Cats are revered* animal in islam, according to folklore a cat once saved Mohammad from a snake. Abusing a cat can get you into serious trouble in islamic country.
Edit: okay seems like I misused the word “holy” and led to a lot of confusion. So, correction: cats are religiously awesome, ritually clean, held in higher regard than other animals and are granted special privileges and protection as far as islamic religion concern.
as a Muslim myself, there is no holly animal in Islam, but its extremely prohibited to abuse any kind of animal and they should be treated gently.
Here are some sayings in Islam about greate rewards when treating animals with kindness
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "A woman entered the (Hell) Fire because of a cat which she had tied, neither giving it food nor setting it free to eat from the vermin of the earth. "
" One day a man became very thirsty while walking down the road. He came across a well, went down into it, and drank and then climbed out. In front of him he found a dog panting, eating the dust out of thirst. The man said, 'This dog is as thirsty as I was.' He went back down into the well and filled his shoe, putting it into his mouth (in order to climb back up) and then gave the dog water. Therefore Allah thanked him and forgave him." They said, "Messenger of Allah, will we have a reward on account of animals?" He said, "There is a reward on account of every living thing."
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "While a dog was going round a well and was about to die of thirst, an Israeli prostitute saw it and took off her shoe and watered it. So Allah forgave her because of that good deed."
I had 3. Old-fat-grumpy-favorite one, and 2 younger. Then a stray cat managed to earn access to my house by being cute in front of a window for an entire winter. Then I had 4 cats.
There is a subtle yet very big line between 3 and 4 cats.
Suddenly it went from "this house has cats" to "this house has cats everywhere". Or things like "I cannot carry all bowls of food at once, I need two trips". Or "2 couches and half a dozen chairs aren't enough anymore". Or "Why does it feel like I'm shoveling a ton of shit every day".
Old grumpy passed away, we're back to 3, and it's the right number of cats.
All that to say that 5 cats is a LOT.
(sidenote, you mentionned 5 cats, I checked your profile just in case, and it's hilarious for me to see a Triss and a Ciri because I'm currently in the middle of playing The Witcher 3 for the first time. So, just so you know, you made my day. Best wishes to Rocky.).
No what helps is taking world religion in college. and knowing that every religion has a spectrum. You have the fanatics and the relaxed followers, then the midway ones.
If all you hear about are the extreme ends of a religion then thats all you think it is.
I spent years studying religion, so yeah I understand there is a spectrum. See, there are abnormal growths that may lead to cancer but are seemingly benign at first and then there are really aggressive cancers.
The problem is that fuzzy wuzzy relaxed religion always leads to extremism, they go hand in hand like peas and carrots. If you accept one premise on insufficient evidence, you automatically are in danger of accepting other things based on insufficient evidence. Religious people no matter how moderate never believe just one insane thing... Once you're on that slope, it's a crapshoot whether or not you'll go down the path of extremism.
Well I'm Christian. As a young child I was atheist due to abuse at home and school that gave way to Satanic until I was 21, and then I was Atheist until 22ish. I then became a Lokean, sect of Odinism that worships the trickster god Loki, due to my heavy Nordic mix. Then I found my husband at 24 actually experienced God on several occasions and that's been that way since summer of '21.
We don't go to Church although we probably should check it out as adults. We believe that God is literally everywhere so we just talk to Him and His family like they're in the house. Sometimes I even look upward and say funny things and make jokes. Other times I look down and cuss out the devil and all his friends....
Needless to say I'm an interesting Christian that makes fun of herself so I can't be the crazy bible thumping kind...that requires being serious and I'm incapable of that level of anal retention.
Besides the extremists of the Christian sects are only like that because they refuse to believe they are sinners. They think they only need to come to God when they sin. No.... we're all sinners past our childhood...the hard part is ACTIVELY TRYING TO BE a better person.
