Can We Keep Cats as Indoor Pets?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

Is it clean to keep cats in the house and allow them to roam the house freely? We are thinking of purchasing a kitten and wanted to know the fiqh on keeping a pet cat.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.

Yes, it is permissible to keep a cat and a kitten. There is much reward and overall human benefit. One of the close companions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) had a kitten, thus nicknamed Abu Huraira.

How Abu Huraira Got His Nickname

‘Abdullah ibn Rafi’ reported: I said to Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, “Why were you nicknamed Abu Huraira?” Abu Huraira said, “I would tend to the sheep of my people, and I had a small kitten. I used to place it in a tree at night, and during the day, I would take it and play with it. So they nicknamed me Abu Huraira, ‘father of the kitten.’”

Cats Not Impure, Do not Nullify Ablution

Abu Qatada (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Verily, cats are not impure, as they meander around you.”

Tirmidhi said, “It is the majority opinion of the scholars among the companions of the Prophet, the successors, and those after them such as Shafi’i, Ahmad, and Ishaq; they did not see harm in the remnants of cats, and this is the best of what is narrated on this topic.” [Tirmidhi]

The Dutiful One: On the Love of Cats

This is a small treatise by Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari on the love of cats. The Arabic edition is attached at the end of the translation. A prolific author hailing from Herat, Afghanistan. Someone who wrote on many topics within Islamic sciences and is a celebrated author in the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. See the link below.

I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha’ Allah.

Related:

• How do cats contribute to your health and well-being?
• Cat Archives
• The Dutiful One: On the Love of Cats: Treatise by Mulla ‘Ali al-Qari

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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.