So, Have You Petted a Dog Today?

I have been observing the Dog Petting Campaign and the reactions to it. Firstly, I'd like to applaud the effort because if you look at the issue closely you will find that the Quran does allow the use of hounds in hunting which of course means that the dog does have its uses. If you look at Muslims closer, you will also find that the aversion towards dogs is not as prominent among some sects as it is among Malaysian Syafiees. Now having said that, I also applaud their effort in teaching those who were there the concept and practice of Sertu which is often mistakenly called Samak although if you look at it closer you will find that it is not really a mistake because Sertu is a small part of Samak which covers the act of cleaning things from living animals. Dogs are indeed Allah's creation and for that they need to be treated well although it also needs to be remembered that treating dogs well is a virtue, treating dogs well does not necessarily involve cuddling them.

Now that the familiarity with the dog campaign is over, I am wondering when part two of that campaign will be held and this time it should be for the non-Muslims because the rules pertaining to dogs does not stop at just the dog. There are numerous things that are related to the aspects that relate to the dogs about which non-Muslims are still woefully ignorant. For one, I have only come across very few non-Muslims who understand what Najis Mughalazah means. The dog, some aspects of it anyway, belong to this category of najis and to understand the Muslim relationship to the dog, you would also need to understand the categories of najis. Now, they taught the act of sertu, which is wonderful, did they however teach that the water that is used need to be mutlak? Since it was done in the open, was the water exposed and was it enough. A small amount of water if left out in the open, especially on a hit day, may become Musyammas, mutahair or mutanajis. I certainly how that the organizers made that clear to those who were there.

Another thing to add in part two. Did they teach the attendees about the contagion of najis mughalazah. If a person comes into contact with a wet dog or the fluids of a dog, they need to perform the sertu. If however, the fluids come into contact with other things, they would also need to perform the sertu on those things. A hypothetical situation: you go to the event and you pet a dog. The dog shows its appreciation for your affection by licking your hand. A sweet gesture. You leave the dog and you meet an old friend. You shake hands, now that friend may need to perform the sertu too. He does not realise this and goes off to the masjid to perform his Zuhr prayers. His prayer is not considered void because he has not cleaned himself properly. Certainly Allah does not punish us for things that we do not know or realise but it does not mean that we can be complacent about it.

The position of the dog, the states of water, the rules on contagion can differ a little in their interpretation by the sects but the bottomlines are not. I have long been dissatisfied with many of my fellow Muslims' reaction and attitude towards dogs. They are Allah's creations just like us and they need to be treated as such. On the other hand, we do live by certain and specific rules and those rules need to be followed too. More importantly, as we ask Muslims to be more open towards the things that non-Muslims find close to their hearts, for example their pet dogs, we need also ask the non-Muslims to be more knowledgeable and understanding of what Islam is. In my observation and experience, while there are some non-Muslims who are quite knowledgeable about Islam, the majority of them would not be able to tell the difference between what is Halal and what is Haram. For example, a place may be pork-free but is it halal? Possibly not. That need to be understood.

By the way, I like dogs. My uncle had a dog when I was a boy. I used to spend quite some time with it/him. I remember feeling sad when he grew old and we could no longer play together. Fond memories of so long ago. However, I digress.

So, when is the get to know Islam campaign?