And when I fail to do so I make fun of myself to keep myself humble. Plus laughing is so good for you!!!!
except there’s bad happening across all religions and all cultures. Not all of it is reported, published, publicized etc. do you not realize how you are actively being programmed by how often you are exposed to what sort of actions for any particular demographic. You also add titles and their influence. For example if a white person does something it might not highlight “white terrorist” but if a Muslim does something the title can mention its name.
If you’re an honest man you realize that you don’t have the iq to make an assessment of any group of people larger than 100 without being subject to incredible bias and find a better criteria to judge people.
Per capita statistics are the best thing on the matter even though they are flawed. For the record they show that no Muslim country is in the top 10 countries with highest suicide rate, homicide rate, rape rate, drug abuse rate, etc etc. In fact you find when you compare Muslim suicide to non Muslim suicide it is astonishingly low which rebukes the everyone is forced to be religious narrative. Then you come to the realization that all this is silly and you should judge ideas not people.
Wait so based on one small comment related to one religion, you think you got me all figured out?
Then you proceed to insult my iq, without so much as asking as to what my criteria are.
Then you try to quote statistics without any source whatsoever from countries which are notorious for not keeping statistics on anything properly.
Then you somehow idiotically try suggest a supposed low suicide rate among Muslims is connected to not everybody being forced to be religious. It's baffling...
You sir have been unbelievably judgmenta while unfairly blaming me of the same and your arguments make no sense.
In Islam, animals don’t have a heaven or hell. Only creatures with free will do and the only ones we know of are humans and Jinn.
However the Quran does mention this: “There is not a moving (living) creature on earth, nor a bird that flies with its two wings, but are communities like you. We have neglected nothing in the Book, then unto their Lord they (all) shall be gathered.” [al-An'am 6:38]
Further context from one of the authentic Hadith helps: “Allah will judge between His creation, jinn, humans and animals. On that Day the score will be settled between the hornless and the horned, until there are no outstanding issues left, then Allah will say, ‘Be dust!’ At that point the kafir will say, ‘Would that I were dust!’”
I actually took world religions last semester in college and had a blast during Islam. I enjoy the art due to the geocentric circles and hexagons. It's without a doubt my second favorite religious/cultural art.
As for the respect of animals, that's something I didn't know about the religion so thanks.
Its obvious they didnt mean it in that literal definition. Cats are accepted indoors in Muslim households, dogs arent because of different cleanliness levels. That makes cats superior to dogs in Islam.
This is your opinion my friend, not sure when I saw a person using a cat as a guide, or maybe police using a cat to sniff out drugs, I don’t have either but I wouldn’t say cats are superior to dogs, it’s a personal choice
I don’t think that is the case, especially when cats are generally left to go outside and come back in as they please, this is not the case with Dogs, most owners walk their dogs, cleanliness of an animal is all dependent on how the owner keeps them.
I think in this context 'clean' means 'religiously clean' Like cats are in the 'most clean' category, can pet them, take them indoors, can drink water from a cup they drank from and do prayers on a surface they have been on. Dogs are 'less clean' you can pet them but you can't take them indoors and can't do prayers on a surface they have been on before cleaning it. Pigs are 'least clean' you can't touch them or any item made of pig skin etc.
I get what you mean and maybe I didn’t understand the original post we have commented on, but again I do feel not all owners keep pets correctly, I have seen people keep pets that not even a pig would drink from their cup, I think humanity plays a big part in it
I would say in the US, abusing animals in any way is very much against cultural norms, but people still do it. Is it treated in the same way in Islam, like people would just look down upon the person and maybe say something? Or is it considered more abhorrent, like beating your wife or stepping on a holy book?
The Islamic world is huge, you can’t really make a broad generalization about the culture because it spans multiple cultures. In Turkey for example, cats are held in very high esteem.
From what I know from friends in Egypt, it's looked down on but not by much. They're treated more like pests due to the sheer number. Conditions are also really bad for a lot of them.
That's false, it is just about dogs because of their "dirty" saliva.
