Vegetarianism In Islam

[suchandra]

.....

[Vanguard]

I think it was Imam Reza who once said 'do not make your stomach the tomb of dead animals'

[akshar]

hmmm. Halal, ever heard of it?

[aashish108]

 

hmmm. Halal, ever heard of it?

 

Did you read the above posts?

[Yegan]

 

“Forbidden to you (for food) are meat of dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which has been invoked the name of other than Allah; and the dead through beating; that which has been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death; that which has been (partly) eaten by a wild animal; unless ye are able to slaughter it (in due form); that which is sacrificed on stone (altars); (forbidden) also is the division (of meat) by raffling with arrows: that is impiety.” (5.3)

 

I have a bit of problem in understanding "Forbidden to you (for food) are meat of dead animals"

Do the meat that people eat come from animals already dead?

Only some animals like lions, who feed on living 'meat'.

If the above argument is true then, meat eating is allowed only if you can eat the meat like lions(eating it while the animal is still alive)

[akshar]

 

Did you read the above posts?

 

You can't honestly expect me to read alllll of that copy andpaste up there!

[akshar]

The koran is pretty confuinf. Too many contradictions for it to be a book of god.

[Bhakta Don Muntean]

 

The koran is pretty confuinf. Too many contradictions for it to be a book of god.

 

DON'T BE SILLY - and that wasn't too much to read! Your prejudices against Islam prevented you from reading it - isn't that right?

 

Who is that in your avatara picture?

[aGnani11]

It's very obvious that a vegetarian lifestyle is advocated by all of God's religions. Eating flesh is condemned in every holy text. It's just that consuming meat is more or less overtly condemned in some traditions compared to others.

 

The statement "You are what you eat" is absolutely true, and for a spiritual aspirant to seek the path of God and eat meat is like a person aspiring to be an athlete while eating hamburgers.

 

Sure, meat can be healthy and protein-rich, but so can vegetables.

 

Don't worry, faithful bhaktas, the vegetarian/vegan lifestyle is steadily sweeping across the USA and the world. I live in Chicago and there are very few shops/restaurants that do not cater to the vegetarian taste.

 

Om Shanti!

[Guest guest]

 

It's very obvious that a vegetarian lifestyle is advocated by all of God's religions. Eating flesh is condemned in every holy text. It's just that consuming meat is more or less overtly condemned in some traditions compared to others.

 

 

Have you read every holy text? The statement you have made is completely wrong. I know a muslim who says differently to what is written here. He says Humans are supposed to eat meat as long as it is slaughtered in the Halal way. Allah has provided Animals as food to Humans. Islam and Christianity and Judaism is not against eating meat, the fact shows as most religious followers of these religions are avid meat eaters.

 

And for your information, in the Brahadaranyaka Upanishad is is recommended that a wife eat beef to beget a child learned in the Vedas. Animals were sacrificed in ancient times and their meat eaten. Of course this is not done now as we know better.

[Guest guest]

you're saying it's ok to eat meat?

[aGnani11]

Number 2, you are using the practices of the followers of various religions to define what those respective religions say about eating meat. Christ had instructed his followers explicitly to limit their consumption of meat on certain holy days. What does this mean? Eating meat is impure.

 

Why do Muslims eat halal meat? Eating meat is a cardinal sin, and so to "make-up" for it, they eat halal. If consuming meat wasn't adverse, halal meat wouldn't be necessary.

 

As for the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, you may be correct, but the law of good/bad/neutral karma still prevails throughout the entire world of Hinduism. Killing/consuming animals also have adverse effects on your ability to meditate (i.e. the yama and niyama stages of astanga-yoga).

 

There's no question that the world's religions at least covertly look down upon eating meat.

[gHari]

 

Christ had instructed his followers explicitly to limit their consumption of meat on certain holy days.

I don't remember that. Are you sure it isn't the Church who created this idea or some naive Hindu zealot who exaggerated fish Friday into a divine proclamation?

 

Christ instructed his followers not to worry about food, but rather seek God's kingdom and His righteousness; food would be provided by God.

