The Ruling on Selling Dogs and Catsحكم بيع الكلب والهر

It is reported in Muslim that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade the price [received in exchange] for a dog and the price for a cat (sinnawr). The majority of scholars prohibit selling a dog, even a trained one such as a hunting dog, and Abu Dawud reports from Ibn 'Abbas that if someone comes demanding its price, one should fill his hand with dust — meaning, refuse him entirely. Likewise, they prohibit selling a cat, even a domesticated one. This is the position of the majority, as opposed to the Malikis, who permit it. But the majority's position is more correct, since the hadith explicitly forbids the price taken for a dog and for a cat, indicating that a person may not sell either.

However, it has been established that if a person needs a dog — a hunting dog, for instance — and cannot find anyone to give him one freely, he may purchase one, though it remains forbidden for the seller to accept payment for it; this exception applies only in genuine need.

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