Answer
Wa `alaykum as-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
Keeping a dog for no valid reason is not acceptable in the Shari`ah. However, if there is a dog in the house, you have to keep yourself away from its salvia so that you may not get impure.
In his response to your question, Dr. Wael Shihab, PhD in Islamic Studies from Al-Azhar University, and currently the Imam of the Downtown Toronto Masjid in Canada, states:
It is not permissible for a Muslim to keep a dog except for an acceptable reason such as guarding.
However, a Muslim has to take every precaution not to have contact with the dogs’ saliva, and also arrange for a separate living space.
If you live in a place where people keep a dog for no valid reason and it is beyond your control to correct the situation, then you are blameless.
However, you have to keep your room, food, clothes, etc., away from the dog’s direct contact.
May Allah accept your and our good deeds!
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.