Islam and cats

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Feral cat in the courtyard of Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Cat outside Gazi Husrev-Bey Mosque (6086909198).jpg
Feral cat in the courtyard of Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The cat is considered "the quintessential pet" by Muslims, [1] and is admired for its cleanliness, and was a beloved animal to Muhammad. [2] Unlike many other animals, such as dogs, Islamic Law considers cats ritually pure and possess baraka (blissful energy), [3] and allows cats to freely enter homes and even mosques. Although cats are ritually pure, their flesh is forbidden. [3] Cats are believed to be the most common pet in Muslim countries. [1]

Contents

History

Cat resting on a pillow next to an imam in Cairo, by John Frederick Lewis Interior of a school in Cairo (detail).jpg
Cat resting on a pillow next to an imam in Cairo, by John Frederick Lewis

The American poet and travel author Bayard Taylor (1825–1878) was astonished when he discovered a Syrian hospital where cats roamed freely. The institution, in which domestic felines were sheltered and nourished, was funded by a waqf, along with caretakers' wages, veterinary care, and cat food. Edward William Lane (1801–1876), a British Orientalist who resided in Cairo, described a cat garden originally endowed by the 13th-century Egyptian sultan Baibars. [1]

Wilfred Thesiger, in his book The Marsh Arabs, notes that cats were allowed free entry to community buildings in villages in the Mesopotamian Marshes and were even fed. [4] [ page needed ] Aside from protecting granaries and food stores from pests, cats were valued by the paper-based Arab-Islamic cultures for preying on mice that destroyed books. For that reason, cats are often depicted in paintings alongside Islamic scholars and bibliophiles.

Hygiene and neutering

In Islamic tradition, cats are admired for their cleanliness. They are considered to be ritually clean, and are thus allowed to enter homes [1] and even mosques, including Masjid al-Haram. Food sampled by cats is considered halal, in the sense that their consumption of the food does not make it impermissible for Muslims to eat, and water from which cats have drunk is permitted for wudu (the ablution that is done by Muslims). [1] Furthermore, there is a belief among some Muslims that cats seek out people who are praying. [5]

Muslim scholars are divided on the issue of neutering animals. Most, however, maintain that neutering cats is allowed "if there is some benefit in neutering the cat and if that will not cause its death". [6] Muhammad ibn al Uthaymeen, a 20th-century Saudi Arabian Wahhabi imam, preached:

If there are too many cats and they are a nuisance, and if the operation will not harm them, then there is nothing wrong with it, because this is better than killing them after they have been created. But if the cats are ordinary cats and are not causing a nuisance, perhaps it is better to leave them alone to reproduce. [6]

Muezza

A man teasing a cat with prayer beads in Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo

Many Muslims believe that Muezza (or Muʿizza; Arabic : معزة) was Muhammad's favourite cat, [2] [7] however, there is no mention of any such cat in the hadith or supplementary works, [8] which leads many Muslims to argue that this cat may not have existed. [9]

Whether Muezza existed or not, Muhammad is known to have criticized abusers of cats. [10] By one account, Muhammad awoke one day to the sounds of the adhan . Preparing to attend prayer, he began to dress himself; he soon discovered his cat Muezza sleeping on the sleeve of his prayer robe. Rather than wake her, he used a pair of scissors to cut the sleeve off, leaving the cat undisturbed. There is a similar story attributed to Sheikh al-Arif Ahmad al-Rifa’i (died 1182/1183) according to Al-Dhahabi, although the cat has no name in this account. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Hadith or Athar refers to what most Muslims and the mainstream schools of Islamic thought believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval of the Islamic prophet Muhammad as transmitted through chains of narrators. In other words, the ḥadīth are attributed reports about what Muhammad said and did.

In Islam, sunnah, also spelled sunna, are the traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time evidently saw and followed and passed on to the next generations. According to classical Islamic theories, the sunnah are documented by hadith, and alongside the Quran are the divine revelation (wahy) delivered through Muhammad that make up the primary sources of Islamic law and belief/theology. Differing from Sunni classical Islamic theories are those of Shia Muslims, who hold that Imams interpret the sunnah, and Sufi who hold that Muhammad transmitted the values of sunnah "through a series of Sufi teachers".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic dietary laws</span> Islamic jurisprudence positions on food

Islamic dietary laws are laws that Muslims follow in their diet. Islamic jurisprudence specifies which foods are halal and which are haram. The dietary laws are found in the Quran, the holy book of Islam, as well as in collections of traditions attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Muhammad ibn Isa al-Tirmidhi, often referred to as Imām at-Termezī/Tirmidhī, was an Islamic scholar, and collector of hadith from Termez. He wrote al-Jami` as-Sahih, one of the six canonical hadith compilations in Sunni Islam. He also wrote Shama'il Muhammadiyah, a compilation of hadiths concerning the person and character of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. At-Tirmidhi was also well versed in Arabic grammar, favoring the school of Kufa over Basra due to the former's preservation of Arabic poetry as a primary source.

Wuḍūʾ is the Islamic procedure for cleansing parts of the body, a type of ritual purification, or ablution. The four Fardh (Mandatory) acts of wudu are washing the face, then the arms, then wiping the head, then washing or wiping the feet, and doing these in order without any big breaks between them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isra' and Mi'raj</span> Night journey undertaken by Muhammad in Islamic tradition

The Isra andMi'raj, or the Night Journey, are the two parts of a journey that Muslims believe the Islamic prophet Muhammad took during a single night around the year 621 CE. Within Islam, the majority of scholars agree that the journey was both a physical and spiritual one in spite of the physics required for such a journey making it essentially impossible. A brief mention of the story is found in the 17th surah (chapter) of the Quran, called al-Isra', while details of the story are found in the hadith.

