55 responses

  1. Sherin
    July 2, 2023

    Brother your article is eye opening. Been thinking about this a lot now
    Whenever I read those verses related to sacrificing animals it makes my heart hardened. Why would God consider killing animals as something holy and pious
    But the thing is God asks people to sacrifice animals to test them whether they obey Allah or not!!!
    In Baqarah surah it is said that when God asked moses to tell people to slaughter a cow
    But to kill animals in order to test people whether they obey him or not looks so odd to me
    I mean why would god have the need to ask them to sacrifice an animal to feel like his command is being taken seriously?!!!
    Why that has to be allowed. Instead God could have asked Abraham, people of Moses to do something else right?

    I’m really struggling to cope with this. Since you have the same thoughts as me,i think you can understand how I feel as a believer
    Can you tell me how did you deal with these verses??
    Please I am really in pain
    Can you provide more sources to read and learn about this
    Thank you

    Reply

  2. Raquel
    March 12, 2023

    This is an superbly written and well-supported article. Congratulations! I am not a Muslim (in fact, I am not a religious person, I tell people that my religion is that of my conscience) but I do see the same lame arguments being used by Christians (“God wants us to eat meat.”) and it pains me to hear them use God to justify harming animals.
    It is also great to know there are many vegans in the Muslim world. Islam has been so demonised ever since September 11th that finding out about compassionate Muslim communities is refreshing. I wish everybody read your article and didn’t pay so much attention to the news (because good news are seldom shared). Well done for such an informative and kind piece of writing.

    Reply

    • Sammer
      March 13, 2023

      God bless you Raquel and thank you for your support!

      Reply

  3. Uttam
    February 23, 2023

    I’m not a muslim, but i came across this so beautifully written article on your site in search of answer to a question, which got popped up in my mind all of a sudden.It was really convincing going through this article.
    I have one more question to ask, why doesn’t God protect a poor deer running away as fast as he/she could to secure his/her future life, or a helpless tree from being cut off for its wood?

    I believe that the presence of God is within everything, and that’s why God doesn’t mind if one kills a deer or cut off a tree intentionally or unintentionally, knowingly or unknowingly.
    “Equilibrium is God and impurity is the creation”
    Do you agree?
    (By the way, i am a vegan too.)
    Waiting for an earliest reply possible!

    Reply

    • Sammer
      February 24, 2023

      Hello and thank you for your support, glad you enjoyed the article.

      As outlined in the article, God equipped the deer (and all prey animals) with everything they need to escape. Acute hearing, sight, smell, speed, and endurance, etc. They usually get away but other times, their hunters prevail. However, He has also enabled deer to reproduce and outnumber their predators significantly, ensuring the propagation of the species. Predation ensures healthy herds and ideal numbers which protects the lands from overgrazing; which would in turn would kill many more species. It’s by precise design, not accident.

      Many trees don’t die when you cut them down, they are miracles of regeneration and will eventually bounce back. They can also burn in fires and regenerate very quickly. Keep in mind; nothing in excess will create equilibrium.

      Reply

  4. Citizen of Nature
    August 10, 2022

    hi sammer,
    i have send you an email

    check it and revert back please

    Reply

    • Sammer
      August 11, 2022

      Will do, thank you.

      Reply

  5. Hamida
    August 3, 2022

    Plz someone tell me is it mandatory during hajj to slaughter an animal??
    I’m confused if it is how could a merciful God tell us to do so??
    I’m totally confused 😔

    Reply

    • Sammer
      August 3, 2022

      In short, we have a plethora of examples of the Prophet’s closest companions who literally say they didn’t slaughter every year because they didn’t want others to believe it was mandatory. Secondly, this practice must be contextualized. We have explored this in depth throughout the site.

      Reply

  6. Shaheed
    April 18, 2022

    Assalamu aleikum sammar! I am from sri lanka and as a muslim living in a buddhist country, i always had a hard time explaining certain Islamic theories to my fellow Buddhist friends. This is one of the best articles that i’ve come across regarding this controversial subject and a big “Thanks” for the logical explanation and the videos.

    Reply

    • Sammer
      April 21, 2022

      Walaykum Assalam Shaheed, super happy you found this helpful! Thank you for your support.

