THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMON QUESTION ABOUT ISLAM ASKED BY NON-MUSLIM

Killing an animal is a ruthless act. Why then do Muslims consume nonvegetarian
food?

Answer:

‘Vegetarianism’ is now a movement the world over. Many even associate it with
animal rights. Indeed, a large number of people consider the consumption of
meat and other non-vegetarian products to be a violation of animal rights.Islam enjoins mercy and compassion for all living creatures. At the same time
Islam maintains that Allah has created the earth and its wondrous flora and
fauna for the benefit of mankind. It is upto mankind to use every resource in this
world judiciously, as a niyamat (Divine blessing) and amanat (trust) from Allah.
Let us look at various other aspects of this argument.

1. A Muslim can be a pure vegetarian
A Muslim can be a very good Muslim despite being a pure vegetarian. It is not compulsory for a Muslim to have non-vegetarian food.

2. Qur’an permits Muslims to have non-vegetarian food
The Qur’an, however permits a Muslim to have non-vegetarian food. The
following Qur’anic verses are proof of this fact:

“O ye who believe! Fulfil (all) obligations. Lawful unto you (for food) are
all four-footed animals with the exceptions named.”

[Al-Qur’an 5:1]

“And cattle He has created for you (men): from them Ye derive warmth,
and numerous benefits, And of their (meat) ye eat.”

[Al-Qur’an 16:5]

“And in cattle (too) ye have an instructive example: From within their
bodies We produce (milk) for you to drink; there are, in them, (besides),
numerous (other) benefits for you; and of their (meat) ye eat.”

[Al-Qur’an 23:21]

3. Meat is nutritious and rich in complete protein
Non-vegetarian food is a good source of excellent protein. It contains
biologically complete protein i.e. all the 8 essential amino acid that are not
synthesized by the body and should be supplied in the diet. Meat also contains
iron, vitamin B1 and niacin.

4. Humans have Omnivorous set of teeth
If you observe the teeth of herbivorous animals like the cow, goat and sheep,
you will find something strikingly similar in all of them. All these animals have
a set of flat teeth i.e. suited for herbivorous diet. If you observe the set of teeth
of the carnivorous animals like the lion, tiger, or leopard, they all have a set of
pointed teeth i.e. suited for a carnivorous diet. If you analyze the set of teeth of
humans, you find that they have flat teeth as well as pointed teeth. Thus they
have teeth suited for both herbivorous as well as carnivorous food i.e. they are
omnivorous. One may ask, if Almighty God wanted humans to have only
vegetables, why did He provide us also with pointed teeth? It is logical that He
expected us to need and to have both vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian
food.

5. Human beings can digest both vege-tarian and non-vegetarian
food

The digestive system of herbivorous animals can digest only vegetables. The
digestive system of carnivorous animals can digest only meat. But the digestive
system of humans can digest both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. If
Almighty God wanted us to have only vegetables then why did He give us a
digestive system that can digest both vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian
food?

6. Hindu scriptures give permission to have non-vegetarian food
a. There are many Hindus who are strictly vegetarian. They think it is against
their religion to consume non-vegetarian food. But the true fact is that the
Hindu scriptures permit a person to have meat. The scriptures mention
Hindu sages and saints consuming non-vegetarian food.
b. It is mentioned in Manu Smruti, the law book of Hindus, in chapter 5 verse 30
“The eater who eats the flesh of those to be eaten does nothing bad,
even if he does it day after day, for God himself created some to be eaten
and some to be eater.”
c. Again next verse of Manu Smruti, that is, chapter 5 verse 31 says
Eating meat is right for the sacrifice, this is traditionally known as a rule of
the gods.”
d. Further in Manu Smruti chapter 5 verse 39 and 40 says
“God himself created sacrificial animals for sacrifice, ... , therefore killing in