[Guest guest]

From Islamic prospective, Allah has created man as his subordinate to maintain and fulfil his law.

 

Everything HE has created in this world has purpose and humans use them for the purpose they have been created for.

 

That's why Quran mentions "that cattle has been created by God, for you - in it are various benefits. - You derive warmth, and of their meat you can eat’. (Surah Nahl, Ch. No. 16, V. No. 5)

 

Chapter 16 - Surah (An-Nahl (The Bee))

 

Ayah Number 5

Yusuf Ali's Translation And cattle He has created for you (men): from them ye derive warmth, and numerous benefits, and of their (meat) ye eat.

 

Pickthal's Translation And the cattle hath He created, whence ye have warm clothing and uses, and whereof ye eat;

 

Shakir's Translation And He created the cattle for you; you have in them warm clothing and (many) advantages, and of them do you eat

 

You can read it here :- "islamonline dot net" in the quran section

 

How can a muslim, make haram(forbidden) something that Allah has clearly made halal(lawful) ?

 

Please do not post lies about islam.

[Guest guest]

 

Number 2, you are using the practices of the followers of various religions to define what those respective religions say about eating meat.

 

 

But muslims are allowed to eat meat as long as it is Halal. Of course for mosts Hindus meat-eating is wrong, but then again we are not muslims.

 

 

Why do Muslims eat halal meat? Eating meat is a cardinal sin, and so to "make-up" for it, they eat halal. If consuming meat wasn't adverse, halal meat wouldn't be necessary.

 

 

I like your use of the words "make-up for it". Very well observed. I think deep inside if people really believe in God and all his creations, they would understand why killing an Animal for food is wrong, especially now since you can refrain from it. But since Islam itself allows meat-eating most see it as divinely sanctioned. I always thought it's quite silly to pray for an Animal, then immediately kill it.

 

 

As for the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, you may be correct, but the law of good/bad/neutral karma still prevails throughout the entire world of Hinduism. Killing/consuming animals also have adverse effects on your ability to meditate (i.e. the yama and niyama stages of astanga-yoga).

 

 

I think the Hindus realised that this idea in the Brhd Upanishad was wrong and superstitious and was probably written by a false sage, who has his own bizzare ideas. The fact that it is not practiced for as long as we can remember shows that the Hindus didn't take it seriously.

[Bhakta Don Muntean]

 

From Islamic prospective, Allah has created man as his subordinate to maintain and fulfil his law.

 

Everything HE has created in this world has purpose and humans use them for the purpose they have been created for.

 

That's why Quran mentions "that cattle has been created by God, for you - in it are various benefits. - You derive warmth, and of their meat you can eat’. (Surah Nahl, Ch. No. 16, V. No. 5)

 

Chapter 16 - Surah (An-Nahl (The Bee))

 

Ayah Number 5

Yusuf Ali's Translation And cattle He has created for you (men): from them ye derive warmth, and numerous benefits, and of their (meat) ye eat.

 

Pickthal's Translation And the cattle hath He created, whence ye have warm clothing and uses, and whereof ye eat;

 

Shakir's Translation And He created the cattle for you; you have in them warm clothing and (many) advantages, and of them do you eat

 

You can read it here :- "islamonline dot net" in the quran section

 

How can a muslim, make haram(forbidden) something that Allah has clearly made halal(lawful) ?

 

Please do not post lies about islam.

 

Are you denying all the quotes you read then? Is it that you just cannot imagine not eating cows? Does the Koran talk about the ill effects of cow killing? In that one quote:

 

The Iranian scholar Al-Ghazzali (1058-1111 AD) was one of the most brilliant philosophers of Islam. He has stated that besides pieces of bread whatever we eat is simply to satisfy our urges. At the age of 28, he headed the institute of Islam at Baghdad. His main book, Ihya Ulum ul-Din - The Revival of Religious Sciences is highly respected. In this book (part 2, page 23, lines 17-19) the detrimental effects of beef, and the virtues of ghee and milk from a cow are stated as follows:

<table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="90%"><tbody><tr><td>