      Reply

      • Hamida
        August 3, 2022

        This sounds so refreshing to me i hv been struggling with this so hard. But i have a confusion in quran it is said that we hv to slaughter an animal during hajj. And most of the scholars says it is mandatory ti do so but for me it’s seem like I can’t accept with that.
        How many innocent animal are killed during hajj i can’t think of a merciful God telling us to do so
        Is it really mandatory during hajj??
        And finally in the Quran it is said that it’s not the blood or the meat which reaches the God but your piety but how pious is that ??
        How can be pious to God by killing an animal?? I’m totally lost😢and it is really affecting my faith in God

        Reply

      • Sammer
        August 3, 2022

        Have you checked out the other articles on the site addressing killing animals during Eid/Haj? They are very detailed and hopefully provide you an adequate answer. Thank you.

        Reply

      • Sherin
        July 2, 2023

        No can u provide me the source?
        And in your article it is said that usage of animals began before Islam about 10,000 years ago but what about the verse in Surah baqarah in which Moses asked people to sacrifice a cow for Allah
        We don’t know when prophethood of Moses took place from when to when
        So it could be religion or not we don’t know

        Reply

      • Sammer
        July 3, 2023

        Provide you the source for what exactly?

        Reply

  7. Alexandra Thomas
    April 3, 2021

    Very interesting article I really hope it will reduce animal suffering and killing. And promote at long last the plant based diet.

    Reply

    • Sammer
      April 6, 2021

      Thank you.

      Reply

  8. Ali
    February 26, 2021

    Why is my comment not showing up?

    Reply

    • Sammer
      February 26, 2021

      It’s there 🙂

      Reply

      • Ali
        February 27, 2021

        Kindly reply to my earlier comment on hominins.

        Reply

  9. Ali
    February 25, 2021

    Alhamdulillah! What a wonderfully, meticulously, diligently, written document it is! With a few exceptions, every line touched my spiritual self and I was indeed looking for someone writing something like this to ease the burning issues I had in mind like many others in regard to animal suffering. It is you, Sammer.

    Thank you. However, there is one thing I need to point out which I believe is dangerous. It is so profound that it feels like identity crisis!

    Allow me to explain. You quoted another article with the link “very beginning” where the author had written about 5/6 types of hominins taking distinct routes of evolution in different parts of the world. The author drops a bombshell by saying that evidence indicates that when homo sapiens dominated and spread around the world, they bred with those hominins before hominins went extinct. As a result of that, a certain population from a certain part of the world are known to carry genes from hominin X, and another population from another locale carry genes from hominin Y, and so on.

    I think this is dangerous because those hominins species naturally had differences in qualities in terms of various criteria. So, that gives extreme groups like white supremists, aryan race, etc the excuse to back up their ideology that they are better than others.

    Reply

  10. Sydanuar Sydmansor
    January 26, 2021

    What a refreshing piece of writing.

    I would love to hear your thoughts on the sacrifices done during Eidul Adha in terms of methods and necessity.

    My gratitude in advance.

    Reply

  11. Luthfi H
    November 28, 2020

    Alhamdulillah, I’m glad I found this article. Thank you so much for the thought.

    Reply

    • Sammer
      November 29, 2020

      You’re very welcome Luthfi; hope it can help folks understand and reconcile any conflicting beliefs.

      Reply

  12. Louis
    November 28, 2020

    Hello sammer, I am not Muslim, but I am fascinated by the religion and have many close Muslim friends.
    Would just like to give my deepest thanks to you for writing these incredible articles, they are important pieces of work.

    Reply

    • Sammer
      November 29, 2020

      Hi Louis, you’re most welcome irrespective of your faith 🙂

      I am glad you found them helpful. Thank you for your support!

      Reply

  13. Iwan Effendi
    November 22, 2020

    wow. I am glad to find this site

    Reply

    • Sammer
      November 22, 2020

      Thank you, hope you find it helpful.

      Reply

  14. Kamal S. Prasad
    November 17, 2020

    Thank you, Sammer, for this article and website! It is a great resource.

    Reply

    • Sammer
      November 18, 2020

      You’re welcome Kamal.

      Reply

  15. Cathleen H
    August 11, 2020

    Assalamu alaikum, Sammer, here I am again, commenting from a different article. I am SO GLAD to have found this website as a resource!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As a vegan animal rights jihadi, who is a volunteer paleontological explainer at the American Museum of Natural History (I recognized that video right away), I have struggled to reconcile my fervent belief that killing animals for food is wrong when survival does not depend on it with clear passages in the Holy Qu’ran decreeing that eating the flesh of certain animals is lawful to believers. This really helps me to do so. I value it greatly.