a sacrifice is not killing.”
e. Mahabharata Anushashan Parva chapter 88 narrates the discussion
between Dharmaraj Yudhishthira and Pitamah Bhishma about what food
one should offer to Pitris (ancestors) during the Shraddha (ceremony of
dead) to keep them satisfied. Paragraph reads as follows:
“Yudhishthira said, “O thou of great puissance, tell me what that object is
which, if dedicated to the Pitiris (dead ancestors), become inexhaustible!
What Havi, again, (if offered) lasts for all time? What, indeed, is that which
(if presented) becomes eternal?”
“Bhishma said, “Listen to me, O Yudhishthira, what those Havis are which
persons conversant with the rituals of the Shraddha (the ceremony of dead)
regard as suitable in view of Shraddha and what the fruits are that attach to
each. With sesame seeds and rice and barely and Masha and water and
roots and fruits, if given at Shraddhas, the pitris, O king, remain gratified for
the period of a month. With fishes offered at Shraddhas, the pitris remain
gratified for a period of two months. With the mutton they remain gratified
for three months and with the hare for four months, with the flesh of the

goat for five months, with the bacon (meat of pig) for six months, and with
the flesh of birds for seven. With venison obtained from those deer that
are called Prishata, they remaingratified for eight months, and with that
obtained from the Ruru for nine months, and with the meat of Gavaya for
ten months, With the meat of the bufffalo their gratification lasts for eleven
months. With beef presented at the Shraddha, their gratification, it is said ,
lasts for a full year. Payasa mixed with ghee is as much acceptable to the
pitris as beef. With the meat of Vadhrinasa (a large bull) the gratification
of pitris lasts for twelve years. the flesh of rhinoceros, offered to the pitris
on anniversaries of the lunar days on which they died, becomes
inexhaustible. The potherb called Kalaska, the petals of kanchana flower,
and meat of (red) goat also, thus offered, prove inexhaustible.
So but natural if you want to keep your ancestors satisfied forever, you
should serve them the meat of red goat.

7. Hinduism was influenced by other religions
Though Hindu Scriptures permit its followers to have non-vegetarian food, many
Hindus adopted the vegetarian system because they were influenced by other
religions like Jainism.

8. Even plants have life
Certain religions have adopted pure vegetarianism as a dietary law because
they are totally against the killing of living creatures. If a person can survive
without killing any living creature, I would be the first person to adopt such a way
of life. In the past people thought plants were lifeless. Today it is a universal fact
that even plants have life. Thus their logic of not killing living creatures is not
fulfilled even by being a pure vegetarian.

9. Even plants can feel pain
They further argue that plants cannot feel pain, therefore killing a plant is a
lesser crime as compared to killing an animal. Today science tells us that even
plants can feel pain. But the cry of the plant cannot be heard by the human
being. This is due to the inability of the human ear to hear sounds that are not
in the audible range i.e. 20 Hertz to 20,000 Hertz. Anything below and above
this range cannot be heard by a human being. A dog can hear up to 40,000
Hertz. Thus there are silent dog whistles that have a frequency of more than
20,000 Hertz and less than 40,000 Hertz. These whistles are only heard by
dogs and not by human beings. The dog recognizes the masters whistle and
comes to the master. There was research done by a farmer in U.S.A. who
invented an instrument which converted the cry of the plant so that it could be
heard by human beings. He was able to realize immediately when the plant
itself cried for water. Latest researches show that the plants can even feel happy
and sad. It can also cry.

10. Killing a living creature with two senses less is not a lesser crime
Once a vegetarian argued his case by saying that plants only have two or three
senses while the animals have five senses. Therefore killing a plant is a lesser
crime than killing an animal. Suppose your brother is born deaf and dumb and
has two senses less as compared to other human beings. He becomes mature
and someone murders him. Would you ask the judge to give the murderer a
lesser punishment because your brother has two senses less? In fact you would
say that he has killed a masoom, an innocent person, and the judge should give
the murderer a greater punishment.
In fact the Qur’an says:

“O ye people! Eat of what is on earth, lawful and good”
[Al-Qur’an 2:168]

11. Over population of cattle
If every human being was a vegetarian, it would lead to overpopulation of cattle
in the world, since their reproduction and multiplication is very swift. Allah (swt)
in His Divine Wisdom knows how to maintain the balance of His creation
appropriately. No wonder He has permitted us to have the meat of the cattle.