Witr is an Islamic prayer (salat) that is performed at night after Isha or before fajr. Witr has an odd number of raka'at prayed in pairs, with the final raka'ah prayed separately.

Hadith of the <i>thaqalayn</i> Islamic narration

The hadith of the thaqalayn refers to a statement, attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, that introduces the Quran, the principal religious text in Islam, and his progeny as the only two sources of divine guidance after his death. Widely reported by both Shia and Sunni authorities, the hadith of the thaqalayn is of particular significance in Twelver Shia, where their Twelve Imams are viewed as the spiritual and political successors of Muhammad.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramadan (calendar month)</span> Ninth month of the Islamic calendar

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hadith of pen and paper</span> Event shortly before Muhammads death

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Adi ibn Hatim al-Tai was a leader of the Arab tribe of Tayy, and one of the companions of Muhammad. He was the son of the poet Hatim al-Tai. Adi remained antagonistic to Islam for about twenty years until he converted to Islam in 630.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aniconism in Islam</span> Avoidance of images of sentient beings in some forms of Islamic art

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhammad in Islam</span> Role of Muhammad in the Islamic religion

Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib is believed to be the Seal of the Prophets in all of the main branches of Islam. Muslims believe that the Quran, the central religious text of Islam, was revealed to Muhammad by God, and that Muhammad was sent to restore Islam, which they believe did not originate with Muhammad but is the true unaltered original monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. The religious, social, and political tenets that Muhammad established with the Quran became the foundation of Islam and the Muslim world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ban on Hadith</span>

The ban on Hadith is a historical tradition, which says that Umar, the second Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate ordered a ban on the writing down of oral traditions about the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, who died in 632 CE. Although the tradition is prominently quoted and referred to, it was not given any formal name, in contrast to other Hadiths such as the Hadith of the pond of Khumm or the Hadith of Qur'an and Sunnah.

According to Islam, animals are conscious of God. According to the Quran, they praise Him, even if this praise is not expressed in human language. Baiting animals for entertainment or gambling is prohibited. It is forbidden to kill any animal except for food or to prevent it from harming people.

Miracles of Muhammad are miraculous happenings attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Ishmael is regarded as a prophet and the ancestor to the Ishmaelites in Islam. He is the son of Ibrahim, born to Hajar. Ismail is also associated with Mecca and the construction of the Kaaba. Ismail is considered the ancestor to Muhammad.

Hadith of Jesus Praying Behind Mahdi refers to a collection of hadith (sayings of Muhammad related to the prophecy that after Jesus descends and joins the Mahdi and his followers in the final days before the destruction of Earth, Jesus will decline the offer of the Mahdi to lead the Mahdi and company in salat telling the Mahdi to lead. The Mahdi is an Islamic figure in Islamic eschatology, and salat is the Islamic practice of worship of God. The prophecy is narrated in numerous hadith collections. A total of 29 Hadiths relate the return of Jesus, and his prayer with Mahdi's lead.

Quranism is an Islamic movement that holds the belief that the Quran is the only valid source of religious belief, guidance and law in Islam. Quranists believe that the Quran is clear, complete, and that it can be fully understood without recourse to the hadith and sunnah. Therefore, they use the Quran itself to interpret the Quran, an exegetical principle known as tafsir al-Qur'an bi al-Qur'an.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Campo, Juan Eduardo (2009). Encyclopedia of Islam. Infobase Publishing. p. 131. ISBN   978-0-8160-5454-1.
  2. 1 2 Geyer, Georgie Anne (2004). When Cats Reigned Like Kings: On the Trail of the Sacred Cats . Kansas City, Missouri: Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 28. ISBN   0-7407-4697-9. In still another charming legend about the Prophet, one day his favorite cat Muezza bowed to thank him for some kind favor and, by this story, Muhammad then passed his hand down three times the length of the animal's back, giving to it—and to all cats evermore—the enviable capacity always to land squarely on their feet.
  3. 1 2 Eisenstein, H. (2015). "Cat". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Brill Online. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_27599. ISSN   1873-9830.
  4. Thesiger, Wilfred (1964). The Marsh Arabs. London: Longmans.
  5. Glassé, Cyril (2003). The New Encyclopedia of Islam. Rowman Altamira. p. 102. ISBN   0759101906. Stories of cats who seek out persons who are praying, and of cats sensitive to the presence of grace, are common.
  6. 1 2 Abdul-Rahman, Muhammad Saed (2004). "Chapter 13: Transactions Animal Rights" . Islam: Questions and Answers—Jurisprudence and Islamic Rulings: General and Transactions, Part 1. Vol. 22. Herne Hill, London, UK: MSA Publication Limited. pp. 323–325. ISBN   1-86179-411-8.
  7. Stall, Sam (2007). 100 Cats Who Changed Civilization: History's Most Influential Felines. Quirk Books. p. 40. ISBN   978-1-59474-163-0.
  8. Motala, Moulana Suhail (2020-11-25). "Did Nabi (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) have a cat named Muezza?". Hadith Answers. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  9. 1 2 "The Prophet's cat Muezza". Islamic Portal. 2020-10-09. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  10. "حديث الرسول عن القطط - حديث شريف". hadeethshareef.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-03-29. عُذِّبَتِ امْرَأَةٌ في هِرَّةٍ سَجَنَتْها حتَّى ماتَتْ، فَدَخَلَتْ فيها النَّارَ، لا هي أطْعَمَتْها ولا سَقَتْها، إذْ حَبَسَتْها، ولا هي تَرَكَتْها تَأْكُلُ مِن خَشاشِ الأرْضِ