[greekbeast]

Brother Commodore,
We have to be careful about restricting and narrowing the Deen of Allah to fulfill the limited scope and vision of men.

I have heard fuqaha attempt to give fatawa as if all the world of men are poor while ignoring that there are believers of means, even wealth too. An expensive car might be out of the question for most of us, but for those of wealth, it is permissible. And it might have ajar if it is purchased in some way for the sake of Allah, such as bringing the seller closer to the deen, or the revenue of the sale will go to help Allah's cause.


In that sense, a Muslim should measure his/her economic means: his expenses vs. his revenue.
Is he/she living beyond his means, and thus in debt?
He should also measure the practice of the Deen: would owning a pet help or hinder that practice?
Is he spending 1000s of euros a year on a pet (owning exotic fish can be expensive, so too a pure bred) which he could be spending on the Cause of Allah?
Does she own a pet instead of getting married?
Many professional working women have not focussed on starting a family and owning a pet serves as a substitute. However, years pass and they may have missed the chances to marry or have children. Marriage is half of the Deen, did owning that cat hinder her practice of the Deen?



Also, is owning a pet within one's means?
Owning a lion may be far to expensive for me, but for someone who is wealthy and owns a farm ( with livestock which he can also feed to his lion), owning a lion attracts people who want to view it to his farm. People even rent his farm for days at a time. Meanwhile, he gives subtle dawah there, providing excellent care to his animals and being an example to other farm owners and to nonMuslims, showing the Muslim's merciful side towards animals. Its also a refuge from the fitnah perpetrated in the cities.


Many of the answers to these questions can only be answered by individual believers. We can't limit the Deen, it's Allah's, not our's.
And Allah knows best.