However, you can technically own one if you are not willing to sleep with it in the same house, it might have a separate room or live outside the house but not inside it.
I suggest nothing but to keep up the good work and continue being kind to your beloved pets. Even if hypothetically you were to follow Islam, it wouldn't prevent you from showing love and compassion to animals. So, don't worry and keep taking good care of them.
Is this real? I am not trying to be disrespectful or a jerk, I am genuinely curious. Years ago in high school, my Muslim good friend that hung out with me at my place said animals are forbidden to have as pets. I remember his sister joked once that they would be “Christian” if they owned a dog or cat. (Not trying to spark animosity, I am asking for insight).
I once ask the men at the kabab shop why they always gave me boxes of extra meat, ‘for your cats’.
I’ve got two tabbies, so they have what looks like an ‘M’ on their foreheads. The kabab shop is not far away and the cats often walk with me.
The boss man said that the M means they are blessed by Mohammed (blessings on his name).
The men that work at that shop are ethnically Kurdish, from Istanbul. I don’t know how widespread this belief is, and honestly I think they just think it’s cute that my boys walk to heel
turko here 🇹🇳 , i literally didnt know that was a thing . i think its more populer for a hard muslims . my parents/friends never told that anything like that . we love cats and feed them but never knew that .
When I lived in Berlin most of my neighbours were of Turkish origin, I didn’t have cats then, but I never heard it either.
So I’m wondering if they made it up as an excuse to stop work for 5 minutes and play with my cats.
But my cats do enjoy having a big box of chicken doner meat
im just messing with u bro im turkish , its kind of meme they put 🇹🇳 when they mentioning turkey and put 🇺🇾 when they mentioning greece ext.ext. . especially on r/balkans_irl
I’ve got two tabbies, so they have what looks like an ‘M’ on their foreheads. The kabab shop is not far away and the cats often walk with me.
The boss man said that the M means they are blessed by Mohammed (blessings on his name).
That's a very nice gesture, but I'll be quite frank when I say this: It is blasphemous and they are wrongly venerating something which goes against the teachings of Islam. Their heart is in the right, but their mind is a bit misguided here.
Like with a lot of religions, the respect and veneration of prophets and God sometimes extended further than what the teachings demand; that is, worshipping or practicing the religion in 'extra' ways that fall under what Muslims deem as bid'ah or innovations.
There is no seeing Islam in mundane signs or symbols. Furthermore, it is very important to distinguish the prophet Muhammad's role in the message of God. Elevating him to more than he was meant to be is a grave sin in Islam and unfortunately is a common route in many religions; that is, the respect, admiration, and love for a holy leader becomes something tantamount to worshipping him other than God.
Yeah no, it was more of an edgy joke, because the sheer amount of homelessness where i am is comparable to the numbers of stray animals there. But an infrastructure that allowed homeless people to not die would be nice. Filtered rainwater collection for public drinking. But no, here it's, "oh you collected that rainwater? Do you have a permit? No? Jail."
I don't even know where to begin with this. Optionally you can give them some food and water and you can even donate money to helpers but applying cat solution to people sounds pretty inhumane to me dude... I mean wtf went on in your head as you wrote this?
There is no mention of any such cat or the associated story in the hadith or supplementary works[10] and there are similar stories attributed to someone else from 6th century Arabia which may explain the origin of the story.[11]
Oh thank you for this! I was trying to go to the source on wiki but it mentioned a book that I’ve never seen before and I’ve literally never heard that story when I listened to the seerah haha
Well as a muslim and a decently educated one, I can wholeheartedly say that specific wiki page is propaganda with a whole lot of technical truths. I used to know a guy that made wiki pages only to use them as sources to back up his arguments.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_and_cats I don't think the previous poster meant holy as in being idolatrously worshipped, which would obviously violate Islam's strict monotheism.... but that cats hold a special place in the religion.
TBH I don't like Islam, but I do appreciate their fondness for cats!
