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madogson t1_j98kr8u wrote

Doesn't matter what religion you follow, the cat always thinks they are the most revered animal on the planet

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FuuuuuManChu t1_j98n5gu wrote

They also believe that having dog as pet is haram (working dog like shepherd dog is tolerated because function).

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theexitisontheleft t1_j98nxq0 wrote

The recommended article about historic African mosques is worth a look too.

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myc-space t1_j98rzia wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,878,505)

Ah dang, that’s too bad. We don’t deserve dogs. If there is a better example of god wanting us to be happy and have companionship than the existence of dogs, I don’t know what is. I’m not a believer, but my assumption is that a benevolent, all powerful god wouldn’t make a judgement call on which animal we’re allowed to love based on how much carpet cleaning we’ll have to do.

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jeremyxt t1_j98uqi4 wrote

I bet that very few Muslim countries have a problem with rats.

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listyraesder t1_j98uz26 wrote

Replying to myc-space (#1,878,908)

Yahweh (the god of Jews, Christians, Muslims etc) isn’t supposed to be benevolent. It is supposed to be a tyrant. This “god is love” stuff is a relatively recent rebranding exercise.

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Willygolightly t1_j98y2x2 wrote

Replying to jeremyxt (#1,879,165)

I moved to the Middle East from New York, and spent some time in Istanbul too.

Street cats are EVERYWHERE, but the cities “take care of them” their basic food and water is provided in many areas, and people fill in the gaps. They will take un-neutered cats off the street to snip them, but then re-release them back into the same neighborhood. Where I live it’s estimated that there are more than 500 stray cats per sq mile.

I’ve never seen a rodent, and very few crawling bugs since living here.

I don’t miss the mice, rats, and cockroaches.

Street cats are the best!

Edit- An anecdote about the Turkey earthquake cat who adopted the fire fighter who saved him. In Istanbul the cats are pretty welcome inside restaurants and cafes, and are very friendly. I had several cats jump on me to chill while I was there, just to hang out and cuddle, or use my shoulder as a vantage point-I loved it, my wife hated it. Anyway, I’m just saying although it makes the world feel good, Turkey’s Street cats will adopt anyone, not just rescue heros.

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aelephix t1_j992bp0 wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,878,505)

Holy shit you just uncovered a memory I’ve been repressing for a long time. When I was selling my house in Michigan around 2008 (just before the real estate crash) I had an offer on the house that was amazing. They did a walk through and loved it. We had two cats and a dog but I made sure to remove all evidence of pets before they arrived. We arranged for an inspector a few days later. On that day my plan was to go get the pets 30 minutes before their arrival. They show up at the house an hour early with my realtor and the inspector. When they go inside the wife sees my dog (in her crate) and absolutely loses her mind. Like screaming. My realtor calls me up frantic saying they want to withdraw their offer as nobody told them a dog had been living in the house and they felt entirely deceived. In the end I ended up paying for an extremely expensive professional cleaning service that sanitized the entire house. That was when I learned this TIL.

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V6Ga t1_j996bpo wrote

PBUH: peace be upon him or peace be upon her; an honorific phrase used by some Muslims after any mention in speech or print of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or any other prophets or chosen figures believed by the majority of Muslims to be sent by God (Allah).

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An_Atheist_God t1_j998ymr wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,878,505)

> 1- Keeping dogs in Islam is not permissible except for hunting or guarding livestock and crops. 2- It is permissible to keep dogs for guarding houses so long as that is outside the city and that there is no other means of guarding the house. 3- The Muslim should not imitate others by running with the dog or touching its mouth and kissing it, which causes many diseases.

https://islamqa.info/amp/en/answers/69840

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momolamomo t1_j99ck0s wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,880,070)

Except there were feral cats back then, along with wild goats and feral camels. He only applied the condition on the dog, so he’s singled them Out, healthy or not. So your argument doesn’t hold water

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momolamomo t1_j99e8h8 wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,880,848)

Except old mate mohamad wasn’t talking about danger. He was saying that the animal, regardless if it’s clean or not, is not pure, spiritually. He goes on to describe that angels “refuse” to enter a home that contains a dog. Mohamad was NOT talking about danger.

