It is mentioned in sura “Al-An’am,” or “Cattle” that:
“There is not an animal on the earth, nor a flying creature flying on two wings, but they are people like unto you.” (6.38)
Thus “animals living on the earth” include those living in the water – fishes, reptiles, crustaceans, insects, as well as four-footed beasts. Life on the wing separately mentioned. “Tair,” which is ordinarily translated as “bird,” is anything that flies, including mammals like bats. In our pride we may exclude animals from our purview, but they all live a life, social and individual, like ourselves, and all life is subject to the Plan and Will of Allah. We have no right to destroy or kill these creatures, even flies and insects what to speak of birds and beasts. We never creates them to destroy. The Holy Qur’an said that they are people like you. They are also citizens of this planet and different countries. They are also under the protection of God and Governments. It is the duty of government to protect it’s subjects, which includes the innocent helpless animals, and punish those who torture and kill them.
It is clearly mentioned in the Holy Qur’an what kind of food Allah creates for the human beings: “Therewith He causes corn to grow for you, and the olive and date-palm and grapes and all kinds of fruit. Truly, in this is a sign for people who reflect.” (16.11)
“A sign for them is the dead earth. We revive it and We bring forth from it grain so that they eat thereof.
And We produce therein gardens of the date-palm and grapes, and We have caused springs of water to gush forth therein.
That they may eat of the fruit thereof, and their hands made it not. Will they not, then, give thanks?” (36.33-35)
“It is God Who sends down water out of the sky, and with it quickens the earth after it is dead. Surely, in that is a sign for people who have ears to hear. In cattle, too, there is a lesson for you: We give you to drink of what is in their bellies, between filth and blood – pure milk, sweet to those who drink. And we give you the fruits of the date-palms and the vines from which you derive sweet-tasting liquid and fair provision. Indeed, this is a sign for men of understanding. And your Lord inspires the bees, saying, ‘Build your homes in the mountains, in the trees and in the thatch of roots; then feed on every kind of fruit and follow the ways of your Lord, so easy to go upon.’ Then there comes forth out of their bellies a liquid of various colors wherein is healing for men. Truly, in this a sign for people who reflect.” (16.65-69)
From these ayats it is obvious that Allah creates milk, honey, corn, grain, olive, dates, grapes and all kinds of fruit as food for mankind. Verily it is a sign for people who have an understanding. We should be thankful to — .Allah for His mercy and not ungratefully shed blood of innocent helpless animals simply to please the uncontrolled tongue.
The Holy Qur’an offers concessions as intermediary stages toward a pure and spiritual diet: “O you who believe! Eat of the good things with which we have supplied you, and give God thanks if you are His worshippers. Only that which dies of itself, blood, and swine’s flesh, and that over which any others name than that of God’s has been invoked, has God forbidden you.” (Qur’an 5.1) Here the Qur’an clearly states that pork is impure and that animal blood is not fit for human consumption. The Muslims, then, run into a dietary contradiction: blood is forbidden – it is impossible to completely separate blood from animal flesh – so if one eats meat, blood is being consumed as well. In the words of the Holy Qur’an, this, indeed, is a “portent for people who think.”
Ultimately, the Holy Qur’an encourages Muslims to eat wholesome, healthful foods. In describing lawful and unlawful foods, the Holy Qur’an emphasizes that “He [the Holy Prophet] makes lawful to them the good things of life and he forbids them the bad things.” (Qur’an 7.157) Once the Holy Prophet Muhammad orders Hazrat Ali: “Don’t make your stomach a grave yard of innocent birds and animals.” From that day Hazrat Ali had faithfully followed this instruction. Another time the Holy Prophet Muhammad said:
“Whoever is kind to the lesser creatures is kind to himself.”
Man milking a cow who sheds a tear as she loses the milk intended for the calf tied to her leg.
Sunk relief on the sarcophagus of Queen Kawit. From the temple of
Mentuhotep II in Deir al-Bahari, West Thebes. 11th Dynasty
It is explained in the Hadith (traditions):
Once the Prophet passed by certain people who were shooting arrows at a ram, and hated that, saying, “Maim not the brute beasts.”
Another time, the Prophet, seen wiping the face of his horse with his wrapper, and being questioned in regard to it, said, “At night I received a reprimand from God in regard to my horse.”
A man once robbed some eggs from the nest of a bird, whereupon the Prophet had them restored to the nest. “Fear God in these dumb animals,” said the Prophet, “and ride them when they are fit to be ridden – and get off them when they are tired.”
Verily, are there rewards for our doing good to quadrupeds and giving them water to drink?” asked the followers. And the Prophet answered, “There are rewards for benefiting every animal having a moist liver.” (M. Hafiz Syed, Thus Speak Muhammed, Madras, 1962, p. 6.) The Holy Prophet Muhammad always stressed the importance to show mercy to the lesser creatures. We should deal with them as if they are our younger brothers. If younger brother is less intelligent, it does not mean that we have right to kill him but more so we have a duty to protect him. The father will never be happy if his elder, more intelligent son will kill the youngest son because he is less intelligent and more weak. Similarly Allah is never happy when He observes humans killing and giving pain, and suffering to His lesser creatures. According to the Hadith, the Holy Prophet Muhammad said:
“One who kills unnecessarily, even a sparrow will be questioned by Allah on the day of Judgment.”
