MY WIFE TOLD me she once went through a vegetarian phase. It seemed to be a fad that a lot of adolescents went through at the time.
This is a recurrent theme, especially now as there is a lot of talk about moving to a plant-based diet to save the planet, our health and not being cruel to animals. And with Eid ul Adha just passing, the Muslim attitudes towards meat eating often comes under scrutiny.
Whilst there may be valid reasons to reduce our meat intake, it is important not to take an extreme position where eating meat is seen as ‘haram’ or considered with contempt.
There is an interesting passage in surah An’am (The Cattle) which gets its name from a section towards the end of the surah that talks about cattle. At first reading these ayat seem strange as they talk about how the Qurayshi polytheists would create rules about which cattle could be eaten and by whom.
وَقَالُوا۟ هَـٰذِهِۦٓ أَنْعَـٰمٌۭ وَحَرْثٌ حِجْرٌۭ لَّا يَطْعَمُهَآ إِلَّا مَن نَّشَآءُ بِزَعْمِهِمْ وَأَنْعَـٰمٌ حُرِّمَتْ ظُهُورُهَا وَأَنْعَـٰمٌۭ لَّا يَذْكُرُونَ ٱسْمَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْهَا ٱفْتِرَآءً عَلَيْهِ ۚ سَيَجْزِيهِم بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَفْتَرُونَ
They say: ‘These cattle and crops are reserved—none may eat them except those we permit,’ so they claim. Some other cattle are exempted from labour and others are not slaughtered in Allah’s Name—falsely attributing lies to Him. He will repay them for their lies. (al-An’am 138)
وَقَالُوا۟ مَا فِى بُطُونِ هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْأَنْعَـٰمِ خَالِصَةٌۭ لِّذُكُورِنَا وَمُحَرَّمٌ عَلَىٰٓ أَزْوَٰجِنَا ۖ وَإِن يَكُن مَّيْتَةًۭ فَهُمْ فِيهِ شُرَكَآءُ ۚ سَيَجْزِيهِمْ وَصْفَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ حَكِيمٌ عَلِيمٌۭ
They (also) say: ‘The offspring of this cattle is reserved for our males and forbidden to our females; but if it is stillborn, they may all share it.’ He will repay them for their falsehood. Surely He is All-Wise, All-Knowing. (al-An’am 139)
And therein lies the point. Human beings don’t get to decide what can be eaten and what can’t. It is Allah, the Creator of humans and all of the universe, who decides. Only He sets the rules of halal and haram, good and bad.
وَمَا لَكُمْ أَلَّا تَأْكُلُوا۟ مِمَّا ذُكِرَ ٱسْمُ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ وَقَدْ فَصَّلَ لَكُم مَّا حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِلَّا مَا ٱضْطُرِرْتُمْ إِلَيْهِ ۗ وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًۭا لَّيُضِلُّونَ بِأَهْوَآئِهِم بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ ۗ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِٱلْمُعْتَدِينَ
Why should you not eat of what is slaughtered in Allah’s Name when He has already explained to you what He has forbidden to you—except when compelled by necessity? Many deviants certainly mislead others by their whims out of ignorance. Surely your Lord knows the transgressors best. (al-An’am 119)
We need to identify the root cause of the problems that we observe and lay blame where it needs to be laid.
It is today’s capitalist system that incessantly pursues ever cheap food and profit that has led to unsustainable pressures on the environment, intensive farming processes that are cruel to animals, unhealthy foods full of chemicals, and the colossal amounts of waste that we see.
Islam on the other hand provides a natural balance for our need to eat (meat has an important place in our diet and is needed for good health) and the demands of animal welfare and the environment.
It makes clear the halal and the haram.
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُلُوا۟ مِن طَيِّبَـٰتِ مَا رَزَقْنَـٰكُمْ وَٱشْكُرُوا۟ لِلَّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ
O believers! Eat from the good things We have provided for you. And give thanks to Allah if you (truly) worship Him. (al-Baqarah 172)
And not to be wasteful.
وَكُلُوا۟ وَٱشْرَبُوا۟ وَلَا تُسْرِفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُسْرِفِينَ
Eat and drink, but do not waste. Surely He does not like the wasteful. (al-A’raf 31)
The sunnah of our Master ﷺ advises us not to overeat and remain active and healthy. We can choose to eat or not to eat meat and to what extent, but that would come from personal preference and not from ‘halal and haram’ or passing fads. We have guidance on the halal and tayyib (which means that that the animal is not merely sacrificed correctly but is also treated with excellence while it is being reared), and animal rights and the slaughter process are clearly laid out.
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