Should Animals Be Killed for Human Benefits ?
Is Animal Suffering Fate (Allah's Will) or the Fault of Humans?
Many people misunderstand the real sense of the doctrine of 'pre-destination', or 'fate' (Qaza wa Qadr or Qismat). The literal meaning of 'pre-destination', in the Islamic sense, is: 'pre-fixing the fate of someone or something', in the sense of determining the capacity, capability, endowment, function and other faculties. The Qur'an Majeed uses the Arabic word 'taqdir' meaning 'destiny' even for the decreed orbits of the planetary motions; for inorganic substances; as well as for animated creatures, including human beings. Within those pre-fixed limitations, however, conditions could be changed for the better, suffering could be avoided or lessened by human effort and skill.
Experimentation on Animals
Scientific and pharmaceutical experiments on animals are being done to find cures for diseases, most of which are self-induced by our own disorderly lifestyle. All human problems - physical, mental or spiritual - are of our own creation and our wounds self-inflicted. By no stretch of imagination can we blame animals for any of our troubles and make them suffer for it. All this (experiments), and much more, is being done to satisfy human needs, most of which are non-essential, fanciful, wasteful and for which alternative, humane products are easily available. To kill animals to satisfy the human thirst for inessentials is a contradiction in terms within the Islamic tradition. Let us hope a day will dawn when the great religious teachings may at last begin to bear fruit; when we shall see the start of a new era, when man accords to animals the respect and status they have long deserved and for so long have been denied. Vivisection did not exist at the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s) and therefore, was not specifically cited in the law (Shari'ah). Guidance on such issues comes from analogy and inference (Ijtihad). One of the main excuses for all kinds of cruelties to animals is selfish
Many people misunderstand the real sense of the doctrine of 'pre-destination', or 'fate' (Qaza wa Qadr or Qismat). The literal meaning of 'pre-destination', in the Islamic sense, is: 'pre-fixing the fate of someone or something', in the sense of determining the capacity, capability, endowment, function and other faculties. The Qur'an Majeed uses the Arabic word 'taqdir' meaning 'destiny' even for the decreed orbits of the planetary motions; for inorganic substances; as well as for animated creatures, including human beings. Within those pre-fixed limitations, however, conditions could be changed for the better, suffering could be avoided or lessened by human effort and skill.
Experimentation on Animals
Scientific and pharmaceutical experiments on animals are being done to find cures for diseases, most of which are self-induced by our own disorderly lifestyle. All human problems - physical, mental or spiritual - are of our own creation and our wounds self-inflicted. By no stretch of imagination can we blame animals for any of our troubles and make them suffer for it. All this (experiments), and much more, is being done to satisfy human needs, most of which are non-essential, fanciful, wasteful and for which alternative, humane products are easily available. To kill animals to satisfy the human thirst for inessentials is a contradiction in terms within the Islamic tradition. Let us hope a day will dawn when the great religious teachings may at last begin to bear fruit; when we shall see the start of a new era, when man accords to animals the respect and status they have long deserved and for so long have been denied. Vivisection did not exist at the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad(s) and therefore, was not specifically cited in the law (Shari'ah). Guidance on such issues comes from analogy and inference (Ijtihad). One of the main excuses for all kinds of cruelties to animals is selfish