“One who takes pity on cutting the head even of a sparrow, and feels compassion towards the sparrow, Allah will similarly show mercy towards him on the day of Judgment.”
“Killing any living beings besides those who are inflicting pain is forbidden.” (O. Gudratov, N. Gudratov, Muhammad Peygambarin: Hayati va Kalamlari, Baki, 1990, p. 114, 147) “If the beasts will know about their inevitable death, as humans do, they will not eat flesh.” (Mahammad Ali, Muhammad Peygambarin Hayati, Baki, 1993, p. 150)
Biographies of the Holy Prophet Muhammad include narrations that clearly depict his love for animals. For instance, Margoliouth, one of the Holy Prophet Muhammad’s chief biographers, writes, “His humanity extended itself to the lower creation. He forbade the employment of towing birds as targets for marksmen and remonstrated with those who ill-treated their camels. When some of his followers had set fire to an ant-hill he compelled them to extinguish it. . . . Acts of cruelty were swept away by him.” (V. A. Holmes-Gore, These We Have Not Loved, London, 1946, pp.6-7.)
Other biographers, such as Dr. M. Hafiz Syed, point out that the Holy Prophet Muhammad instructed those who eat meat to wash out their mouth before going to pray. While it is certainly a Muslim custom to clean one’s mouth before going to prayer, many biographers say that only meat is emphasized in this connection and not any other food. (M. Hafiz Syed, Thus Spake Muhammed, Madras, 1962, p. 6)
The Holy Prophet Muhammad always showed the greatest compassion – “universal compassion” – and he exhorted his followers to do the same. A touching example from his life shows how far his empathy extended. Awaking from a nap one afternoon, he found a small, sick cat fast asleep on the edge of his cloak. The Holy Prophet cut off his garment so that the cat could sleep undisturbed. Is this a man who would advocate the unnecessary slaughter of harmless beasts? “Show sympathy to others,” the Holy Prophet Muhammad taught, “especially to those who are weaker than you.” (Bilkiz Alladin, The Story of Mohammed The Prophet, Delhi, 1979, pp. 12-13)
In one popular Hadith (tradition), the Holy Prophet Muhammad is depicted as having rebuked his followers for not showing universal compassion. “But we do show compassion,” they insisted,” – to our wives, children and relatives.” The Holy Prophet Muhammad responded, “It is not this to which I refer. I amspeaking of universal mercy.”
The Holy Prophet Muhammad’s earliest biographers indicate that he preferred vegetarian foods, saying that he liked milk diluted with water, yogurt with butter or nuts, and cucumbers with dates. His favorite fruits, which he was known to subsist on for weeks at a time, were pomegranates, grapes and figs, and he liked a morning drink of soaked, crushed dates. He was particularly fond of honey, often eating it mixed with vinegar, and he is quoted as saying that in a house where there is vinegar and honey, there will certainly be the blessings of the Lord. He also liked a preparation called hees, made from butter, dates and yogurt. According to extensive biographical accounts, furthermore, the Holy Prophet Muhammad has been quoted as saying, “Where there is an abundance of vegetables, hosts of angels will descend on that place.”
Do you know How many cattle, calf, lambs/sheep, Chicken are being slaughtered each day in the world.
Let me give you a perspective. Here are the numbers published by USDA for the slaughters in USA.
Commercial cattle slaughter during 2015 totaled 28.8 million
Commercial calf slaughter totaled 452,600
Commercial hog slaughter totaled 115.4 million
Commercial sheep and lamb slaughter, at 2.22 million
Source - Livestock Slaughter Annual Summary
There were 808 plants slaughtering under federal inspection on January 1, 2016. And these plants are slaughtering animals each day of the year, every year and then you talk about justification of slaughtering animals for a festival.
if we talk about the whole world as per International Animal Advocacy Organization there are Over 56 billion farmed animals are killed every year by humans. These shocking figures do not even include fish and other sea creatures whose deaths are so great they are only measured in tonnes.
Now I am not glorifying the tradition but just accepting it as killing animals for food is an accepted fact in today’s society and that’s why I wouldn’t object to the same being practiced for a festival as the sacrificed animals are being used as food too.
There are so many festivals, celebration around the world like. I found this link mentioning some of the festivals going around the world
The 14 Worst 'Festivals' Still Taking Place Today
Another thing you spoke about the children psychology/ moral values and principles being affected by this tradition.
There are many other things such as
- Continuous war going around the world,
- Extreme poverty in most of the developing world,
- Lack of education to the young children around the world,
- Lack of basic hygiene and decent living standards and
- Continuous struggle for making a living and earning food for the day and shelter
These are the things which are snatching right from a child of his childhood today
We need to be worried least how a single festival or a tradition or their eating habits will devoid them of moral values and principles of life and worry about how can we get the children around the world their childhood back.
PS: So if we advocate to stop one practice, we have to advocate to stop it everywhere otherwise it’s hypocrisy
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