    Reply

    • Sammer
      August 14, 2020

      Walaykum Assalam Cathleen. Glad you’ve found this article and website a useful resource! Thank you for your tireless efforts.

      Reply

  16. Randa
    August 2, 2020

    I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to put these well thought out articles together. As a vegan muslim, it can be difficult to find a foot to stand on sometimes. I too believe that there is no need to consume animals in any capacity in our day and age. Then again, the vegan philosophy does not acknowledge the act of animal consumption as something that is natural for the human species. Being caught between the two webs can be quite confusing and thought provoking.

    I am also from Melbourne Australia and would be interested to connect with you to discuss more thoughts and ideas.

    Reply

    • Sammer
      August 2, 2020

      Thank you Randa for your feedback and support and glad this site has been helpful for you. Please feel free to share the articles if you need to. If you’d like to join our Vegan Muslim Facebook group, we have over 5,000 members from all over the world including Melbourne:

      https://www.facebook.com/groups/veganmuslimcommunity/

      If you’d like a direct email, our contact info: contact@veganmuslims.com

      Reply

  17. Pranathi Naidu
    August 1, 2020

    Sammer, I m immensely grateful for this elaborate article of your’s. It’s essential that this reaches everyone. People need to be educated. In ignorance a lot of crime is being committed on the innocent voiceless lives. This has to stop. I wish u reach out to as many as possible. Keep going ahead with bringing greater insights. Regards !

    Reply

    • Sammer
      August 1, 2020

      Thanks Pranathi, your support is appreciated.

      Reply

  18. Ishita
    July 25, 2020

    This is so well written and makes me so informed and happy. I wish this reaches more meat eaters and muslims who blindly follow the traditions without researching.

    Reply

    • Sammer
      July 26, 2020

      Glad you found it helpful Ishita.

      Reply

  19. Hannah
    July 18, 2020

    Dear Sammer, is there a way to contact you directly?

    Reply

  20. Sayed
    July 3, 2020

    Dear Sammer, please if you can get in contact, our correspondent would like to do a TV report around the subject.

    Thank you.

    Reply

  21. shantha
    May 30, 2020

    thank you very much

    Reply

    • Sammer
      May 31, 2020

      You’re welcome.

      Reply

  22. ScribbleCat
    May 15, 2020

    May ALLAH bless you !
    Thank you for this profound article. I hope our Malaysia gov leaders can see this.

    Reply

    • Sammer
      May 16, 2020

      Ameen. Thank you! 🙂

      Reply

  23. Muhammad
    May 7, 2020

    You’re a muslim and you’re quoting the theory of evolution which was created by a freemason satanist jew Darwin?

    Reply

    • Sammer
      May 9, 2020

      The theory of evolution was actually coined by Muslim scholars hundreds of years before Darwin.:)

      Reply

  24. Manisha Tikariha
    April 1, 2020

    Great initiative. I truly admire it. I am a vegan too , although I am not Mushlim, and religion doesn’t matter to me. I wish lot of people read your blog and understand the thing. Hats off to you.

    Reply

    • Sammer
      April 1, 2020

      Thank you Manisha for your support, we are all one human family.

      Reply

  25. Zehra Abbas
    March 20, 2020

    A very well-thought-out, compelling and persuasive piece. Thank you for writing + sharing!

    Reply

    • Sammer
      March 20, 2020

      Much appreciated!

      Reply

  26. Addie P.
    March 7, 2020

    Dear Vegan Muslim Institute,

    I am a student in the United States working on a project in which I am asking Muslim vegans to share about their experiences with Islamophobia in the online vegan community. The answers can be *anonymous* and will contribute to a greater understanding of what non-Muslim vegans can do to support Muslim vegans in the community.

    If you would please consider sharing this survey with your followers on your platform (on this website or elsewhere), I would greatly appreciate it! This is a wonderful opportunity to make the online vegan community a safer and more inclusive space for Muslims. Thank you.

    The survey link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdKw2a_hNyGuL8Zlsuu_L98nrfORcuc95FHGhI-DJ29lEyZlQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

    Best,

    Addie P., Graduate Student, United States

    Reply

    • Sammer
      March 8, 2020

      No worries.

      Will post it on our Facebook community.

      Reply

      • Addie P.
        March 10, 2020

        Thank you so much!

        Reply

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