Animals, the environment, and Islam
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Peace
I was wondering how many of you after (or even before) coming to Islam have been more concious of the environment and the animals that we share the earth with? I know many Muslims that do not and it is a bit sad. I do not understand how many people (Muslims especially) take the environment and the animalsfor granted. Does nobody not realize that the animals and the environement all submit to God? It is us with the problem and we are the ones that destroy not only ourselves, but involve other creatures that have never even done anything to us. I just dont understand how as Muslims that we can even live such lifestyles to where we carelessly live in such lifestyles and yet we still say that we submit to Allah. Putting animals in cages, torturing animals that we use for food, destroying the habitats, etc. How is that showing appreciation at all to Allah?
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638 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. (Quran, yusuf ali)
Living and interacted with animals, i know they have minds of their own, emotions, languages and their own lifestyle. Knowing animals can feel pain and yet inflict them unnecessary pain is cruel... If we treated animals for our own benefits in cruel ways(keep chickens in a stressful/ terrible condition, the china black bears locked up in small cages ect), harmful results will come back to us. The meat of the chickens is not as nourishing as the meat of a heatlhy happy chicken. A horse that is forced to carry tourists all day long until it is left with only skin and bone are more prone to sickness and it'll scare off tourists. It's all karma, what goes around comes around.
This actually reminds me the day my family and i ate fishes from our own fish tank. The water in the tank was greenish and quite filthy. The fish taste like __, horibble i tell you! yuckThen we got smarter, the water is kept clean and clear, the next fish tasted yummy.
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That is exactly what I believe. I dont see how other muslims avoid this fact. Especially with the meat industry in America, it is horrible. Soemthing that you brought up the china black bears, I was just thinking about that when I was writing this.
I remember reading on some Islamic site where people ask questions to an Imam and they asked, "Do animals have souls" and the Imam said that it doesnt say in the Quran so he couldn't say yes or no, I was surprised especially since there are ayats in the Quran that address how "ALL creatures and MANY humans submit to God", as well as the one that you just pointed out. Its also funny since it is we that cause all the problems in this worlds (yet blame Shaitan for it) yet we claim we are supreme?
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Salaam Leena,
I'm a vegan and like you Islam did not start that path for me, but has strengthened it. While I dont see the idea of eating animals necessarily wrong, I do find the process in which they do it here in America and even in a lot of "Halal" places to be far from godlike. I remember reading that some of the Halal slaughterhouses in India arent really halal, and they break the cattles bones and let them suffer through unbearable beatings, and that was from a Muslim site itself! I also remember reading something similar with Kosher food where the person that was praying over the food was on a tape recorder!
Apparently a lot of Muslims do not know about this fact, however at the same time I doubt they would care or even change their lifestyle because it is still labeled Halal and the prayer was said.
Although I follow only the Quran alone, it doesnt mean that there arent other books that have great insight, even the Hadith. Theres several sayings in Hadith with regard to this issue that I wholeheartedly agree with, yet I still dont understand why even the Sunnis do not even follow it.
We want mercy from God yet they cant even grant mercy to the animals we eat from (be it milk, meat, etc.). Even the same goes for the environment that we live off of. Let us be appreciative of what God has given us and appreciate His/Her creations as well.
Wa Salaam