12. Cost of meat is reasonable since all aren’t non-vegetarians
I do not mind if some people are pure vegetarians. However they should not
condemn non-vegetarians as ruthless. In fact if all Indians become nonvegetarians
then the present non-vegetarians would be losers since the prices
of meat would rise.

Bible adalah satu-satunya sumber rujukan agama Kristian. Soalannya sekarang bolehkah kita menghalalkannya @pn sebaliknya...?

Salah seorang filosuf Britain yang terkenal, George Bernard Shaw berkata: " Sesungguhnya kitab yang paling bahaya di muka bumi ialah kitab Bible, kamu simpanlah kitab ni dalam almari-almari kamu dengan kunci dan pedal yang kuat, peliharalah ia, jangan biarkan ianya tersebar kepada anak-anak kamu."

Malangnya siapakah yang mahu mendengar dan mengikuti kalam seorang pemikir seperti ini. Siapakah yang mahu mendengar kalam seorang pemikir penganut Kristian biasa yang bukan Jesus kelahiran kedua. (kerana bg mereka hanya Jesus shj yang wajib diikuti & beliau bebas adari sebarang kesilapan)

Tetapi pada suatu masa dahulu di Afrika Selatan, terdapat pemerintah Kristian di negara tersebut yang telah mengharamkan sebuah buku dakwah Kristian walaupun bukannya Bible. Mereka telah mengharamkan buku yang bertajuk " Lady Chatterley's Lover "
kerana buku tersebut telah meletakkan kesalahan kecil dalam penggunaan 'tetragrammation' atau kesilapan meletakkan huruf yang keempat dalam sesuatu kalimah. Sekiranyan orang2 Kristian, kerana kesilapan penggunaan kalimah kecil sedemikian mereka sanggup menolaknya adalah lebih baik bagi mereka mengharamkan kitab Bible yang lebih banyak kesilapannya. Lebih,lebih lebih banyak kesalahan. Tetapi mereka sudah tentu tidak sanggup untuk melakukan demikian kerana agama mereka hanya mempunyai satu sumber sahaja iaitu kitab Bible. Mengharamkan Bible bererti menghapuskan agama Kristian langsung dari muka bumi ini.

Sebuah akhbar " The Plain Truth " keluaran oktober 1977 mengungkapkan : {Sesungguhnya membaca kisah-kisah yang terkandung di dalam Bible untuk kanak-kanak bererti membuka peluang kepada mereka untuk menikmati pelbagai cerita yang diibaratkan seperti kisah seks. Bible juga umpama kitab yang dianggap oleh Lembaga Penapisan sebagai bahan bacaan UNTUK DEWASA SAHAJA iaitu mereka yang melebihi umur 18 tahun}

Allah berfirman fi Kitabul Mubin, dalam surah al-Hajj ayat ke-46:
" Maka tidak pernahkah mereka berjalan di bumi, sehingga hati (akal) mereka dapat memahami, telinga mereka dapat mendengar? Sebenarnya bukan mata itu yang buta, tetapi yang buta ialah hati yang di dalam dada.

Ayat seumpama ini juga wujud dalam Bible dalam buku Matthew 13 ayat ke-13:
" ......they look, but not see, and they listen, but do not hear or understand."

Ayat sebegini banyak terdapat di dalam al-Quran malahan wujud juga dalam Bible tetapi orang Kristian tidak mengambil istifadah daripadanya.

oleh itu fikir-fikirkanlah wahai Nasrani........

Wallahu 'alam......

Question:

What is the concept of God in Islam? From the viewpoint of adherents of other religions such as Christianity and Hinduism, God in Islam (Allah) seems a very ‘distant’ and ‘impersonal’ God, since no representation of Him is allowed in whatsoever manner or form. Is it not so?

