Comments on: Islam and Vegetarianism

By: Syafrin

Syafrin — Sun, 04 May 2008 00:32:14 +0000

Meat in middle east in the time of the Prophet is a necessity. Food distribution from neighboring countries is not as convenient. In the vast expand of the desert, people cannot be expected to hear what the Prophet say if their belly is empty.
However, there are a lot of cautions to be awared of by moslem before any meat can be eaten.
Money and ports in modern rich middle eastern countries are absolutely not a issue.
When all the words of Mohammed regarding animals is considered relative to the background settings, we will see Mohammed is absolutely a very considerate gentleman to animals.

By: Syafrin

Syafrin — Sun, 04 May 2008 00:24:49 +0000

All modern meat is haram to moslems.
Wool sheep from Australia is vivisected without any painkillers, leaving the sheep in agony for days afterwards.
Cows live in a condition so inhumane. Veal are kept in dark for 4 months with necks chained, milk cows are impregnated every year and render them too tired to pass more than 4 years of live, and they are transported in extreme weather to slaughterhouse. Their body parts are cut while they are still alive.
Compare the story of the chicks of a motherbird in Islam and compare it with modern fishing where even the smallest fish and cretaceans are pulled out of the sea and left off as garbage because these small animals have no economic value.
Pigs practice cannibalism in farms. Meat Bone Meal is fed back to cows.
Don’t ever people say don’t talk about condition in factory farm in dinner because it ruin their dinner, please open your eyes to the fact.
When moslem food authority in middle east approve the import of meat from europe and US, I think they have been pressured or corrupted by the western officials to halal the meat that is never not supposed to be halal.
There is absolutely nothing compassionate left in modern meat, and by eating them, moslems are not doing good for their religion.

By: Haider Jafari

Haider Jafari — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 06:22:31 +0000

Certain types of meat are prohibited in Islam. Proper slaughter like in Zionism is an essential condition in Islam. Vegetarainism is is not prohibited either. However the affects of meat eating was noted earlier when the Prophet said, Do not make the graves of animals in your bellys. This reflects how meat is discouraged but not prohibited. But vagatable are not discouraged.

By: Desert Rose

Desert Rose — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 04:13:23 +0000

Bismillah hir-rah mah-nirrah-heem - I begin in the Name of God, The Beneficient, the Merciful.

I became a vegetarian in 2000. One day I was eating meat, fowl, seafood and eggs, and then the next day I was totally vegetarian. I am now more vegan, giving up dairy also. I have never felt better in my whole life.

I had many questions about the killing of animals, poultry and fish when I was a young child. I always felt sorry and guilty when they had to be killed. Many years ago, on Eid ul Azha day we were at a farm outside of Toronto (women are not generally welcome to be around when the killing occurs) and of course the bull was fighting against being slaughtered. The animal was fighting for its life and then the farmer who was doing the killing took a gun and shot the animal in its head and then they proceeded to cut its throat with a sharp knife to ensure that the meat was halal. That killing shook me up inside. The farmer told me that the animal was just stunned.

After I saw that happening I was a bit troubled in my heart and soul. I started having doubts in my mind about my religion. I was practicing my religion more as a habitual, ritualistic manner, not asking questions, not seeking the TRUTH. What was the truth?

But Islam is not to blame, it is us who misinterpret the Quran and disobey the Mosaic Law of the Ten Commandments, “Thou shalt not Kill”. The Quran explicitly forbids Muslims from eating the flesh of dead animals and ingesting the blood of animals. If you kill a sentient being(animals, fowl, fish, etc.), then it is dead. How can you proceed to eat the flesh of dead animals?

I am a logical person and I asked myself those questions and many more. I re-read the Quran and once I became aware of what I was doing, I was deeply troubled, aware that the spiritual leaders, including my parents and family, would not have the answers for me. Anyway, I continued eating meat because my religion and Muslims were doing this. It was how I was brought up.

