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:
Some jurists stated that there is nothing wrong with buying and selling dogs where there is benefit that can be gained from that, such as the case when a dog is kept for the purpose of hunting or guarding.
In response to your question, we would like to quote Sheikh `Atiyyah Saqr, former head of Al-Azhar Fatwa Committee, who said in a relevant context,
Imam Muslim narrated in his Sahih that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has prohibited the price paid for buying a dog.
In his commentary on Imam Muslim’s narration, Imam An-Nawawi stated that the prohibition mentioned in the hadith is meant for selling dogs in which there is no benefit. Selling and buying such dogs are prohibited according to the above hadith.
However, some jurists, such as Imam Abu Hanifah, stated that there is nothing wrong with buying and selling dogs where there is benefit that can be gained from that, such as the case when a dog is kept for the purpose of hunting or guarding. Ibn Al-Mundhir, Atta and An-Nakhi state that it is permissible to sell hunting dogs.
On the other hand, Imam Ash-Shafi`i states that trading in dogs is totally prohibited. However, Imam Malik states that trading in dogs is permissible irrespective of whether the dog is for guarding, hunting or any other purpose.
Imam Abu Hanifah states that the permissibility in dog’s trade is restricted to hunting, guarding dogs and to dogs that are kept for an acceptable reason in which there is no harm inflicted upon the buyer (such as buying a dog to guide a blind man).
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.