One thing that I’ve noticed for quite some time when it comes to pets is the ongoing debate about whether or not dogs (or pets in general) is seen as haram.

I need to make it clear that I’m a beagle expert, and not a practicing muslim. But I’ve worked with pet owners that follow the Islam faith, and have encountered this moral and religious dilemma second hand multiple times.

After doing some research, I’ve learned a few interesting facts that might be able to help you in your own personal assessment regarding beagles as haram. Obviously much is up to interpretation, but I’ll lay out the facts at hand in order to better help you come to a decision that’s best for your household.

I’ll include my resource list below, and encourage you to reach out to those within your community when evaluating this question for your own family pets, particularly for dogs.

As you’ll see throughout this article, a lot of this is circumstantial, and the scripture about dogs is up for a lot of interpretation, but overall, beagles as pets should generally be viewed as not haram, and are generally permissible. Let me explain why below.

When Are Beagles Not Haram?

The Qur’an has a few different points made about dogs, and whether or not they should be viewed as haram. Technically, if dogs are bred for hunting or for protecting the home, they are not haram, and can be companions. Though it is generally advised not to keep them in the home, and rather to let them sleep and live outside. 

According to the Qur’an, the foot procured from domesticated hunting dogs is also allowed, because their saliva is not technically impure. This distinction was made by the Maliki school, which you can read more about here.

Another reasons some muslims choose to not keep dogs in the home is because it is viewed that angels cannot enter the home if dogs (or any animals) are present in there.

Depending on how you look at it, as long as a dog is domesticated, you should be fine to keep it as a pet. And depending on the interpretation of the Qu’ran you’re viewing, you may not even be impeding on the entrance of angels into your home, but there’s definitely a bit of a gray area. Later in this post I’ll get into some of the specific passages within the Qu’ran that show exactly how dogs are seen in a positive, endearing light, and shouldn’t be feared or avoided while sticking to islam.

When Are Beagles Haram? 

Depending on interpretation, there are some pieces of scripture that generally does support the notion that dogs, including beagles, can in fact be haram.

The Qur’an has three notable mentions of dogs:

• Verse 5:4 says “Lawful for you are all good things, and [the prey] that trained [hunting] dogs and falcons catch for you.”
• Verse 18:18 describes the Companions of the Cave, a group of saintly young men presented in the Qurʼan as exemplars of religion, sleeping with “their dog stretching out its forelegs at the threshold.”
• Lastly in verse 22, the dog is always counted as one of their numbers, no matter how they are numbered. In Muslim folklore, affectionate legends have grown around the loyal and protective qualities of this dog, whose name in legend is Qiṭmīr

Because of these limited examples, there’s a lot of interpretations that are required when making an assessment of owning pets. If you keep your dog outside for part of the day, there’s a chance it could eat food like pork, and bringing that into you home would then be considered haram.

Additionally, if your dog is not serving as a guard dog, hunter, or herder for your livestock, then it isn’t serving a purpose as described in verse 5:4, so many interpreters see this as an unacceptable excuse to own a dog.

However as I mentioned above, I don’t claim to be an expert in this religion, just an expert on the beagle breed. If you’re having concerns, you should consider reaching out to those in your community who may also have pets, and they may be able to offer you a more concise interpretation of this scripture.

Final Thoughts 

If you’re looking for more resources, I’d recommend checking out this great piece by the Huffington Post titled “Islam on Dogs: Can You Be A Good Muslim And Still Have A Dog?”.

This breaks down a few more interpretations beyond just the scripture itself, and has additional resources that you can continue to add to your own personal research regarding this question.

If you have decided that your faith allows you to keep a beagle as a pet, then you’re in for a treat as they are extremely loyal, family friendly, and are great hunters if you do end up wanting to use them in that way. Stick around and check out some of my other beagle training guides if you’d like more info!