</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">“The meat of cow is marz (disease), it’s milk is safa (health) and it’s ghee is dava (medicine).”</td></tr></tbody></table>

[Guest guest]

The Iranian scholar Al-Ghazzali (1058-1111 AD) was one of the most brilliant philosophers of Islam. He has stated that besides pieces of bread whatever we eat is simply to satisfy our urges. At the age of 28, he headed the institute of Islam at Baghdad. His main book, Ihya Ulum ul-Din - The Revival of Religious Sciences is highly respected. In this book (part 2, page 23, lines 17-19) the detrimental effects of beef, and the virtues of ghee and milk from a cow are stated as follows:

 

 

“The meat of cow is marz (disease), it’s milk is safa (health) and it’s ghee is dava (medicine).”

 

 

I do not care for Al-Ghazzali *if* he contradicts what is explained by Allah in the Quran. Quran is the last word of God for us who are muslims.

 

The Holy Quran says eat cattle, thus we eat cattle. We do not care, as Allah knows best, if He wanted he could have said otherwise.

 

Show me one Quote from the Holy Quran which says *man must not eat cattle ?*

 

All quotes that you have made against meat-eating are from out of The Holy Quran. In fact even we even *reject* the Hadiths that are in contradiction to the Holy Quran.

 

So again answer my challange, show me from the Quran, where does it say says *man must not eat cattle !*, In fact i have shown that it says cattle are made by God for men to eat.

[aashish108]

What the Iranian scholar Al-Ghazzali (1058-1111 AD) said is actually a scientific fact. I think there are more than enough quotes in the first post to say not to eat meat.

[Guest guest]

 

What the Iranian scholar Al-Ghazzali (1058-1111 AD) said is actually a scientific fact. I think there are more than enough quotes in the first post to say not to eat meat.

 

 

Do not hide behind science, we know sceince depends on men and since men are not perfect and do cheat so much and also suffer so many illusions, thus we cannot and must take science to gude us in matters that Allah's Quran has so nicely explained.

 

So we must accept God's perfect authority which is perfect and not the imperfect authority of science.

 

The Quran is the last word of Allah. And thus to say Islam promotes Vegetarianism is false for Muslims as it purely and simply contradicts the Quran.

 

Thus as i said before, please do not make that claim. Just say Al-Ghazzali thinks so but it does contradict the Holy Quran.

 

Any Muslim that says anything about Islam must be confirmed by the Quran.

 

Who cares for science anyway, which changes all the time.

 

I challange you again, show me in the Quran where does it say that man should not eat non-veg food ?

 

I have proven it clearly says cattle are made for man to eat .

 

Any body out there to prove otherwise. Do not give me any man's input, give me input from the Holy Quran.

 

Who will take the challange !

[Gaea]

The Muslim guest is right on several points - men do cheat, science is flawed (because of our imperfect senses) and, from the quotes taken from the Q'ran rather than Hadith, meat-eating seems to be endorsed so long as slaughter is done on a stone altar.

 

For me, i'd rather not wash my spirit with the blood of Krsna's animals. But that's me.

[Guest guest]

 

It's very obvious that a vegetarian lifestyle is advocated by all of God's religions. Eating flesh is condemned in every holy text. It's just that consuming meat is more or less overtly condemned in some traditions compared to others.

 

You're spreading misinformation here when you speak about other religions. Not all religions condemn vegetarianism. And most cultures around the world were not vegetarian.

 

Jews are not required to be vegetarians; they are only told to avoid pork and some seafood. Their texts also encourage animal sacrifices.

 

Native Americans of all tribes eat meat. They are also known to be very spiritual people.

 

Kemetics (egyptian religion) eat meat. And I have not heard it goes against any ancient egyptian texts or modern kemetic teachings.

 

Tibetan Buddhists eat meat, including the monks and lamas.

 

Wiccans eat meat. The Wiccan teachings do not teach vegetarianism. They do teach us to respect Mother Earth however.

 

Druids eat meat. No Druid teachings that I am aware of preach vegetarianism. And they are a sect that reveres nature.

