Taking care of a cat
| Fatwa #1263 | Category: Miscellaneous | Country: Zambia | Date: 16th October 2024 |
| Fatwa #1263 | Date: 16th October 2024 |
| Category: Miscellaneous | |
| Country: Zambia | |
Question
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
Mufti sab i had a question
I pray in a madressa and one day what happened that an unknown cat came into madressa and it was abit tamed and it was found in a place where its hard to get in.
Now we waited long for the owner but no one came.
Now that cat is not that much tamed and it goes to all dirty places including the washrooms and itc is seen drinking from there and the same cat keeps coming inside madressa hall where namaz takes place and in classes.
No one is ready to take responsibility for not everyone is comfortable with it. It is given bones to eat at times.
The question is that would it be permissible to leave the cat somewhere outside so that it should not come in madressa again?
Jazakallah
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
It is not anyone’s responsibility to provide for the stray cat and look after it as if it were one’s own pet. It is permissible to keep the cat outdoors as it will fend for itself.
Since we are encouraged to look after even animals, students or working staff can be asked to give the daily scraps to the cat.
Cats are naturally clean animals and will clean their paws and fur quite often. A wudhu khana will not be impure, but the toilet facilities have a high probability of impurity. The cat walking about should not be a real concern as the following denotes:
عَنْ كَبْشَةَ بِنْتِ كَعْبِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، وَكَانَتْ، عِنْدَ ابْنِ أَبِي قَتَادَةَ أَنَّ أَبَا قَتَادَةَ، دَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا. قَالَتْ فَسَكَبْتُ لَهُ وَضُوءًا قَالَتْ فَجَاءَتْ هِرَّةٌ تَشْرَبُ فَأَصْغَى لَهَا الإِنَاءَ حَتَّى شَرِبَتْ قَالَتْ كَبْشَةُ فَرَآنِي أَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهِ فَقَالَ أَتَعْجَبِينَ يَا بِنْتَ أَخِي فَقُلْتُ نَعَمْ قَالَ إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ إِنَّهَا لَيْسَتْ بِنَجَسٍ إِنَّمَا هِيَ مِنَ الطَّوَّافِينَ عَلَيْكُمْ أَوِ الطَّوَّافَاتِ
Translation: “Kabshah bint Ka’b bin Malik (she was married with the son of Abu Qatadah) narrated that Abu Qatadah visited her, so I poured water for him to use for Wudu. A cat came to drink, so he lowered the container until it drank. Kabshah said: So he saw me looking at it and said, O my niece! Are you surprised at that? I said yes. He said: Indeed Allah’s Messenger said: It is not impure, it is only one of those who roam around among you.” (Tirmidhi – 92)
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Bilal Pandor
Concurred by
Mufti Muhammad Patel
Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia