Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah

Lion or Dog with Ashab al-Kahf

· 17 Jumada I 1439 AH1 min readFatwa 39544English

Question

Assalamualikum Alikum Warehmatullahi Wabarakatahu,

Kindly let me know had any Muffaser of Quran mentioned that it was Lion (not dog) that was present with Ashaab i Kahf in Surah Kahf of Al-Quran.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

Imam Baghawi states in his tafsir that according to a narration from Ibn Jurayj, the animal present with the people of the cave was a lion.[1] However, most commentators state that it was a dog.

And Allah Ta‘ālā Knows Best.

Lutfi Alam

Student, Darul Iftaa

New York, USA

Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

References (Arabic / Urdu sources)

[1]

تفسير البغوي - إحياء التراث (٣/١٨٣)

أَكْثَرُ أَهْلِ التَّفْسِيرِ عَلَى أَنَّهُ كَانَ مَنْ جِنْسِ الْكِلَابِ. وَرُوِيَ عَنِ ابْنِ جُرَيْجٍ: أَنَّهُ كَانَ أَسَدًا وَسُمِّي الْأَسَدُ كَلْبًا.

فَإِنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ دَعَا عَلَى عُتْبَةَ بْنِ أَبِي لَهَبٍ فَقَالَ: «اللَّهُمَّ سَلِّطْ عَلَيْهِ كَلْبًا مِنْ كلابك» ، فافترسه أسد، والأول المعروف...

Answered by
Lutfi Alam
Checked & approved by
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
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Source: Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah — https://askimam.org/public/question_detail/39544
Fatawa SA: https://fatawa.co.za/fatwa/askimam-39544

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