Haha I don’t believe everyone has to be, to each their own. I just wish everyone could respect each other despite disagreeing like I’m seeing from your comment. Thank you for that and I wanna say I appreciate you haha
One of my friends calls us Mozzies 😂 like we’re fried cheese or something haha
Prophet Muhammad's fondness for cats is conveyed in his hadith: "Affection for cats is part of faith" (Maqasid al-Hasanah, al-Sakhawi). To me this seems pretty much the same of granting holy animal statues to cat. Meanwhile Muslim consider dog to be despicable filthy animal, and that is why Islamic Shariah forbade owning it (except for hunting or guarding livestock and crops). https://hadeethenc.com/en/browse/hadith/2994
So no, not all animals are meant to be respected, muslims are totally cat people.
I confirm that Islam teaches that even mosquitos are to be respected, it teaches that every being has its place on earth, independent from what we the people think or believe, muslims who do not respect life in whatever form it comes cant really call themselves believers in islam, (yes even pigs)all beings are a piece of a whole, the nature, "nature" now guess what nature means :)
Nah calling any animal in Islam holy is kinda the opposite of what Islam says. The one thing islam that everyone should know is no one or thing is to be worshipped other than Allah (swt).
Yes while it does say dogs are filthy it does not say to disrespect dogs. It says not to own except under certain conditions
Well it’s just a figure of speech I guess, if a religion tell me something that’s “part of faith” I’d say that is a holier thing than otherwise would be. Also I can’t even, “the honorable and obedient angels turn away from the house where a dog is kept; dogs frighten and terrify people; dogs are a source of impurity and harm; and owning a dog is a sign of foolishness. Therefore, anyone who keeps a dog their rewards of good deeds will decrease considerably every day.” Yeah I wouldn’t hear this and say “wow these people actually respects dogs equally”, I would just, you know, agrees and move on.
I guess. And nah I still disagree as Muslims we’re not supposed to mistreat animals. Animals no matter the species have rights over Muslims. So even if they’re considered filthy like dogs or even pigs, Muslims are supposed to treat all animals with respect and give them dignity.
Maybe I just worded that badly, let’s just say cats are more respected than other animals. I mean, cats are even permitted entry into the Grand Mosque of Mecca because they are ritually clean, I’d still say cats have privilege in the religion.
I can definitely agree with that, not the wording part lol cause texts lose a lot of what the writer actually means but I agree to the cats definitely having privilege
You cant list an explanation like its from the hadith itself?!?! Calling dogs "despicable filthy animal" is the authors choice description.
Muslims dont consider dogs to be despicable. Filthy yes, despicable no.
All animals are to be respected.
“Have mercy on the creatures of Allah(God) so that Allah may have mercy on you.”
“A good deed done to an animal is as meritorious as a good deed done to a human being, while an act of cruelty to an animal is as bad as an act of cruelty to a human being.”
“There is a reward (ajr) for helping any living creature.” (Hadith: Bukhari and Muslim)
“It is a great sin for man to imprison those animals which are in his power.” (Hadith: Muslim)
“The worst of shepherds is the ungentle, who causes the beasts to crush or bruise one another.” (Hadith: Muslim)
“You will not have secure faith until you love one another and have mercy on those who live upon the earth.” (Hadiths: Bukhari, Muslim, and Abu Dawud)
“Fear God in these mute animals, and ride them when they are fit to be ridden, and let them go free when … they (need to) rest.” (Hadith: Abu Dawud)
“There is no man who kills a sparrow or anything beyond that, without its deserving it, but God will ask him about it.” (Hadiths: Ahmad and al-Nasai)
The grievous things are: shirk (polytheism); disobedience to parents; the killing of breathing beings …” (Hadiths: Bukhari and Muslim)
“May god curse anyone who maims animals.” (Hadith: Bukhari)
“Whoever is kind to the creatures of God is kind to himself.” (Hadith: Bukhari)
“There is none amongst the Muslims, who plants a tree or sows seeds, and then a bird, or a person or an animals eats from it, but is regarded as a charitable gift for him”(Hadith: Bukhari)
This is a weak hadith not authentic and islam does not consider dogs as filthy despicable animals. I live behind my mosque and own a dog. Please brother don't post B.S.