Eventually, one thing led to another and thank God, I have finally given up the practice of meat eating. I had lost my compassionate nature when I was eating a lot of animal flesh. I was a changed being. Now, I am more compassionate again to all sentient beings, happier, but still a bit troubled that many Muslims still butt heads with me and rationalize meat eating to this day. As I told my Mom, the Quran also says, “Eat of the good things of the earth, Eat of the garlic, the cucumber and the lentils.” But when I go to the mosque, there is never any lentil dishes and cucumbers.

Many muslims are having vegetarian meals more often including my mother and some of my family members. Many Muslims including the Prophet, the Sahabah, the Sufis, Saints and Scholars were (more) vegetarian.

My only advice to many of you who are questioning the idea of vegetarianism in Islam is to take the Veggie Challenge for a week or a month and then let us know how you feel.

By: Irfan Khan

Irfan Khan — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 04:00:20 +0000

One will find good and bad people in all faiths. Therefore one cannot claim supremacy of one faith over the other. However my understanding of five religions is as follows. Christianity allows any kind of meat. Islam allows meat of all vegetarian animals but no pork. Hinduism has both vegetarians and non-vegetarian followers. The non-vegetarian followers don’t eat meat of cow. Sikhs s are meat-eaters as well as vegetarians. However the meat-eaters avoid cows. The Buddhists also have both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Jainism lays very high emphasis on vegetarianism and non-violence towards all life forms including insects, and all its followers are vegetarians. Based on this information I understand that Jainism practices highest compassion towards animals and all living creatures which is unmatched compared to other religions.

Islam says vegetarian food is halal and meat obtained without the islamic guidlines is haram. Then why not followers of islam become complete vegetarian since there would be no risk at all of consuming haram food and they would show greater compassion for animals like Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) had. In today’s world when every vegetable is available througout the year, there is no need to take life of innocent animals for the sake of food. Also killing helpless animals during Eid in the name of sacrifice is so foolish and mindless. If at all you need to sacrifice something to Allah, sacrifice greed, ego, lust, hatred, jealous and other human weaknesses. Killing innocent and helpless animals will infact enrage Allah not make him happy..

Christianity’s first commandment is”thou shall not kill”. That sentence includes not killing any living creature be it insect animal or man. However, christians apply it to only human beings. That is so selfish. I like Christ. The christians are so unlike their christ.

Same applies to peoples of other faith. Let us not be hypocrites. Let us not be selfish. Let us enlarge our domain of love and compassion to all the living creatures of this world. Let us not restrict ourselves to just human beings. Let us live and let live.

By: Vivek

Vivek — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 18:34:15 +0000

What some of the gentlemen have said here is perfectly true. Muslims are supposed to kill an animal with the least amount of pain and not in the presence of other animals. Being a journalist, I have seen so many animals being killed in front of the others. Hindus have this practice of sacrificing animals too. I just hate it. I would rather see an animal happily roaming round in the fields rather than ending up on the dining table. But for all those animals which are slaughtered, I wish they never come back to earth to be ill treated by humans again.

By: umaima

umaima — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 13:37:34 +0000

Assalamu alaikum
I am a student and was asked that why is it that it is not allowed to eat some certain meat i islam. I could not give the answer and decided to come and check but still i cant see the answer. Please if the answer is available to you please you can do email it to my address as above. Bissalam

By: nazia

nazia — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 17:56:05 +0000

Pls can u send me dua for becoming self- sufficient and self-reliant because i am suffering from huge financial crisis and feeding on others food.if u send me some duas to solve this problem ill be vv thankful to u and allah
will be eagerly awaiting to see ur answer on my email.

By: Aneesa

Aneesa — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 14:16:27 +0000

I am a Muslim so we as Muslims are permitted to eat meat if it is halal, however what reason would you give to a vegetarian who says that they do not eat meat due to the fact that you are killing a living being made by God.

