Islam and cats

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Feral cat in the courtyard of Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The cat is considered "the quintessential pet" by Muslims,[1] and is admired for its cleanliness, even going as far as being Prophet Muhammad's favourite animal.[2] Unlike other animals, such as dogs, Islamic Law considers cats pure, and allows cats to freely enter homes and even mosques. Cats are believed to be the most common pet in Muslim countries.[1]

History

Cat resting on a pillow next to an imam in Cairo, by John Frederick Lewis

The American poet and travel author

Baibars.[1]

Wilfred Thesiger, in his book The Marsh Arabs, notes that cats were allowed free entry to community buildings in villages in the Mesopotamian Marshes and were even fed.[3][page needed] Aside from protecting granaries and food stores from pests, cats were valued by the paper-based Arab-Islamic cultures for preying on mice that destroyed books. For that reason, cats are often depicted in paintings alongside Islamic scholars and bibliophiles.

Hygiene and neutering

In Islamic tradition, cats are admired for their cleanliness. They are considered to be

praying.[4]

, preached:

If there are too many cats and they are a nuisance, and if the operation will not harm them, then there is nothing wrong with it, because this is better than killing them after they have been created. But if the cats are ordinary cats and are not causing a nuisance, perhaps it is better to leave them alone to reproduce.[5]

Muezza

A man teasing a cat with prayer beads in Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo

Many Muslims believe that Muezza (or Muʿizza;

Arabic: معزة) was Muhammad's favourite cat.[2][6] Muhammad awoke one day to the sounds of the adhan. Preparing to attend prayer, he began to dress himself; however, he soon discovered his cat Muezza sleeping on the sleeve of his prayer robe. Rather than wake her, he used a pair of scissors to cut the sleeve off, leaving the cat undisturbed. He then smiled and gently stroked his beloved cat three times, giving all cats the ability to land squarely on their feet.[2][6] There is no mention of any such cat or the associated story in the hadith or supplementary works,[7] but there is a similar story attributed to Sheikh al-Arif Ahmad al-Rifa’i (died 1182/1183) according to Al-Dhahabi, although the cat has no name in this account.[8]

See also

References

External links