Author: Dr. Noor Mohammad Mohibi
The Quran: A Miracle Beyond Time- A Study of Its Miraculous Nature (part 89)
Manifestations of divine miracle in the wisdom of prohibition and divine planning in creation
Part Three: Divine rulings and scientific realities concerning dogs
1. Prophetic hadiths
Three authentic Prophetic hadiths (PBUH) lay down the foundation of the Shariah’s view on keeping dogs, among them: «عن أبی الحكم قال: سمعت ابن عمر یحدث عن النبی صلى‌الله‌علیه‌وسلم قال: «من اتخذ كلبا إلا كلب زرع أو غنم أو صید، ینقص من أجره كل یوم قیراط [1] » Translation: Reported by Abu al-Hakam, who said: I heard Ibn Umar (RA) narrating from the Prophet (PBUH) that he said: “Whoever keeps a dog, except a dog for guarding crops, livestock, or for hunting, one qirat is deducted from his reward every day.”
«عن عبد الله بن مغفل، قال: قال رسول الله صلى‌الله‌علیه‌وسلم: «لولا أن الكلاب أمة من الأمم لأمرت بقتلها، الحدیث. [2] » Translation: Reported by Abdullah ibn Mughaffal (RA), who said: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “If dogs were not a community among the communities, I would have ordered that they all be killed.”
These hadiths indicate that keeping dogs is permitted only in three cases: hunting, agriculture, and guarding.
1. Diseases transmitted from dogs
Medical research has shown that dogs can transmit “36 types of diseases” to humans. Some of these diseases are extremely dangerous and fatal, the most important of them being rabies, which is almost always deadly a few days after symptoms appear, as well as various parasites, bacteria, and skin diseases.
The rate of disease transmission from dogs has been reported to be as high as “92%”, whereas the comparable rate in cats is only “7%”.
2. Social and cultural dimensions
In some Western countries, the number of dogs has increased to such an extent that they seem to have replaced children. Statistics from France in 1976 show that with a population of 52 million, there were “7 million” dogs. As a result, social problems arising from excessive attachment to dogs, and even moral deviations, have been reported as consequences of this attachment.
3. The Islamic perspective
Islam, while recognizing the dog as a creature with useful abilities (especially in hunting, guarding, and detection), strongly forbids the unjustified keeping of it, because its biological, psychological, and health-related effects on the human living environment are well known.
Part Four: The Miracle of a Dog’s Sense of Smell
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Structural comparison with humans
The creation of the dog contains special miracles. The most important of them is its “extraordinary sense of smell”: the effective range of its sense of smell is “one million times” stronger than that of humans; the human olfactory area is about 5 square centimeters, whereas in dogs it is “150 square centimeters”; the number of olfactory receptors in humans is about 5 million, while in dogs it is “150 million” receptors.
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Astonishing abilities
If a small amount of a narcotic substance is enclosed within several layers of packaging, a dog is able to identify it among one hundred similar packages.
Every human has a unique scent; even two humans who are from the same father and mother and are born in one pregnancy (identical twins) have different scents. A dog can find the owner of a specific scent among one hundred thousand people.
It can detect “one small spoon of salt or vinegar” in thousands of liters of water.
In some countries, dogs are used to find “gas leaks” [3] in pipes buried underground.
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Manifestation of divine subjugation
The great perceptual abilities, olfactory memory, and discriminating power of this animal are all in accordance with the verse:
هُوَ ٱلَّذِی خَلَقَ لَكُم مَّا فِی ٱلأَرضِ جَمِیعا [4] Translation: “He is the One Who created for you all that is on the earth.”
This is another proof that Allah the Exalted has placed this creature in the service of humankind, so that it may be used in a balanced and lawful manner, not that it should replace human relationships.
Conclusion:
What was examined in these two sections is only a small example of the wise divine system in creation and legislation. The prohibition of pork, the astonishing structure of desert animals, and the rulings related to dogs all show that: the Shariah is in harmony with nature and in agreement with human health and well-being; creation is filled with scientific and purposeful planning; every divine command is, before anything else, a manifestation of the wisdom and mercy of Allah. Reflecting on these examples leads a person to the truth that in this world every sign—from the smallest organ of an animal to the greatest galaxy—is an indication of divine miracle and power. [5]
To be continued…
References:
- Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Book of Sales, Chapter: The command to kill dogs, Hadith no. 1574, vol. 5, p. 37.
- Al-Sunan al-Kubrā – al-Nasāʾī, Book of Hunting, Description of the dogs that were commanded to be killed, Hadith no. 4773, vol. 4, p. 465, al-Risālah edition.
- “Gas leak” means the unintended flow or escape of gas from a pipe, tank, or device.
- Al-Baqarah: 29.
- Condensed from: Encyclopedia of Scientific Miracles in the Qur’an and Sunnah, vol. 2, pp. 166–170.