By: Stuart

Stuart — Mon, 29 May 2006 09:54:22 +0000

I have come across 4 reasons people give for being vegetarian:
1. Concern for animal welfare
2. Religious reasons
3. Spiritual reasons
4. Health reasons
Making this distinction may help the analysis.
The general question is presumably whether people should be vegetarian, not just muslims.
Another point is that, if you attampt to answer all questions from a single book, you have a problem when the question is not adequately covered in the book. This arises more as long periods of time elapse. The whole question of developing consciousness and becoming more self-sufficient in matters of judgment has to be addressed to answer these questions adequately.

By: Azbar Hussain

Azbar Hussain — Tue, 16 May 2006 17:31:52 +0000

Any religion that does not exercise compassion towards the weak, the voiceless and the vulnerable is a sham.

By: essra

essra — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 04:31:01 +0000

Assalamualaikum! I’ve been recently looking into veganism. My father has been a vegetarian for over 35 years, and I have always been a moderate meat-eater (a few 3-4 times a month). In the spiritual group that I attend, there was some talk of “Sowm-e-Soluk,” it is an Islamic Vegan fast for 40 days. They say that one attains a higher state and closeness with the Maker! I’m going to try it out, is anyone interested in joining me? Also, after seeing how the meat and farming industry treats animals, we as Muslims MUST find it difficult to consider that meat Halaal. In Islam if an animal has been tortured in any way, we are not allowed to consume that animal, it must be left o live out its natural life. The way that animals are treated in the states and in many of the farms in Australia and New Zealand (where much of the Middle Eastern supply comes from) we must rethink what we consider to be Halaal. These animals are being tortured! There is a hadith of the Rasul-SAS where he was walking and came upon an animal whos face was branded, the Prophet-SAS cursed the person that had inflicted the animal with such pain. The interesting thing about this hadith is that in all the accounts where people are harming the Prophet-SAS he NEVER cursed them; these are people that threw waste on him, and cursed him and his family. But when it comes to animals, the Prophet-SAS felt no inhibitions to curse the mangled soul of one so cruel as to harm an animal. Also (I don’t mean to blab on too long, I promise :) there are many hadith that speak of people whom were far of the path of spirituality and Islam, but when they were kind to an animal, they were granted paradise. In one account it was a man in the desert whom was thirsty and when he found a well, he saw a thirsty dog next to it. When he saw that there was no bucket, the man went into the well, soaked his shirt in the water and rung it out over the dog�s mouth to let him drink. It is said that this man was granted paradise and forgiven for his sins. There is another story about a prostitute and a cat on a rainy night, but I’m sure that you all get my drift!

Be well,

ASA-

essra

By: Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 21:52:03 +0000

Hi, Ame –

1. Plants don’t have a central nervous system and so are unable to feel pain. There was a “theory” back in the 1970s that plants could feel pain, but it was quickly debunked. Questions 42-45 of this FAQ go into far more detail than I will here.

2. I agree… looking at ourselves and our affect on the planet and each other is very important. There are often no completely “good” or completely “bad” choices due to the interconnected nature of life. We each have a responsibility to be aware of the true consequences of our actions and to choose a path that causes the least harm, as best as we can reason it. Some changes, like diet, can make a huge impact with very little effort.

Thanks for writing.

By: Ame

Ame — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 21:37:54 +0000

Ryan,
1. Plants and vegetables don’t feel pain and don’t suffer - do we know as much?
2. All true.
But the issue of my comment was that we should give a thought to everything (animals, plants, air, natural resources) and try to co-exist, learn and explore (starting with ourselves) rather than conquer, change and destroy, as this is what we seem to be doing lately a lot of.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 19:33:30 +0000

Ame — the two problems with that are:

1. plants and vegetables don’t feel pain and don’t suffer

2. many more plants are killed in meat production than for human production, so even if it were a legitimate concern, you’re still causing “less harm” by avoiding meat