There is somehow an innate sense of security that creeps within individuals in following their culture blindly without getting to the root cause of how those principles had been laid down and brought across to our generations. It is indeed a matter of great surprise to me, that even educated people defy their logical sense while following religious practices. I don’t intend to hurt anyone’s religious views, I’m sorry, I can’t even do that as I am an ardent follower of my religion as well, but somehow I feel, we should really try to analyse as to why were these practices established at the first place and what were the circumstances surrounding the creation of rituals or traditions. By not understanding them and following them blindly, we would surely end up disrespecting the beliefs of our forefathers and become mindless of the ideas which they have expected us to pass down to our future generations.
I’m a staunch vegetarian and intend to propagate non-violence in its strictest sense. Cruelty towards animals for tantalising the taste buds or for adding classy and glitterati stuff in wardrobes is a strict no-no for me.
Though most factions of people agree vegetarianism as being the right practice and there is no denying to it, however certain people fail to accept it in the light of their religion. My understanding of eating habits followed in certain religions is as follows. Christianity allows any kind of meat. Islam allows meat of all vegetarian animals but no pork. Hinduism forbids killing of animals. The holy Guru Granth Sahib of Sikhs also forbids eating non-vegetarian food. Buddhism and Jainism preach non-violence in the strictest sense.
Accordingly, I have discussed about the concept of vegetarianism in Islam in detail which most of the people are often unaware of.
Islam:
I’ve been often asked by various Muslim friends as to how can we go against our Prophets teachings or Quran’s hadits. For all of them and for all other people who consider non-vegetarianism as a morally right practice, I want to enlighten them with certain interesting facts that have been pulled out of citations from the holy Quran, Prophet’s ideas and the perception of certain Muslims themselves, who are pro-actively vegetarians (and surprisingly have formed various communities of Muslim vegetarians, click here to follow the link http://www.islamveg.com/).
Even being quite specific in its sanction of animals for food, Islam provides a tremendous amount of support for the kind treatment of animals. Several surat illustrate the Qur'anic view of animals.
“There is not an animal (that lives) on the earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you. Nothing have We omitted from the Book, and they (all) shall be gathered to their Lord in the end. (Sura 6:38)”
Seest thou not that it is Allah Whose praise all beings in the heavens and on earth do celebrate, and the birds (of the air) with wings outspread? Each one knows its own (mode of) prayer and praise, and Allah knows well all that they do.(Sura 22:41)
While these verses don't directly contradict the surat that justify animal use, they certainly propagate the cause of kindness towards animals. Animals then seem to have their own lives and purpose, valuable to themselves and to God above and beyond any material value they may provide to humanity.
Islam advocates compassion towards ALL beings (being explained in various hadiths, e.g. hadith about giving water to a dog and gaining a place in heaven, not being allowed to wear furs, etc).
Besides the holy Qur'an, there are other Islamic sources for messages of kindness towards animals. There is a rich tradition of the Prophets' concern for animals to be found in the Hadith and Sunna. One hadith quotes Muhammad as saying:
“A good deed done to an animal is as meritorious as a good deed done to a human being, while an act of cruelty to an animal is as bad as an act of cruelty to a human being."
Muhammad also condemned the beating of animals and forbade striking, branding, or marking them on the face. The Prophet cursed and chastised those who mistreat animals and gave praise to those who showed kindness.
I intend to ask my Muslim friends how can they reconcile with admonitions of Islam in today's world of meat production and consumption. Would Muhammad or the holy Qur'an be as approving of flesh eating in view of today's factory farms or in the abundance of non-meat food sources?
Today’s excessive consumerism is indeed damaging towards one’s health, which is also forbidden in Islam. The animals are slaughtered for the excessive demands in vile conditions, fed mea
t of others (makes them carnivores, that is forbidden to muslims), exported and treated very cruelly. The number of animals suffering from human violence is staggering - in 2003 alone the number of animals killed in the USA alone for food exceeded 10 billion animals. Secondly, the extent of the suffering and violence these animals have to endure is barbaric. Those who doubt this, I would encourage them to visit the killing floor of a slaughterhouse or take a ride on a train/truck/ship transporting the animals to their death. I bet these people would puke at the mere sight of the the ill treatment meted out t0 these animals. The abuse is indeed massive and gruesome; it pervades our society yet in general is completely hidden from our view. If the Prophet were alive today, would He allow such atrocities to be inflicted on these innocent animals ? All these practises are certainly UNISLAMIC and least, human.Also, killing helpless animals during Id in the name of sacrifice is so foolish and mindless. If at all something needs to be sacrificed to Allah, it is the greed, ego, lust, hatred, jealous and other human weaknesses. Killing innocent and helpless animals who cannot vocalise their pains, would infact enrage Allah; it would certainly not make Him happy.
We should also bear in mind the fact that the Prophet lived in desert areas where vegetables were scarce and ate meat to stay alive. Islam is a universal religion for ALL people EVERYWHERE hence the reason why meat is not forbidden. People living in remote areas (e.g. Alaska) where vegetables are not abundant would starve if they didn’t eat meat (unless you consider that they can be imported which was not practical when Islam was originated around 1200 years before any industrial revolution). That the vegetables are available all round the year, was not a possibilty when Islam came into being.
I would also like to quote an article published in The Times of India which highlights the fact that Mughal Emperor Akbar had banned animal slaughter in Palitana, Gujarat. The empereor had even given up hunting and had become a vegetarian. Click on the picture to read further.
After thought:
Even after writing all this, I feel there is no need to go in depth of every religion separately as the preaching is the same in context of their compassion towards animals. It’s just that how an individual interprets the sayings. It’s not that an analysis is required every time. God has gifted a healthy brain to the mankind and everyone has the capability to generate their own perception as to whether the killing of living beings just for the sake of taste, pleasure and enjoyment is a sensible act.
Many non-vegetarian eaters argue that non-vegetarian diet contains high proteins which a vegetarian diet may not be able to provide. I would certainly say that it is a great delusion to suppose that flesh-meat of any kind is essential to
health. Considerably, more than three-fourth part of the labour work in the world is done by men who are unable to make their ends meet; men who have never tasted anything but vegetable, farinaceous food, and that too of the simplest kind. There are more strength-producing properties in wholemeal flour, peas, beans, lentils, oatmeal, roots, and other vegetables of the same class, than there are beef or mutton, poultry or fish, or animal food of any description whatever. Further, we should not go against the rule of nature. As also proved by scientific analogies, human anatomy more strongly resembles that of plant-eating creatures.Conclusion:
The millions of healthy vegetarians (who tend to outlive meat eaters) demonstrate that it is neither necessary nor desirable to eat meat. Besides, one will find good and bad people in all faiths. I do not want to be judgemental by describing the supremacy of one faith over another. But, what I want to convey is
let us stop being 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.
In a nutshell I would like to pen down my thoughts by a famous Chinese proverb;
“We eat to live; we should not live to eat.”
Disclaimer: The ideas expressed here are my personal views and opinions based on varied sources and are not intended to hurt the sentiments of any religious community.
In a nutshell I would like to pen down my thoughts by a famous Chinese proverb;
“We eat to live; we should not live to eat.”
Disclaimer: The ideas expressed here are my personal views and opinions based on varied sources and are not intended to hurt the sentiments of any religious community.