He needed something unique to seperate his new religion from Other religions

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An_Atheist_God t1_j99niy9 wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,880,617)

>For almost every question you ask in Islam, the answer will depend on the sector

True

>The majority, but not all, to my knowledge do not agree with your source.

This is one of the largest and most popular fatwa site

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monkeypox_69 t1_j99p9lw wrote

Toxoplasmosis man, they are playing the long game..

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Telephalsion t1_j99ull5 wrote

I remember hearing that the reason some cats have an 'M' pattern on their head is because they were blessed by the prophet Mohammed.

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jacobspartan1992 t1_j99y37w wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,878,550)

I think generally Muslim cultures consider cats to be respected and 'clean' animals in large part because they were useful for controlling vermin. They are the only other animals besides humans allowed inside mosques.

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Koalas_are_mid t1_j9af5nz wrote

Don’t ask about what happened to the dogs at the time …

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claraalberta t1_j9aw93n wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,878,505)

It's a ritualistic cleaning, once with water mixed with soil and another seven times with just water. In countries like Malaysia there are also products like soap with the soil incorporated in it for convenience.

[The schools of Islamic jurisprudence (not to be confused with the Sunni/Shi'a denominations) disagree on whether dogs are najis (i.e. unclean). In practice, it really... depends on the Muslim whether they consider dogs unclean as a whole or by part. Growing up, I was taught the Shafi'i opinion that dogs as a whole are unclean, but in the last 10 years I had adjusted this principle to the Maliki opinion that the saliva of wild dogs are unclean.]

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lawyerjsd t1_j9b87to wrote

As I understand it, Muhammad (PBUH) wasn’t a dog person, so this tracks.Also. TIL to use PBUH when discussing Muhammad (PBUH).

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ElectroFlannelGore OP t1_j9bbvq6 wrote

Replying to lawyerjsd (#1,886,855)

When speaking you only really need to use it the first time they're mentioned in a paragraph or like the first time you mention them when speaking to someone. But if you turned to someone else that just sat down and started another conversation you'd use PBUH again.

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Gilamath t1_j9bmk8x wrote

Replying to jacobspartan1992 (#1,882,100)

Well, the bit about being allowed in mosques is a cultural thing more than a strictly religious thing. In the old days (like, the first days of Islam), prayer spaces were frequently visited by all sorts of animals, from cats to birds to dogs to mice to livestock. Some of the Sunni schools, especially Hanbalis, see dogs as impure so they might not like letting them in, but there’s actually a fascinating history behind the relationship between religious practice and animals in Islam

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Gilamath t1_j9bqlx1 wrote

Replying to Pitiful_Paramedic895 (#1,883,162)

Depends on whom you ask. I was always taught that it was because societies in the Middle East around Israel (where all of the named prophets are understood to be from) were highly patriarchal and women were not allowed by their societies to participate as equals in religious life, so it would be pretty much impossible to get those societies to change their ways and follow a woman as a religious leader

Islam also believes there were many messengers of God throughout the world other than those described in the Bible and Quran, as Islam believes God’s message to be universal. Most prophets, by some Islamic theologies, came and went without ever having been known to the peoples of the Middle East. It’s quite possible that, in societies where women were the leaders of faith, that there was a woman messenger of God. That’s purely speculative, however, and only God knows

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Gilamath t1_j9bs9au wrote

Replying to claraalberta (#1,885,617)

Actually, the Maliki position you mentioned is a minority position, though it is the majority position of the Hanafis. The Maliki majority consensus is that, so long as the dog is alive, it is pure (najasa). This is because dogs are animals, and all animals are pure when they are alive

Upon death, unless they were killed in the name of God for a clear purpose and killed in a way that minimizes pain to the greatest feasible degree, they are impure to touch (this, of course, is the basis of “zabihah”). However, transforming the remains of the animal, for instance my tanning its hide, removes its impurities. Thus, Malikis will say that pig leather is pure, but boar-bristle brushes are impure, for instance

