Sharʿi Ruling on Buying and Selling Cats, Dogs, and Impure Animals
By: Imran Ayyub Lahori
Ḥaḍrat Abū al-Zubayr (رضي الله عنه) narrated:
"سَأَلْتُ جَابِرًا عَنْ ثَمَنِ السِّنَّوْرِ وَالْكَلْبِ"
"I asked Jābir (رضي الله عنه) about the price of a cat and a dog."
He replied:
"زَجَرَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ عَنْ ذَلِكَ"
"The Prophet ﷺ forbade that."
[Muslim: 1569; Al-Nasāʾī: 4668; Abū Dāwūd: 3479; Al-Tirmidhī: 1279; Ibn Mājah: 2161; Aḥmad: 3/317]
In another narration:
"نَهَى عَنْ ثَمَنِ الْكَلْبِ وَالنُّسُورِ"
"He ﷺ forbade the price of a dog and a cat."
Ḥaḍrat Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"إِنَّ اللَّهَ إِذَا حَرَّمَ عَلَى قَوْمٍ أَكْلَ شَيْءٍ حَرَّمَ عَلَيْهِمْ ثَمَنَهُ"
"Indeed, when Allah prohibits a people from eating something, He also prohibits its price for them."
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd: 2978; Abū Dāwūd: 3488; Aḥmad: 3/370]
Dogs and cats are prohibited for consumption because they are predatory animals and feed on carrion. The dog has even been referred to as “shayṭān” in some narrations.
References: Ḥujjatullāh al-Bālighah 2/181, Al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah 2/390.
Allah ﷻ says:
﴿وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ﴾ [Al-Aʿrāf: 157]
"And he ﷺ prohibits for them the impure things."
Here, al-khabāʾith refers to those things that Arabs, without any specific habit or reason, considered naturally repulsive — for example: flies, mosquitoes, hornets, lice, fleas, frogs, lizards, chameleons, ghaṭāyah (a lizard-like creature), bedbugs, dung beetles, caterpillars, and all insects of the earth.
If some Arabs considered something impure while others did not, then the ruling would follow the opinion of the majority.
References: Al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuh 4/2601, Al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah 2/391.
By: Imran Ayyub Lahori
1. Prohibition of Selling Cats and Dogs
Ḥaḍrat Abū al-Zubayr (رضي الله عنه) narrated:
"سَأَلْتُ جَابِرًا عَنْ ثَمَنِ السِّنَّوْرِ وَالْكَلْبِ"
"I asked Jābir (رضي الله عنه) about the price of a cat and a dog."
He replied:
"زَجَرَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ عَنْ ذَلِكَ"
"The Prophet ﷺ forbade that."
[Muslim: 1569; Al-Nasāʾī: 4668; Abū Dāwūd: 3479; Al-Tirmidhī: 1279; Ibn Mājah: 2161; Aḥmad: 3/317]
In another narration:
"نَهَى عَنْ ثَمَنِ الْكَلْبِ وَالنُّسُورِ"
"He ﷺ forbade the price of a dog and a cat."
2. Principle: If Consumption Is Ḥarām, Its Price Is Also Ḥarām
Ḥaḍrat Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"إِنَّ اللَّهَ إِذَا حَرَّمَ عَلَى قَوْمٍ أَكْلَ شَيْءٍ حَرَّمَ عَلَيْهِمْ ثَمَنَهُ"
"Indeed, when Allah prohibits a people from eating something, He also prohibits its price for them."
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd: 2978; Abū Dāwūd: 3488; Aḥmad: 3/370]
3. Reason for Prohibition
Dogs and cats are prohibited for consumption because they are predatory animals and feed on carrion. The dog has even been referred to as “shayṭān” in some narrations.
References: Ḥujjatullāh al-Bālighah 2/181, Al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah 2/390.
4. Qur’anic Basis for Prohibiting Impure Animals
Allah ﷻ says:
﴿وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ﴾ [Al-Aʿrāf: 157]
"And he ﷺ prohibits for them the impure things."
Here, al-khabāʾith refers to those things that Arabs, without any specific habit or reason, considered naturally repulsive — for example: flies, mosquitoes, hornets, lice, fleas, frogs, lizards, chameleons, ghaṭāyah (a lizard-like creature), bedbugs, dung beetles, caterpillars, and all insects of the earth.
If some Arabs considered something impure while others did not, then the ruling would follow the opinion of the majority.
References: Al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuh 4/2601, Al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah 2/391.
