Q:

My question is that, me and my family were not practicing muslims for a time period.so on that period we adopted a dog out of ignorance of the outcomes of it.so we used to touch the dog and the dog saliva has gotten into our hands and we didn’t care about it much and just washed it with soap and all. But a few years before Alhamdulillah I was guided to the right path and I started practicing islam. I washed myself in the correct manner to get rid of the najis (with water and soil). But recently I suddenly realized that we used to wash our hands in our bathroom sink therefore  impurities must’ve transfered to it and the tap for sure because we touched it with wet hands. And when I take wudu, the water splashes from the sink to my body which transfer the impurity to my body as well. After realizing this I was feeling paranoid and I’m so afraid that my prayers won’t be accepted. Therefore I decided to wash the whole bathroom with water and soil where we have touched with najis in our hands(even though it’s hard doing it). But now my problem is, since I am the only one who is concerned about najis and transfering of najis, no matter how much i clean the bathroom, najis will still transfer because my other family members are ignorant about it and it’s hard to convince them to wash their hands with soil and water for 7 times.( note that i am not doubting about this issue because i am 100 percent sure that they have touched the tap, sink etc with wet hands). I would really appreciate it if you can give me a solution for this and tell me if the najis transfered by others in my family will affect my purity aswell.

Jazakallahu khairan.

A:

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.

First, you should know that it is prohibited to keep a dog for no legitimate reason. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever keeps a dog for any reason other than hunting or guarding one’s cattle or property will lose equal to two Qirat (a certain amount) out of his rewards every day.” [Muslim]

He also stated in another report that “Angels do not enter a house where there is a dog or an image.” [Al-Nasa’I and Ibn Majah]

For these and similar prophetic reports, the majority of scholars declared the prohibition of keeping dogs except for the reasons mentioned in the hadith; that is, for hunting or for guarding one’s properties.

So, brother, you need first to educate your family about this issue to get rid of the dog, if there is no legitimate reason to keep it.

Second, regarding its impurity, it is the dog’s saliva that is najis (ritually impure), not its entire body, according to the most preponderant opinion among scholars. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has taught us how to remove the impurity of its saliva from any object when he said, “To purify any of your utensils when it is licked by a dog you have to wash it seven time using soil in the first one.” [Muslim]

You need to educate your family about this Shari`ah ruling as well, for they are Muslims anyway and have to abide by Shari`ah rulings. But even if your family does not care about the najash issue, you do not have to be over-obsessed with it as you have written in your question. The line of thought you followed, with all the presumptions and suppositions you mentioned, has led you to hardship and suffering, which is never intended by our Shari`ah. Only when there is object that you know it has the dog’s saliva and you want to use it, you have to clean it as prescribed by the prophetic report. Other than that you do not have to worry about it.

May Allah guide you to the best way and protect you against over-obsession.

Allah Almighty knows best.