Answer:

Islam is a God centered religion. In anything that a Muslim does, God always comes first and everything else is ‘adjusted’ accordingly. That being the case, it is very important to a Muslim that the one true God be clearly distinguished from false deities.

The holy Qur’an offers the most concise definition of God in four-versed Chapter 112, named Al-Ikhlas, meaning ‘purity’;

Say: He is Allah, The One and only. Allah, the Eternal, Absolute (Assamad). He begets not, nor is He begotten. And there is none like unto Him (Qur’an: 112:1-4)

It is absolutely essential that Allah is One-and-Only. There cannot be more than one God co-existing at the same time, else there will be chaos as the ‘overlapping Gods’ would fight one another to absolute destruction. Imagine a car driven by two different drivers. Now imagine what would happen if the universe which is far more complex than a car is administered by more than one God!

Allah is also eternal and absolute. There is no beginning or ending for God. God is also free from any needs. God does not require sustenance from his creation. To the contrary, it is He who provides sustenance for all.

God does not give birth. If God were to ‘give birth’, then His ‘children’ too would be Gods, which would mean there would be more than one God. God’s children would give birth to more Gods! Then we would end up with overlapping Gods leading to total destruction as mentioned earlier.

God Himself must be unborn. The moment we say God is born we are instantly faced with two main problems. First, it would mean God has at least a ‘Parent’ which implies the Parent must be greater than God. Is it possible for someone else to be greater than God? Secondly, it would mean God did not exist at one point in time and only later came into existence. Who then created and managed the universe in His absence?

God is the Creator while the entire universe is His creation. Could the Creator and the creation be the same? Could the character of the Creator and His creation be the same? The creation is subject to time and space whilst the Creator is not limited in time and space. Therefore, NOTHING in our physical universe could resemble God.

The above four verses of the Qur’an also serve as the “touchstone” of theology in Islam. Supposed if you wanted to sell gold to a goldsmith, the goldsmith will first use a touchstone to verify the gold whether it is 24 karat, 18 karat or maybe imitation gold. Not everything that glitters is gold! Similarly if there is any ‘candidate’ claiming divinity, we would put the candidate through the above “acid tests”. If he/she/it could pass the tests, then Muslims should/would not have any problem worshipping him/her/it as God. But the tests are so stringent that only the one true Almighty God could pass. Any false deity would fail miserably.

Yes, I have indeed been asked how Muslims could worship such a ‘distant’ and ‘impersonal’ God (as opposed to ‘personal Gods’ represented by idols, etc) as Allah. On this matter, the holy Qur’an explains:

When My servants ask you concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me: Let them also, with a will, listen to My call, and believe in Me: that they may walk in the right way (Qur’an 2:186)

It was We who created man, and We know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular veins. (Qur’an 50:16).

As can be readily understood from the above two verses (there are numerous other verses too describing how ‘personal’ God can be), Allah is not at all ‘impersonal’, ‘distant’ or ‘unapproachable’.

Question

The concept of unity of God in the Qur’an is very clear, but do we have any evidence from other religious scriptures pointing in the same direction? And if so, what then seems to be the difference, if indeed any, between Islam and all these other religions?

Answer

There are many reasons to believe that many of the other religious scriptures (other than the Qur’an) do contain within their pages truths originating from the one and only true God. To a Muslim, the great prophets (like Abraham, Moses, and Jesus) in Christianity and Judaism, are of course true prophets of Allah mentioned in the Qur’an. In Islam, these religions too are sometimes respectfully referred to as “religions from the sky”. Further to the 25 God’s Messengers (Rasul) mentioned by name, the Qur’an also made reference to the fact that there had been great many prophets (Nabi) whose names are not mentioned. So, Muslim scholars are always open to the possibility that God’s truths could well have found their way into numerous scriptures of religions other than Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

Such being the case, it should not be at all surprising to a Muslim that the idea of Unity of God might well be found in many religious scriptures of the world. But is that really the case? Well, let us examine scriptures of some of the world’s major (other than Islam) religions :

Judaism

As exclaimed by Moses (pbuh): “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Deuteronomy 6:4.

