Keeping a dog inside the house

Question

Assalamou ailekom I would like to know if my prayers are accepted or not if I have a dog in the my house. My brother adopted it without permission from us but we had to keep it since we got emotionally attached to it. I know that angels don't enter the houses of people who keep their dogs in their houses and that's dogs are just permissible if they are guard dogs. We see it as a pet but it can serve as a guard dog too maybe because when guests or strangers are comming to our house the dog goes to window so we know that someone is coming. So I'm a little confused if it's a sin or not in our case to keep the dog. Thank you in advance.

Answer 1

From what I know, which isn't a lot, having a dog inside your house is not permissible, if you want to keep it as a guard dog you can keep it outside your house, however in cases of cold the dog can not come inside the house. You can feed it by placing it food in a bowl or something, but make sure to avoid it licking you. In general, your interaction with this dog should be minimized. I think a cat would be a beautiful option for a pet, also I am not sure how religious your family is but there should be no such thing as a child disobeying their parents if not asked something haram or beyond their capability. It is your responsibility to advise your brother too, May Allah grant you peace and guidance. Salam

Answer 2

It is permitted by the Hanafis to buy and sell dogs for a lawful purpose, e.g., hunting, guarding, guiding the blind and so on. Imam Malik permitted it regardless however the other schools of thought prohibit such buying and selling.

All, however, allow a price to be given for relinquishing control of a dog - which differs from a sale in that the one relinquishing control does not carry the usual responsibilities associated with a sale such as quality, fitness for purpose, delivery etc.

The Prophet (saw) said:

"Whoever keeps a dog, two Qirats (a huge portion) of the reward of his good deeds is deducted daily unless the dog is used for guarding a cattle or for hunting." (Bukhari and Muslim])

So if the dog is used for guarding and other permitted matters by the Shariah, then there is no problem.

This article gave a detailed explanation with dissected evidences

Answer 3

I think it's about keeping dogs as servants, to prevent people from keeping them for eating. "Keeping" - is the same thing no matter inside a house or outside.