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What should one do if a dog licks one's skin or clothes, especially if the clothes are expensive and cannot be rubbed with dirt or mud, and is dry cleaning sufficient in this case?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The scholars have concluded that the saliva of a dog is impure and that anything it licks must be washed seven times, the first time with earth; this is based on the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "If a dog licks the vessel of any one of you, he should spill its contents, then wash it seven times." Muslim added: "the first of them with earth." This ruling applies to vessels and clothes, and it is not a condition that the last wash be with earth.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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