“I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from Me there is no God.”

Isaiah 45:5.

“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.”

Exodus 20:3-5

Christianity

Jesus Christ (pbuh) said the following in the Bible:

This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

John 17:3

How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?

John 5:44

The most important commandments,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, is one Lord’

Mark 12:29

As described by Paul in his Letter to Timothy:

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 1:17

Hinduism

Ekam evadvitiyam

(He (God) is One only without a second.)

Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1

Meaning in English: “Sages (learned Priests) call one God by many names.

Rigveda 1:164:46

Ma cid anyad vi sansata sakhayo ma rishanyata

(O friends, do not worship anybody but Him, the Divine One. Praise Him alone.)

Rigveda 8:1:1

Ekam Brahm, dvitiya naste neh na naste kinchan

(There is only one God, not the second; not at all, not at all, not in the least bit.)

Brahma Sutra of Hinduism

Sikhism

Ek Onkar, Sat Naam, Karta Purakh, Nirbhau Nirvair, Akal Murat, Ajuni, Saibham, Gurprasad

(There exists but one God, who is called The True, The Creator, Free from fear and hate, Immortal, Not begotten, Self-Existent, Great and Compassionate.)

Granth Sahib, Mulmantra Pg.1

Meaning in English: “There is only the One Supreme Lord God; there is no other at all.

Granth Sahib, Pg. 45

Meaning in English: “God is merciful and infinite. The One and Only is all-pervading.

Granth Sahib, Pg. 710

Clearly, the above verses from religious scriptures of Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism, without a doubt, affirmed the truth of the unity of God in the strongest of terms. It is very important to also note that, like the relevant verses of the Qur’an, many of the above verses are in the form of a statement that a father would use to remind his child not to fall for something dangerous, knowing fully well the child might just still fall for it! The child for example, might later fall for drugs taking, assuring his father: don’t worry dad, I only take it because it helps me, trust me!

So, with such amazing similarity on the concept of ‘Unity of God’ between all the above mentioned major world’s religions, what then seems to be the difference between them? From a Muslim’s point of view, the difference is in the ‘implementation’ of the concept in one’s daily ‘religious life’ and in fact also ‘normal life’. It could be that a certain scripture may state a certain principle ‘from the sky’, but then falls short in defining the daily life (including religious life) consequents of such principle. Worse still, things become ‘neutralised’ when other parts of the same scripture state principles in direct contradiction to the one ‘from the sky’.

Muslims also believe the Qur’an to be the only surviving verbatim (word for word) Word of God, no more no less words. As such, there is no vagueness or contradiction in it, especially with regard to important matters of basic belief in God. In Islam, the concept of ‘Unity of God’ is very basic and central to the belief in God, to the point, getting it even ‘very slightly wrong’ would render one’s ‘belief’ or ‘faith’ in God and religion, impotent, and in fact almost completely meaningless. Understandably so, for what use is submission and worship when it is directed to the wrong god? The great importance of the doctrine of the Unity of God in Islam is well reflected in the fact that in addition to being a constant reminder throughout the Qur’an, a whole chapter of the Qur’an is dedicated to it – an extremely brief (mere four short verses!) surah (chapter) number 112, also known as Al-Ikhlas, meaning ‘Sincerity or Purity’:

Say: He is Allah, the One and only. Allah, the Eternal, Absolute. He begets not, nor is He begotten. And there is none like unto Him.

To summarise, in Islam, any and all worships must be directed to Allah alone, without any ‘intercessor’ or ‘partner’ alongside Him. As is well known, Muslims love and revere the last and final Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w), but by his own teaching, would never ‘worship’ him as god. Doing so would amount to shirk (assigning partner to Allah) which is the biggest sin against God. Nothing and no one in the whole universe can benefit, aid or protect us without Allah’s will. The message to always remember is: “Worship only the Creator, not His creations.”

Selamat Berkenalan

ALLAH Matlamat Utamaku

~ حيّ على الصلاة ~

Jom Solat..

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