 

Taoists eat meat. And they also try to live in harmony with the Tao; so they must not see meat eating to be in conflict with the Tao.

 

Mormons eat meat. Although they strictly avoid caffiene.

 

Catholics eat meat. And no Pope, who is the Vicar of Christ, has ever preached vegetarianism.

 

Now some Religions do preach vegetarianism. For example, Jains and Vaishnava Hindus are vegetarian religions.

 

Let's stick with the facts. And not try to speak for other religions. It is wrong to do so. Let Muslims speak for Muslims.

[Guest guest]

 

Now some Religions do preach vegetarianism. For example, Jains and Vaishnava Hindus are vegetarian religions.

 

 

Generally Vaishnavas are vegetarians, but I have come across one or two Vaishnavas who worship Sri Rama and they eat meat. They justify it by saying King Dasratha went out hunting for animals and the family ate Deer meat in that time. Also at one time Ashwamedha sacrifice was done it appars that they even ate the horse meat.

 

Some Kali worshippers sacrifice goats to her. So it wrong for people to say all Hindus are Vegetarians. Maybe today most are but it wasn't always the case.

[Guest guest]

 

So it wrong for people to say all Hindus are Vegetarians. Maybe today most are but it wasn't always the case.

 

I know not all Hindus are vegetarians. I have met many Hindus who eat chicken and fish. Only about 30% of Hindus are vegetarians according to the statistics I have read. Almost all Hindus do avoid beef though. It is said if you eat meat, it is best to avoid beef, as cows are one of the 7 mothers of men.

 

 

From Wikipedia:

The Indian cuisine and diet is primarily vegetarian and most Hindus are semi-vegetarians, refraining from beef and eating meat/seafood only occasionally. Most non-vegetarian practising Hindus maintain a vegetarian diet on religious days.

[Guest guest]

People are saying that people can be spriritual in other religions and still be Non Vegetarians.

 

However we need to examine what they mean by spriritual ?

 

Is it spritual as in happiness of the senses, mind , intellect, renunciation or is it spiritual as in happiness of Love of God.

 

If it is spiritual as in happiness of Love of God, then one cannot be an animal eater as it will surely diminish mercy/compassion in his heart. Love of God in the heart is expressed as compassion to other living beings. Causing them pain or taking their lives due to satisfaction of one's tongue cannot make one compassionate. So if you want Love of God, naturally you will feel compassion towards the pain of other living beings.

 

So yes people can be meat-eaters and spiritual, but we need to find out what their definition of spiritual is?

 

Many of these judaic faiths are based on fear of God through fear of Hell, and thus if there is a God who will put men in Hell eternally what is the question of men wanting to Love such a God. That is my two cents.

[aashish108]

 

People are saying that people can be spriritual in other religions and still be Non Vegetarians.

 

However we need to examine what they mean by spriritual ?

 

Is it spritual as in happiness of the senses, mind , intellect, renunciation or is it spiritual as in happiness of Love of God.

 

If it is spiritual as in happiness of Love of God, then one cannot be an animal eater as it will surely diminish mercy/compassion in his heart. Love of God in the heart is expressed as compassion to other living beings. Causing them pain or taking their lives due to satisfaction of one's tongue cannot make one compassionate. So if you want Love of God, naturally you will feel compassion towards the pain of other living beings.

 

So yes people can be meat-eaters and spiritual, but we need to find out what their definition of spiritual is?

 

Many of these judaic faiths are based on fear of God through fear of Hell, and thus if there is a God who will put men in Hell eternally what is the question of men wanting to Love such a God. That is my two cents.

 

This is intelligent and very nice! But, then the counter-arguement would be Animals do not have Souls and the Quoran tells us to eat meat! So, the first question to answer is how to prove that an animal actually has a soul, when this is proven then, because all souls are effectively Allahs, then they will be more thoughtful before they kill animals in the name of the Tongue and the Tummy. It wouldnt be very intelligent to state that only muslims are dear to Allah because muslim and any other bodily designation is temporary and there only is the designation of Servant of God which is applicable to all souls.