The issue of Dogs and Purity is not a monolithic or static view amongst jurists

As to the issue of purity, the main point of contention was as to whether there is a rational basis for the command to wash a container if touched or licked by a dog.[18] The majority of jurists held that there is no rational basis for this command, and that dogs, like pigs, must be considered impure simply as a matter of deference to the religious text. A sizeable number of jurists, however, disagreed with this position. Jurists, particularly from the Maliki school of thought, argued that everything found in nature is presumed to be pure unless proven otherwise, either through experience or text.[19] Ruling that the traditions mentioned above are not of sufficient reliability or authenticity so as to overcome the presumption of purity, they argued that dogs are pure animals. Accordingly, they maintained that dogs do not void a Muslim’s prayer or ritual purity.[20] Other jurists argued that the command mandating that a vessel be washed a number of times was intended as a precautionary health measure. These jurists argued that the Prophet’s tradition on this issue was intended to apply only to dogs at risk of being infected by the rabies virus. Hence, if a dog is not a possible carrier of rabies, it is presumed to be pure.[21] A small number of jurists carried this logic further in arguing that rural dogs are pure, while urban dogs are impure because urban dogs often consume human garbage.[22] Another group of jurists argued that the purity of dogs turn on their domesticity—domestic dogs are considered pure because human beings feed and clean them, while dogs that live in the wild or on the streets of a city could be carriers of disease, and therefore, they are considered impure.[23] It is clear from the evolution of these discourses that as nature became more susceptible to rational understanding, complex and potentially dangerous creatures, such as dogs, became less threatening for Muslim jurists.

[18] Sahnun Ibn Sa‘id, al-Mudawwana al-Kubra (Egypt: Matba‘at al-Sa‘ada, n.d.), 1:5; Ibn Rushd II, Bidayat, 1:33-4; Abu Bakr Ibn Mas‘ud al-Kasani, Bada’i‘ al-Sana’i‘ fi Tartib al-Shara’i‘ (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilimiyya, 1997), 1:375, 415.
[19] Ahmad Ibn Muhammad al-Dardir, al-Sharh al-Saghir ‘ala Aqrab al-Masalik (the commentary of Ahmad al-Sawi is in the margins) (Cairo: Mustafa al-Babi, 1952), 1:18.
[20] Khayr al-Din al-Munif, al-Fatawa al-Khayriyya li Naf‘ al-Bariyya (Cairo: Dar al-Ma‘rifa, n.d.), 2:15; Abu Muhammad ‘Abd Allah Ibn Ahmad Ibn Muúammad Ibn Qudama, al-Mughni (Beirut: Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-‘Arabi, n.d.), 1:46; ‘Ali Ibn Ahmad Ibn Hazm, Al-Muhalla bi al-Athar (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyya, n.d.), 1:120-2; Shihab al-Din Ibn Idris al-Qarafi, al-Dhakhira (Beirut: Dar al-Gharb al-Islami, 1994), 1:181-2; Zayn al-Din Ibn Muhammad Ibn Nujaym, al-Bahr al-Ra’iq Sharh Kanz al-Daqa’iq (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyya, 1997), 1:225.[21] Abu Walid Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Rushd I, al-Muqaddimat al-Mumahhidat, ed. Muhammad Hajji (Beirut: Dar al-Gharb al-Islami, 1988), 1:90-2.
[22] Ibn al-‘Arabi, ‘Aridat, 1-2:138; Ibn Rushd II, Bidayat, 1:36.[23] Ibn Rushd I, al-Muqaddimat, 1:87-9; Ibn Rushd II, Bidayat, 1:35; Ibn al-‘Arabi, ‘Aridat, 1-2:134-7.

sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you.

words can not break your bones, but they can make you cry.

"I am spying on the enemy"

So today I told my dad that "spying and being suspicious of a fellow Muslim is haraam", especially me considering I AM HIS DAUGHTER.

Anywho, my dad likes to go thorough my drawers, journals, take items, re arrange, sniff, figure out, calculating stuff in my room, and claims he is "organizing, looking for, helping me " etc..

He also has a number of legitimate excuses when he opens my mail without asking, specifically my bills.

Anyways, so today I thought I would teach my papa some Islam 101, thinking I am gonna one up this man and shatter PATRIARCHY!

But OH NO I DIDNT.

CONVO GOES LIKE THIS

"Abu spying and being suspicious of a fellow Muslim is haraam" Me prancing around his old man rockering chair, while cuts coupons for things we never bought in our life.

My dads raises his big bushy eyebrows, the look he has when hes thinking, and responds
" Spying is not haraam when you are spying on the enemy"

Me looking bewildered , "What enemy !!!! "

My dad " I can spy on the enemy, the enemy is shaytaan" At this point he is smiling in his old man rocking chair.

I got schooled, my dad wins, shaytaan looses?

honesty is like a breathe of fresh air

Hello my name is Aminah, I am a broke,

spinster with a

crooked nose and

a boyish figure.

Chico

the day i saw you put to rest will never escape my mind. I sometimes think that I see you around the house. Under the dining room table, on the pink couch in the sun, near abu's leather shoes, your favourite chairs in the kitchen... I miss your furry face, and cute paws.

I miss laying on your stomach and hearing your little heart beat and breatheing.

You were my best friend, miss you Chico.

"i saw the picture of the whiteman"

sooooooooooo.....

I step into my house today with a coffee in my hand and my dad says " I found a white mans photo in your wallet, and its this swedish boy."

My shock and response " STOP SPYING ON ME ITS HARAAM!!!!"

Abu " Stop lying to me its bad."

Me '"He is just a friend" (roll eyes walk away)

Abu " you only keep pictures of boyfriends or husbands or kids in your wallet" " also I was not spying, I was putting it away"

Aminah Sheikh would like to thank Ferencz Thuroczy for his photo, and drama he has brought along. hahahaha

WE ARE JUST GOOD FRIENDs!!!!!!! Every foreigner has tons of passport size photos in Syria, because you have to give them to your school, place work or volunteer. Actually you have to give often more than one, syria is very strict.

Good bye.

ABU- ISMS

My father opened my VISA bill which upset me greatly. I told him " Its Illegal to open others mail"

Abu responds " You live in my house, nothing is illegal"

How does that make sense?