Prophet Muhammad (SAW) Loved Cats So Much & Had a Favorite Cat too

Animals are the vital creations of Allah ﷻ and are like a companion to humankind. Since, the arrival of our father Adam (Pbuh) on this earth animals served humans in various forms.

We keep pet animals; we feed them, we play with them and some of us treat them like their offspring. But do you know our beloved Prophet ﷺ had a pet too, yes he had a favorite kitten named Muezza.

The story of a beautiful companion of Prophet ﷺ starts here. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ came across a black-and-white Abyssinian cat breastfeeding her kitten during the Uhud campaign, he changed the course of his soldiers. On his way back he adopted this cat and gave her the name “Muezza”.

There is a well-known story regarding the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and Muezza.

When the call to prayers was heard, Muezza was asleep on one of the sleeves of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) robes. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) wanted to wear the robe to go to prayers.

Rather than disturbing Muezza, Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) cut off the sleeves to leave Muezza in peace. Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) then stroked the cat three times, which, it is said, granted Muezza seven lives and the ability to land on his feet at all times (as you might know, cats have a self-righting mechanism, a righting reflex, which is a complex series of movements when a cat falls and which protects the cat from breaking her back).

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was so attached to his cat that when he gave sermons he let Muezza rest on his lap and he also drank from water previously drunk by his cat. He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also did his ablutions from the same water that was drunk by a cat. He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)  seemed to treat his cat in the same way as cat lovers do today but even cat lovers might think twice about drinking the same water that had been drunk by a cat for fear of transmission of disease from the cat’s saliva.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ loved every cat he came across. He also foretold a hadith where a woman was punished in hell because she left her cat locked in her house where the poor soul died.

Narrated Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), Ummul Mu’minin:

“Dawud ibn Salih ibn Dinar at-Tammar quoted his mother as saying that her mistress sent her with some pudding (harisah) to Aisha who was offering prayer. She made a sign to me to place it down.

A cat came and ate some of it, but when Aisha finished her prayer, she ate from the place where the cat had eaten. She stated: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:“It is not unclean: it is one of those who go round among you”. She added: “I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performing ablution from the water left over by the cat”.” (Abu Dawood)

Narrated Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him): “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prohibited eating the cat and from its price.”(Jami` at-Tirmidhi)

Muslims are allowed to keep cats as a pet animal but should take care of the soul by feeding them timely and taking care properly.