Dogs and Spirits

Originally posted by dr_strangecraft

So why does islam regard dogs as objectionable? Do they have some connection to the occult? Are they afraid dogs will drive away good spirits?

Not meaning to derail this thread, I was just thinking of the cultural attitudes toward dogs, and wondering about dogs in regard to paranormal phenomena.

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Islam has a funny stance towards dogs. I grew up in a heavily Islamized country and still practice today and personally have not come to grips with the full view but essence is that dogs can sense spirits and do drive good spirits / angels away.

There is nothing that I am personally aware of in the Quran / Koran about this but there is a bit of a story relating to the Prophet. Apparently one evening he was expecting the Arch Angel Gabriel but it never appeared despite an assurance from the higher power earlier on.

The next day, the Angel did show itself and when quizzed about not keeping its promises, it's answer was that a dog had been in the house previously and an Angel cannot enter a premise where a dog is or has done its business till the area is cleaned up. Cleanliness is considered one half of the Islamic faith so I can understand how dogs have over time been frowned upon.

Hence, the main reason islam does not encourage muslims to keep dogs as pets is because they discourage the good spirits that bring blessings & good things from entering one's home. The same applies if a place is in gross neglect and not kept clean - and as a result a person will lose 'points' that count towards reward at the end of time for keeping a dog in the house. However, they are considered excellent in providing protection and muslims are encouraged to keep them as guards. And its mandatory for a person to look after an animal and provide the best care possible once responsibility is taken for its well being.

I know that a lot of false and misleading things are out there about Islam and its stance on dogs but it should be kept in mind that most of it is borne out of stories handed down from word of mouth for over a thousand years. Things do tend to get grossly misinterpreted - think chinese whispers

I hope that sheds some light on your question.

reply to post by 04326


Great answer. Anyone interested can read more here.

We had our last dog, Ollie for 16 years. He went everywhere with us. One day my husband and I took him to visit a friends house in Nashville. The friend who had us over said the animals were acting weird in this house. When we got to the playroom Ollie jumped on the couch and put his paws on the back of the couch and started barking and growling at the wall. Our friend then said, "See! I told ya!!". I have to say I had been skeptical up until. It made the hair on the back of your neck stand up as Ollie would stop at times and cock his head like he was hearing something in response to the barks. In all those 16 years Ollie never did anything like that again. The only other time I've ever seen a dog bark at the wall was in the movie Poltergeist. Freaky weird...