Is Having a Cat Sunnah? Exploring Islamic Teachings on Cats

Is Having a Cat Sunnah? ~ Hi! Are you looking for a description about cats in Islam? If your answer is "Yes," congratulations! You are currently reading the best short post on this topic. Why? Because in this post, I will clarify that. As Muslims, we should understand this, which is why I wrote this post. So, make sure to read it carefully.

Specifically, there are three essential aspects of the question, "Is having a cat Sunnah?" that I will discuss in this post. The three essential aspects I mean are as follows:

Having a Cat: Sunnah Meaning

The first essential aspect regarding "Is having a cat Sunnah?" is the meaning of having a cat as Sunnah. I want you to understand this so that you have a complete understanding of the focus of our discussion.

If we look at the phrase "having a cat Sunnah," we will understand that there are two points we need to grasp. The two points I mean are as follows:

Sunnah

By the way, are you aware of what Sunnah is? If you don't know about it, you should understand that Sunnah refers to everything related to Prophet Muhammad. This is a general description of what Sunnah is.

The specific meaning of Sunnah is as follows:

كُلُّ مَا نُقِلَ عَنْ رَسُوْلِ اللهِ - صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - مِنْ أَقْوَالٍ وَأَفْعَالٍ وَتَقْرِيْرٍ ، وَصِفَاتٍ خَلْقِيَّةٍ وَخُلُقِيَّةٍ، سَوَاءً أَكَانَ ذَلِكَ قَبْلَ الْبِعْثَةِ أَمْ بَعْدَهَا

Everything that is narrated from the Messenger of Allah (Prophet Muhammad) sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, including his sayings, actions, approvals, attributes of creation, and ethics, either before he was sent as a Prophet and Messenger or after that.

That's one of the meanings of Sunnah according to hadith experts.

Read Also: Is It Sunnah to Shower with Your Spouse in Islam?

You can find a description of Sunnah in the hadith below:

مَنْ سَنَّ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ سُنَّةً حَسَنَةً فَلَهُ أَجْرُهَا وَأَجْرُ مَنْ عَمِلَ بِهَا بَعْدَهُ مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ يَنْقُصَ مِنْ أُجُورِهِمْ شَيْءٌ وَمَنْ سَنَّ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ سُنَّةً سَيِّئَةً كَانَ عَلَيْهِ وِزْرُهَا وَوِزْرُ مَنْ عَمِلَ بِهَا مِنْ بَعْدِهِ مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ يَنْقُصَ مِنْ أَوْزَارِهِمْ شَيْءٌ

Whoever sets an example of good habits in Islam will receive their reward and the reward of those who imitate them, without diminishing their reward in the slightest. Conversely, whoever sets an example of bad habits will incur their sin, along with the sin of those who follow them, without diminishing their sin in the slightest.

Having a Cat

When it comes to what is meant by "having a cat," it is quite simple: it means that someone has a cat.

Thus, we can understand the Sunnah to have a cat in the following ways:

• That Prophet Muhammad had a cat or encouraged Muslims to be kind to cats.
• That having a cat is one of the good practices in Islam.

Generally, if we hear someone discussing the Sunnah of having a cat, it implies that the Prophet Muhammad had a cat or that he encouraged Muslims to be kind to them, which is considered a good deed in Islam. However, if we find someone inquiring about the Sunnah of having a cat, it indicates that the person is asking whether it is permissible in Islam.

That's a brief description of the meaning of having a cat as Sunnah that we should understand.

Hadith Regarding Cats

The second essential aspect of the question, "Is having a cat Sunnah?" is the hadith regarding cats. I want you to understand this so that you can grasp the fundamental reasoning behind responding to this inquiry.

The hadith regarding cats is as follows:

عَنْ أَبِيْ قَتَادَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ : فِي الْهِرَّةِ : إِنَّهَا لَيْسَتْ بِنَجَسٍ ، إِنَّمَا هِيَ مِنَ الطَّوَافِيْنَ عَلَيْكُمْ. أَخْرَجَهُ الْأَرْبَعَةُ وَ إِبْنُ خُزَيْمَةَ

From Abu Qatadah radiyallahu anhu, he (Prophet Muhammad) said about cats: "Actually, it is not unclean. It is among the animals that roam around you." This hadith was narrated by four scholars: Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah, as well as by Ibn Khuzaimah.

عَنْ أَبِيْ هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ : … دَخَلَتِ امْرَأَةٌ النَّارَ فِيْ هِرَّةٍ رَبَطَتْهَا فَلَا هِيَ أَطْعَمَتْهَا وَلَا هِيَ أَرْسَلَتْهَا تَأكُلُ مِنْ خَشَاشِ الْأَرْضِ حَتَّى مَاتَتْ

From Abu Hurairah radiyallahu anhu, the Prophet (Muhammad) sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, "A woman enters Hell because she tied up a cat and did not feed it, nor did she let it go so that it could eat small animals on the ground until it (the cat) died."

This is the hadith regarding cats that we need to understand.

Is Having a Cat Sunnah?

The third essential aspect of the question, "Is having a cat Sunnah?" is a specific answer. In other words, does Islam permit Muslims to have a cat?

Dear readers! If we consider some of the explanations above, we can conclude that having a cat is indeed a Sunnah. Why? The answer is that the Prophet Muhammad encouraged Muslims to be kind to cats. One important point to remember is that having a cat is not an obligation for Muslims. Therefore, if someone does not have a cat, they are not sinning.

This is a brief explanation of "Is having a cat Sunnah?" Do you understand? If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

I believe that is sufficient for this short post. May it be beneficial. Ameen.

See you again in the next short post!