Islam is a religion that upholds the values of justice and balance. The role of humans in maintaining this universe is to take care of the entire universe starting from animals, plants, and humans. Then what is the law of keeping cats in Islam?
Cats are one of the animals that are quite loved by His Majesty the Prophet and his friends. So we can conclude that the law of keeping cats in Islam is permissible. The Prophet even modeled it.
Told in the story of the Prophet’s story, at that time the Prophet Muhammad SAW had a cat named Muezza and he really liked it. So knowing this fact, we should not hurt cats. Because it is one of the prophet’s favorite animals.
Recognize and Understand the Law of Keeping Cats
There are several things you need to pay attention to when keeping a cat, so as not to be mistaken. Here are some things you should pay attention to so that keeping cats is permissible and does not violate the rules.
1. You May Keep it, As Long As Not Be Worshiped
Allah SWT does not prohibit its servants from keeping cats. But, do not make cats worship material because it leads to polytheism. Actually, this also applies to any object.
“So know that there is no god but Allah and ask forgiveness for your sins and for the sins of the believers, men, and women. And Allah knows where you labor and where you dwell.” (QS Muhammad: 19)
Sometimes humans forget and do not realize their mistakes because they have exceeded the boundaries. Even though Allah has warned humans, sometimes they are carried away by the seduction of the devil. So that someone considers animals pets everything.
Loving and respecting animals is good, just don’t overdo it. just because we keep cats and often get lucky makes us feel the cat is a lucky animal and instead makes it like worship to others other than Allah. This is forbidden!
2. It’s okay, as long as you always keep it clean
Although you can keep a cat, one must still pay attention to cleanliness and cat litter. Especially after pooping, cats should not touch places of worship, unless you make sure their feet are not exposed to any animal feces.
In addition, cats also need hygiene treatments such as bathing. As we already know that unclean feces can trigger the disease. Of course, when someone is ready to keep a cat, they must pay attention to the condition of the cat so that they keep it healthy and not sick due to lack of care.
This should certainly be a point that you need to be aware of and you should not underestimate it.
3. Can be maintained as long as it does not love excessively
Some time ago in Western countries, there were people marrying cats because they were so in love with these pets. You need to understand that excessive love for anything will cause it to lack its original function, role, and nature.
Therefore, one should not love cats excessively. Remember the cat’s position here is only as a pet. The purpose of keeping a cat is solely to care for and keep it to seek Allah’s blessings.
4. It’s okay, as long as it’s not selfish and doesn’t bother people.
The point is, even though we have good intentions to keep cats. We must not be too selfish and must care about the state of our neighbors. Don’t be like the case that went viral. There was a woman who kept many animals and was even protested by her neighbors.
So, if you want to keep a cat, make sure you don’t abandon it. So that the cat does not lack food and instead sneaks into the neighbor’s house and steals fish or something else.
Yes, as we know, one of the behaviors of cats whose behavior is wayward is to dare to steal fish / fried chicken / other foods that cats commonly eat.
Thus a review of the law of keeping cats in Islam is hopefully useful and becomes one of the references for keeping cats as they should.