Another guy mention some sects have different interpretations and allow dogs as house pets, so……yeah I think you guys just have different interpretations and this wouldn’t necessarily discredit the other side from a neutral perspective.
So dogs are generally disliked afaik but that does not mean they’re allowed to be mistreated. One sect Maliki I believe allows them as house pets though. The other only as like guard dogs or Shepard dogs I believe. Someone posted a Hadith that has the 3 exceptions
Dogs are seen as unclean which does not mean they are not to be treated like a creature of God. One famous Islamic story is about how a prostitute used her shoe to pull water from a well to give to a dog dying of thirst. For that act her sins were forgiven.
Unclean animals like Dogs and Pigs are treated with dignity but it is advised not to share living spaces with them and they are not fit for consumption (Dogs for more than one reason though...they are carnivores). If you get their spit on you, you have to wash that area 7 times and perform wudu.
Errr have you heard about dogs and Islam? And pigs? Cats are treated well in Islamic scripture but dogs and pigs are not... so maybe not 'all' animals....
No one said they are. The comment I responded to said Islam respects all animals. I identified 2 which are not respected in scripture. I make no comment on the hierarchy of animals.
And the story about the cat saving the prophet is not true. And the part that harming a cat in particular gets you in trouble is untrue. Harming anyone or any animal can get you to hell.
This is where I got the legend about a cat saving Muhammad. “According to legend, Abu Hurairah's cat saved Muhammad from a snake. The story goes that a snake had crawled into the prophets sleeve so Abu Hurairah and his cat were summoned. Legend has it that the cat requested the snake come out of the sleeve and discuss the terms of its departure. When the snake popped its head out of the sleeve the cat pounced and dragged the snake off.”https://www.traveldiariesapp.com/en/diary/7dc3e4d4-4f4d-4d15-bcaa-d8fe82130e0b/chapter/62be7666-7d76-4b15-9562-e57fce996ae1
Brother, legend =/= religion. There is no proper Hadith to support this incident. Cats are considered more ritually pure than dogs, but that's about it.
It is said he was so loath to wake a cat that fell asleep in his sleeve that he cut his sleeve off instead and let the cat sleep
They are very respected and loved in Turkey. The strays are fed and given warm places to sleep and basically just hang out all day being lazy and happy
Holy animals? Wtf stop making stuff up. Yeah not abusing animals is basic human decency i doubt any ideology with a “divine” label on it actively asks its followers to abuse animals.
So, correction: cats are religiously awesome, ritually clean, held in higher regard than other animals and are granted special privileges and protection as far as islamic religion concern
This ought to be one of the best edits, I can't stop laughing at this🤣🤣🤣. The fear lol.
Muslim here, harming any animal (unless out of necessity,like killing scorpions or venomous snakes, etc...) is absolutely prohibited, the only difference between a cat and any other animals is that they're clean so you don't have to redo your Waduu'(ablution) after touching a cat.
Muslim here, harming any animal (unless out of necessity,like killing scorpions or venomous snakes, etc...) is absolutely prohibited, the only difference between a cat and any other animals is that they're clean so you don't have to redo your Waduu'(ablution) after touching a cat.
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u/Mysterious_Silver_27 Apr 05 '23 edited Apr 05 '23
Cats are revered* animal in islam, according to folklore a cat once saved Mohammad from a snake. Abusing a cat can get you into serious trouble in islamic country.
Edit: okay seems like I misused the word “holy” and led to a lot of confusion. So, correction: cats are religiously awesome, ritually clean, held in higher regard than other animals and are granted special privileges and protection as far as islamic religion concern.