COW PROTECTION IN ISLAM :
The prophet Mohammed himself was kind to animals, something even
Western historians have recognized. The Qu'ran 6:38
remarks: "There is not an animal in the earth, nor a creature flying
on two wings, but they are peoples like unto you."
Some followers of Islam have become vegetarians. This is
especially true of the Sufis, who represent the mystical dimension in Islam,
some of whose number both in ancient times and today are vegetarians.
An old story is told about Rabia al-Adawiyya (died 801), an
early woman Sufi saint. She was sitting in the midst of a number of animals,
and was approached by Hasan of Basra.
The animals all run away, and Hasan asks why. Rabia replies,
"You have been eating meat. All I had to eat was dry bread." The
animals recognized that Rabia was a vegetarian and that Hasan was not.
§ Among the four legged
animals, cow is the supreme; treat it with respect – Hajarat Mohammed.
§ Cow’s milk and butter
are great medicines. Its meat is a cause for diseases. – Hajarat Ayesha and
Ullas Tivari Jahir.
§ Cow’s milk is
medicinal – Innamasur Sahavi Rasul.
§ Abdul Mulk Ivanmaddana
Subedar in Iran and Hijaj Bin Yusuf in his province had prohibited cow
slaughter.
§ 110th Ahal Sunnat
in Afgahnistan had banned cow slaughter by Fatwa.
§ A full chapter of the
Koran deals with cow protection. There is not even a single sentence in
the whole Koran, which could be interpreting an order slaying of cows. Instead
of that the Koran clearly and strictly forbidding cows or any milch animal. On
the occasion of Ed-ul-Zuha, they only sacrifice a goat or a lamb, while in
India, on that day a large number of cows are sacrificed by the Muslims.
Is it
to follow the teachings of Koran?
§ According to this
story, Yahudi, after leaving Misr, celebrated a function and adopted new
religious rites. Musa, the Yahudi-messenger, went to see his god at
Jwalagiri (Koh-e-noor).
§ Many days passed but
he didn’t come back and his followers started worrying; then Sthana Salamati, an
aged Yahudi, advised the other followers to pray to the
cow-idol for Musa’s early return, and the merciful Almighty
showed His wonder in that Musa reached there, as soon as they prayed before the
cow-idol.
§ Then Musa told
them that God Yahoba, had asked him to offer a cow; but the followers
didn’t obey. He became laughing stock, as they realized that
cow-worship had worked, a wonder, and sacrificing a cow, therefore, would
invoke the wrath of God.
§ An Incident is
narrated in Sur-e-Hind wherein it is said that once two heavenly
messengers visited earth to meet the so-called God’s messenger, Abraham, of the
Israeli community. Before them, he (Abraham or Ibrahim) served cow’s meat;
they didn’t even dare to touch it (Sur-e-Hind, 69.70).
§ Thirdly, this very
instance is told in Sur-e-Zariyat (26-27).
Excepting these three instances, we do not find any reference of
cow-slaughtering in the whole Koran. So without any hesitation it should be
made known to all to enlighten them. ~~ --Saptahik Sarvdehik, March,11,1984.
§ Paigambar Saheb and
many other personages have abstained from taking beef, if not, any other sort
of flesh. They have preached against and prohibited the killing of useful
animals. Mohammedanism out of India is more ancient, more true to type and
genuine; even then there is no such practice of killing cows. In the
history of quarbani cow-sacrifice does not occur so much. Goats, sheep and
camels etc are sacrificed but not the Cows.
§ The late-lamented
Hakim Ajmal Khan, M. Chhotani, Maulana Abdul Bair and other Muslim luminaries
of Islam repudiated the claims of fanatic section of Islam about the
indispensability of cow-slaughter…”
§ “Only to provoke the
wrath of Sikhs and Hindus and to wound their feelings, Mohammedan conquerors,
in the dark ages, inflicted this insulting and arrogant practice of cow
killing…”. Dr Leitner in the Asiatic Review, 1893, explained the fallacy
as under:
“BAKRA means goat in Arabic, if it is spelt according to
original text. But it changed its spelling as it traveled to India; from ‘K’
(kee) it changed to guttural Quaf, and was unfortunately, interpreted as Cow.
§ -Dr Syed Mahmud, Ph.D.
in his book Cow Protection under Muslim Rule—A Historical Survey, published by
the Bombay Humanitarian League, Bombay. Has written:
“Akbar issued orders totally prohibiting the slaughter of cows
throughout his vast dominions. There is a detailed mention of it in the
Ain-i-Akbari and other books. These orders were not obligated in the times of
his successors but remained in force.
Though, is possible that in the reign of later kinds they were
not so rigidly enforced. Jahangir not only abrogated these orders but further
ordained that on Sunday, the day on which Akbar was born, on Friday, the day on
which he himself ascended the throne, on the days of eclipse of the sun and of
moon, no animal whatsoever is killed and there should be no hunting on these
days.”