The other Sunni schools disagree with this, and I believe the Jafaris come to somewhat similar conclusions but using a different logic. I’m afraid I’m not quite sure, though

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Gilamath t1_j9bsuc7 wrote

Replying to An_Atheist_God (#1,881,490)

They generally give Hanbali opinions. This fatwa site may be popular, but its opinions often reflect only a small portion of Muslim scholarship. The Maliki school entirely disagrees with this fatwa. This is why fatawa are not universal religious decrees, because Islam is a decentralized religion that is characterized by dissent, debate, and mutual respect for each other‘s points of view. We have lost this to an extent over the last 50 years, but for well over 13 centuries this has been how we have done things. There is always enough room for one more opinion or one more argument

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Gilamath t1_j9bv2q8 wrote

Replying to lawyerjsd (#1,886,855)

Muhammad probably liked all animals, including dogs. His sons — who died in childhood, God give them and their father peace — had a dog, and there’s a well-known tradition (Arabic: “Hadith”) in which Muhammad related to his companions that among the people destined for heaven was a sex worker who saw a street dog in dire need of water so she went to a nearby well and scooped out some water in her shoe and gave water to the dog

It’s a low-key radical story, because there’s no mention of whether this woman was a monotheist or a polytheist, or an atheist, what she thought of Islam, or really anything about her at all. All we know is that she was kind to a creature whom the whole world had basically abandoned, and she’s going to heaven. Man, I don’t even know if I’m going to heaven, but she is. Hell of a role model, imo

Fund your local animal shelters, neuter/spay your pets, and TNR stray cats!

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General-Teaching4136 t1_j9byh2f wrote

Replying to televisionting (#1,888,682)

Is there any consensus whether dogs are haram or not in that case? I thought you weren't supposed to keep doggies??

I'm no scholar though so maybe it's just not clear.

Reckon cats are clear cut fine and dandy though, if you're trying to live by the best example.

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DreyaNova t1_j9dpmxf wrote

Cats are considered holy animals in many cultures. They’re fairly self sufficient and have value in killing vermin. And they’re self-cleaning.

There’s an absolutely beautiful documentary called “Kedi” about Turkish street cats, and there’s a quote in the documentary where a guy says “Dogs believe that humans are God, but cats are aware of God’s presence.” And I personally thought that was the most lovely and accurate description.

I love cats. I’m happy that other people love cats too.

Here is the trailer https://youtu.be/zgYAuo9UYoE

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ZylonBane t1_j9dprqb wrote

Muslims: We don't worship Muhammad.

Also Muslims: PBUH PBUH PBUH or you're going to Hell.

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ollowain86 t1_j9eidbv wrote

Some misconceptions here: Cats are not seen as revered/holy or similar in Islam. Dogs are not seen as haram as mentioned in some comments. We don't see them as superior/inferior to each other. Yes, even pigs.

The reason for this confusion is that muslims shall pray 5 times per day, the so called "Salah". Dogs aren't allowed to enter the place where you pray, because the place of prayer should be clean. Cats on the other hand count as clean enough. But you can have them both as pets.

But animals are exactly like they supposed to be. And all animals should be treated in a good way, since they are all creatures created by Allah.

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ollowain86 t1_j9ekvkg wrote

Replying to shadboi16 (#1,898,056)

Normally that is -traditionally- how it is.

But nowadays with influence from "the west" some muslims ask, if they can have a dog as pet. It depends who you ask, normally the answer is "no, since they are considered as not clean enough to hold them at home as a pet".

But Islam is flexible, more then one would assume. For example, if you are starving you can eat pork. You can use alcohol for medicine, like desinfection afaik.

Maybe, you can have a dog as pet, if you are struggling with depressions? I never heard of a case, but I can imagine that this could be ok under some conditions.

Rules in Islam may seem hard to follow, but they aren't and they adapt to life.

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shadboi16 t1_j9elbsl wrote

Replying to ollowain86 (#1,898,132)

Yeah I know about them, I’m a Muslim aswell. I was only confused because I thought you were saying that we, in general conditions, can have dogs as household pets. In specific conditions I can see sure why not if it helps you with depression.

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