Can a cat invalidate one’s prayers in the Islamic faith?

There are some strict rules for Muslims when praying. One of them concerns things happening in front of the worshipper when praying. The rules on this specific aspect of praying are nicely encapsulated on the Islam Question and Answer website (thank you). Remarkably there is a disconcerting distinction between a ‘woman, a donkey or a dog’ and a cat. It appears that cats are elevated above women in this aspect of the lives of Muslims. And dogs have always been unfairly treated under Islam in my view, sometimes cruelly so.

Cat on their own Muslim prayer mat while owner prays
Cat on their own Muslim prayer mat while owner prays. Photo: Twitter.
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On my interpretation of the rules (correct me if you think I am wrong) – which you can see for yourself by clicking on this link – if a cat walks in front of you while you are praying it is okay. You don’t have to do anything because the cat is ‘taahir’ (pure) and the rules as written more a thousand years ago accept cats in mosques. You’ll see cats in mosques a lot on the internet, taking up residence, being pets to imams and wandering around the interior while Muslims are praying. They have a special place within the Islamic faith (see photos below).

But women, donkeys and dogs are lesser mortals. If a woman walks past a Muslim praying the prayer uttered is invalidated. The same for donkeys and dogs. This is the advice verbatim:

Praise be to Allah. Prayer is invalidated if one of these three things mentioned by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) walks in front of the worshipper. He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Prayer is invalidated by a woman, a donkey of a dog; that may be prevented by something equal in height to the back of a saddle [placed in front of the worshipper as a sutrah or screen].

Muslims can place a screen in front of them to block of these invalidating events it seems and they are advised to. The pictures below show how domestic cats in mosques are perfectly acceptable and even welcome if the imam is a cat lover. Arabic imam (leader and/or model).

Resident cat, Gli, at Hagia Sophia Mosque in Istanbul has passed away
Resident cat, Gli, at Hagia Sophia Mosque in Istanbul has passed away. Photo in the public domain.
Imam Mustafa Efe with a kitten inside his mosque: Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi Mosque, Istanbul
Imam Mustafa Efe with a kitten inside his mosque: Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi Mosque, Istanbul. Photo: Facebook.
Cat sits on imam's shoulder while he delivers prayers
Cat sits on imam’s shoulder while he delivers prayers. Screenshot.

Below are a couple of articles on the Islam faith and cats. There are many more as this in an interesting area of discussion. In fact the whole area of religion an cats is interesting. For example, cats are not mentioned in the bible except for lions. Can you believe that? When cats are so big in the Islam faith.

Islam Faith

Is cat saliva filthy under Islam?

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