dogs according to him. This means that when one has a need to get a hunting dog or a guard dog and there is no way to get it except by buying it, then it will be allowed to do so (without being disliked). However, for one to get involve in buying and selling dogs only for the sake of money, then there is no necessity in this and it will not be allowed. A person can do many other jobs/works to get money besides ‘the dog business’. One must take note of the fact that the Prophet (S.A.W) has spoken harshly against buying/selling dogs in many traditions, and has forbidden collecting the price gained from selling dogs. The allowance to buy/sell the hunting/guard dog was based only on a necessity.
Therefore, one cannot use a permission which is based on a necessity, as a general allowance and go into the profession of buying and selling dogs for the sake of making money, this is not allowed. It is for this reason, the jurists have written, ‘The Messenger of Allah (S.A.S) has granted the allowance of buying and selling dogs for a permissible and beneficial act like that of using it for hunting or security (to protect one’s home or farm)’.
(Fatawa Haqqaniya Vol. 6 Page. 50 Jamia Darul Uloom Haqqniya Nawshera Pakistan 2002).
And Allah Knows best
Mufti Waseem Khan
03/02/2020