Hadith Text & Reference

Kabshah, daughter of Ka'b ibn Malik and wife of Ibn AbuQatadah, reported: AbuQatadah visited (me) and I poured out water for him for ablution. A cat came and drank some of it and he tilted the vessel for it until it drank some of it. Kabshah said: He saw me looking at him; he asked me: Are you surprised, my niece? I said: Yes. He then reported the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: It is not unclean; it is one of those (males or females) who go round among you.

Book: Purification (Kitab Al-Taharah) | Author: Sunan Abi Dawud | Reference: Sunan Abi Dawud 75

Scholarly Commentary

This hadith establishes the fundamental ruling that cats are pure animals and their saliva does not nullify purification. When Abu Qatadah tilted the vessel to allow the cat to drink from the very water prepared for his ablution, he demonstrated the practical application of this Prophetic teaching.

The phrase "it is one of those who go round among you" indicates that cats are common household companions that frequently move among people and their possessions. Had they been considered ritually impure, this would have caused continual hardship in maintaining purity.

Scholars from all major schools of jurisprudence have derived from this hadith that if a cat drinks from water, the water remains pure and suitable for ablution. This ruling extends to what remains of the cat's saliva in vessels or on clothing. The wisdom behind this ruling reflects the merciful nature of Islamic law, avoiding unnecessary hardship in daily life.

Legal Rulings Derived

• Cats are pure animals and do not transmit ritual impurity

• Water touched or drunk by cats remains pure and valid for ablution

• The saliva of cats does not nullify wudu (ablution)

• This ruling facilitates ease in daily life given cats' common presence in human habitats

• The permissibility of keeping cats as household pets without causing ritual complications