Last week, the event that drew differing points of view on the social media in Malaysia was "I Want to Touch the Dogs" session that was organised by a Muslim and attended by some hijab-clad Muslims. Whilst some applauded the organiser's effort to create love and compassion for another one of God's creatures, others are not so altruistic.
A Muslim friend asked my view on it a couple of days ago.
While I am not religious and don't pretend to be, the rule for touching dogs in Islam is clear. If you touch it when it is not wet, then your hand does not become impure, but if you touch it when it is wet, this means that the hand becomes pure, according to the opinion of many scholars, and the hand must be washed seven times, one of which should be with earth.
While I am not religious and don't pretend to be, the rule for touching dogs in Islam is clear. If you touch it when it is not wet, then your hand does not become impure, but if you touch it when it is wet, this means that the hand becomes pure, according to the opinion of many scholars, and the hand must be washed seven times, one of which should be with earth.
Being conservative and too lazy to preform the required ablution, I didn't feel the need to touch those dogs and went on to ride my bike instead!