Eid ul Adha is Coming Up
Animals: Tradition - Philosophy - Religion Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM Sama Sana
Facebook post, July 14, 2021

As a Muslim in this day and age…to stop eating meat and choose the tougher path … maybe that’s the real sacrifice.

As someone who used to eat meat and really enjoyed the flavour of meat, here is something I’ve been reflecting on regarding sacrifice. It’s a very simple and straightforward reflection, but one that makes me feel strength and empowerment somehow. I began pondering it last Eid, and have begun to reflect on it again now that Eid ul Adha is around the corner again.

Giving into the desire for meat is too easy and to me, buying a “sacrificial animal” doesn’t feel like my sacrifice in any way. I never took care of the animal. There is a distance between me and that animal. I do not feel any attachment to it.

The only thing I feel any attachment to and feel like I’m sacrificing is my hard-earned money.
Now let’s also look at the scenario where I do care for an animal. Let’s take "my" dog whom I adopted off the streets and care for now. I could never in a million years imagine sacrificing her. If I did, it would truly be a sacrifice because I love her so much. There is no distance. I’m emotionally attached to her. She is my, dare I say it: best friend.

I imagine similarly that back in the day (when the Quran came to us, like back when people still owned and cared for “farm animals” themselves in their homes… and for many, it was also their only “wealth”), it probably really did feel like a sacrifice to kill one because they were either losing their “money” or their “friend” (or both!).

But not in this day and age. As I said earlier, the only thing I feel like I’m sacrificing when I buy a “sacrificial animal” is money.

So then what difference does it really make if that money is sacrificed on an animal’s murder or something else?

Last year, I donated the equivalent money to vegetarian food banks and some humane causes. It felt just as much of a money sacrifice but with more meaning. And it’s made me come to this realization:

As a Muslim in this day and age…To stop eating meat and choose the tougher path … maybe that’s the real sacrifice.

Here's a photo of my best friend, to leave you with a smile.

white Dog


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