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Is killing house spoiling insects allowed in Islam?

Killing Lizards

Killing Lizards

There are many lizards in my house and spoil my rooms responding to the call of nature 😛

is it permissible to kill them?

- nafisbd


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11 Responses »

  1. Assalamualaikum,

    Killing house spoiling insects and those that are harmful is allolwed in Islam.

    It is recommended to kill house lizards (gecko), as a hadith in Sahih Muslim says:

    It was narrated from `Amir bin Sa`d, from his father, that the Prophet ﺻﻠﻰ اﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ enjoined the killing of geckos and he called them Fuqaisiq (vermin)

    In fact, other ahadeeth say that there is reward in killing them. So, you can kill them.

    Abu Abdul Bari
    IslamicAnswers.com Editor

  2. What about spiders? And Mosquitos, Moths? I am do scared of these is it ok to kill them?

    • Salaams,

      I'm not the hadith queen, but unless the spider was poisonous and could harm someone seriously we would always catch them and put them outside. I thought spiders were special and should be protected as much as possible because of the spider that spun a web when Prophet Muhammad SAWS was hiding in the cave when he was escaping the Quraysh.

      Mosquitos can carry serious diseases and I believe because of that they are also considered a vermin and can be killed, at least that's what we always did in practice.

      Moths on the other hand are not dangerous...at the most they are pesky so I don't think they should be killed....just caught and put outside if anything.

      My understanding is that the life of every creature should be valued and preserved to every extent possible unless they pose a danger or threat to another creature.

      -Amy
      IslamicAnswers.com Editor

  3. Abu Abdul Bari, are you sure about the translation of the hadith? Because geckos are considered beneficial lizards, as their primary food is mosquitoes and other pesky insects. In Panama they are called, "limpia casa", House Cleaner. They do not bite people.

    The same is true for spiders. Some of course are poisonous, but most are beneficial in the sense that they eat other insects. Like Amy, I capture them in a class or bowl and take them outside.

    I agree with Amy that all life should be considered sacred, and we should only kill that which is directly harmful or dangerous to us.

    Wael
    IslamicAnswers.com Editor

    • I don't know if I have mistaken. But the word in this hadith is وزغة which literally translates to gecko.

      A hadith of Sahih Muslim has the wording: من قتل وزغة في أول ضربة فله كذا وكذا حسنة

      Of course, I agree that insects should not be killed unless necessary, unless they pose harm.

      Leaving them out of the house may not be a good idea everywhere in the World. lol. A lady caught a rat and left it out of the house. It ran and went into someone else's house. 😀

      Abu Abdul Bari
      IslamicAnswers.com Editor

    • GREAT ADVICE...

      we need to sometimes think outside of the box and put things into perspective.

      Even feral cats some kill them because they find them annoying and to carry disease, i never do matter of fact..i dont mind them in my yard because they ward off RATS from my crops and property..

  4. salam alikum what if your not aware of it biting you sometymz u find ugly creatures and they scare you so you dont want to go and put it in a container what if it jumps on u and runs in through ur clothes creepy. arghhh ..... my daughter is scared of little flies she cries her eyes out like it haunts her, all i do is spray em till they dead or weak and either they die or when they weak i'd put it in a container i have no other choice and for slugs i cant stand them around the house and wasps and bee's. hope Allah forgives me for my sins i know its not right but i dont think its right if something comes to your house to scare you.
    anyway
    Allah hafiz

  5. salaam OP

    A gecko is a harmless creature. if it is a problem..simply put it outside if you can.. all insects have a purpose in the environment ..and are apart of ALLAH swt creation.

    • The editors are correct. In that the profit said that he who killed geckos would be rewarded! They are referred to as "chipkalis" in Pakistan and crawl across ceilings and walls. They are also poisonous and our PROPHET SAW(PBUH), permitted the killing of these creatures, as they are deemed as vermin in the hadith. If I am incorrect, i will reproach, as she would be my wealth of Islamic knowledge. Jazakallah khair.

      • Asif, please do not post information like this. First of all, the animal that the Prophet (sws) designated as a pest was called a "wazigh." Who knows what kind of animal this actually was. Some say a lizard, some say salamander or gecko. These species are all completely different.

        I have no doubt that the Prophet was referring to some kind of harmful lizard that was prevalent at the time. The bottom line is that we are called upon to eliminate poisonous or harmful animals from our home. Not just to kill any kind of lizard randomly.

        Geckos, however, are not poisonous or venomous. They do not harm human beings. Just the opposite. Because their primary diet is mosquitoes, flies, termites, etc, they provide a benefit to humans. A single gecko can eat 100 mosquitoes per day! And since mosquitoes transmit deadly diseases like malaria, dengue fever, West Nile virus, we should thank geckos rather than kill them!

        Wael
        IslamicAnswers.com Editor

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