Islam and veganism: A thread 👇
I have been vegetarian for 11 years and mostly vegan for 5 years, and converted to Islam 4 years ago.
My main reason is that the life of an animal feels more valueable to me than eating meat, and I feel compassion and mercy for animals. 1/
I have been vegetarian for 11 years and mostly vegan for 5 years, and converted to Islam 4 years ago.
My main reason is that the life of an animal feels more valueable to me than eating meat, and I feel compassion and mercy for animals. 1/
In historic times, there were places and situations where eating meat was necessary for survival, where plant food usable by humans was rare, like in desert or tundra environments, or where famines broke out. In these situations, slaughtering animals and eating them for 2/
survival was a "lesser evil" as compared to letting humans starve. In our situation nowadays however, we can easily live vegan, and animal slaughter is no longer necessary for survival. There are plenty of plant foods available, and we can easily have a healthy vegan diet 3/
that gives us all we need. The many vegans worldwide that have stayed healthy for years or decades of vegan diet are the biggest proof that we no longer need meat for our diet nowadays. This is why eating meat in our nowadays situation is not necessary for survival anymore, 4/
meaning it is mainly done for taste and pleasure. In this case the life of an animal is more valueable than a short taste experience that we could have easily lived without.
Thinking about it islamically, if our motivation for veganism is mercy, empathy and love for animals, 5/
Thinking about it islamically, if our motivation for veganism is mercy, empathy and love for animals, 5/
I can't see anything wrong with that. Allah judges our deeds and intentions, and it is a form of humbleness, altruism and sacrificing the own ego to give the life of an animal priority over the own consumption of meat and see it as more valueable. 6/
Of course, the question arises why during the time of Ibrahim & Muhammad(saw) meat was eaten and why it was not forbidden by Islam. My view is that during their time meat consumption WAS necessary for survival, as they lived in a desert environment where plant food was rare, 7/
and there were probably famines. In this case slaughtering an animal to feed hungry people for survival was a "choose the lesser evil" situation in comparison to letting these people starve. I think that in a similar way as with slavery, Islam aimed at gradually reducing it, 8/
where the ideal was to end it completely, but in the situation and desert environment back then, this was not fully possible. We don't know if Muhammad(saw) would have been a vegetarian or vegan if he lived in todays day and age, as his situation was much different from ours 9/
and in his situation and environment meat was probably necessary for survival. We also have to use our sense of moral that Allah has given us. If slaughtering an animal feels wrong to us that probably means that it is wrong in our situation. 10/
Most people have a natural sense of empathy for animals, and feel mercy for them. This sense of empathy can not be wrong, the intention behind it is mercy & love, and Allah judges us by our intentions. 11/
#Vegan #veganmuslim #veganislam #animalrights #veganeid #veganmuslims
#Vegan #veganmuslim #veganislam #animalrights #veganeid #veganmuslims
