All Dogs Go To Heaven

Q: Assalamualaikum Ustaz,

Was wondering if you could help me with this question, do I have to do anything if while walking my leg graced the bag (or something cage-like) that is used to put a dog ?

A: Waalaikumussalam wr wb,

Thanks for asking. I believe you are asking whether you would need to perform the special cleansing as entioned in the following hadith:

“Purifying a container that a dog licks is done by washing it seven times, the first time with pure soil (that is, water mixed with earth until it becomes muddy).”

Different schools of thought have varied opinions on this issue. So let’s take a brief look at what they are:

The First View: The first view is that of the Maliki scholars, who hold that a dog is pure even its saliva.     

The Second View: The second view is attributed to the Shafi`i school and one of two narrations from Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal. They are of the opinion that a dog is impure even its fur. 

The Third View: The third view is ascribed to the Hanafi school and the other narration from Imam Ahmad. They maintain that a dog’s saliva is impure while its fur is pure.

So, after reading the views of our past great scholars, you can use them as a guiding principle to decide. I believe that at the end of the day, it depends on how confident and how sure you are that the ‘cage’ was actually used for a dog, or whether or not the exterior part of that cage was ever licked by a dog etc. 

Most Muslims prefer to take the safer option and so they will cleanse the part of their body / clothing which made contact with the impure (najis) affected area. Hope this helps.

Allah know best