Vegetarians…and a discussion of vegetarianism

 

The East was the birthplace of the idea of restricting food to plant products, and the idea was linked to worship to the point that we find its influence remaining in many religions.

As for the West, the word “vegetarian” was not used before the year 1747. What they mean by this is the restriction of human food to plant-based foods alone. Those of them who follow this doctrine are forbidden from eating meat or any food obtained from killing animals…

The basic idea in vegetarianism is the prohibition of eating meat in general, but vegetarians usually also prohibit drinking alcohol. In this doctrine there are multiple schools, some of which prohibit cooking food and restricting it to fresh foods only, while others permit the eating of animal derivatives such as eggs, milk, and sometimes fish 

Some of them prohibit eating tubers and roots that grow underground

Food is limited to plant parts exposed to light!… Some of them abstain from eating all grains and legumes and limit themselves to fruits, salad, milk and its derivatives!

  The arguments that vegetarians give to prove the validity of their doctrine are summarized as follows:

From a health standpoint

Animals are often infected with diseases that are transmitted to humans after eating their meat and milk, such as tuberculosis and parasitic infection. Also, some animals that are fed artificially, their meat transmits diseases such as gout and cancer to the body.

 From Economically standpoint 

 Plant food is much cheaper than animal food. They use this as evidence that one acre of land, if plants are planted, is suitable for human food and yields more than if it was left for animals to graze on, by an amount ranging from double to twenty times.

 Improving the human race

Because agriculture requires more work and activity than raising livestock!

In terms of the elevation of the human personality  

As long as it is possible for a person to feed on vegetarian food alone, there is no justification for him to carry out slaughter operations that arouse in the human soul the love of aggression and the sight of blood and generate cruelty in the souls.

In this regard, he says: M. Goethe (author): “Vegetarian food has definite advantages over other foods, as it supplies the blood with the elements it needs, regulates its circulation, preserves the arteries’ flexibility, and prevents their hardening. It also works to soothe the mood and stop self-indulgence because it makes us calmer and farther away from violence and aggression, and creates There are good habits in the souls, such as love of peace and imbibing the artistic spirit, along with the availability of fertility, freedom, and activity 

On the other hand, man is influenced by the nature of the animals whose meat he eats…

Scientists’ research has confirmed this. For example, we see a lack of jealousy and sexual chastity among most Europeans, Americans, and others who eat pork. 

Because that is part of his nature… just as eating animal meat in abundance constantly makes a person become more ferocious and violent, little by little!

Opponents of vegetarianism object to this by saying that vegetarian food has less nutritional value

  Of animal food, then you must eat large quantities of it, which causes indigestion and bloating

This argument is made against vegetarians who do not eat dairy, eggs, etc. There is another objection, which is that the animals that humans slaughter for food, if they were left to reproduce without restriction, would fill the earth and crowd out humans on it!.. But it is not difficult to refute this argument.

The vegetarian doctrine is ancient, as it was included in the teachings of the Hindu religion, and it is widespread among the pagan Indians… as mentioned in the teachings of Plato, Plataea, and others. 

From the ancient Greek writers. It is embraced by some sects of the Christian religion among the followers of the Roman Catholic Church… and the Coptic Orthodox adhere to it in their annual fasting… This is loved and called for by the Salvation Army groups and Tolstoy’s supporters. Vegetarian associations are widespread in England, America, France, Austria, the Netherlands and Australia. The British poet Shelley was one of the staunch defenders of the vegetarian doctrine, as was George Bernard Shaw, the Irish writer, one of the famous vegetarians.

Likewise, the Russian writer Tolstoy and the leader of India, Mahatma Gandhi, for this doctrine in Britain is: George Sheen (1671 – 1743 AD), a Scottish doctor who advocated it in his book: An Inquiry into Diet, which was published in 1740… and founded the first Vegetarian Society in Manchester in 1847.

 

 The entry of vegetarianism into Germany was at the hands of a priest named Edward Balters (1816 – 1887 AD). Among the supporters of vegetarianism in Germany was Gustav von Stijn, who linked vegetarianism and socialism.

The Federal Vegetarian Union was established in 1889, and several associations joined it in all parts of the world. As for vegetarian restaurants, they are fairly widespread in those countries where there are many vegetarians.

The vegetarian doctrine does not exist in Egypt and the Arab countries, except for the fasting of Orthodox Christians and their adherence to vegetarian foods during the period of their fasting. In reality, the vast majority of the population, especially in the countryside, is committed to vegetarian food because of its cheapness and availability and because it creates a feeling of satiety and fullness for humans. The main reason here is economic. Not sectarian 

The wisdom of Islam in prohibiting vegetarian doctrines

Nutritional scientists have proven that in order for a person to live a healthy life, he must eat both meat and plants, and he cannot be limited to one without the other. It is noted that vegetarian peoples like India have weak and weak bodies. A child born to vegetarian peoples usually does not weigh more than 2 kg while its counterpart 

In other peoples, its weight exceeds 3 kg

It prevents vegetarians from eating

Meat is that they eat animal derivatives such as milk and eggs along with plants, otherwise they suffer from emaciation and anemia, as plant foods, including plant proteins, do not generate all the amino acids necessary to build the body’s systems.

Meat contains a large amount of protein and fats, which are materials necessary for building body tissues and generating energy. The fact is that plants also contain these materials, but in order for a person to obtain the amount necessary for his growth and energy, he must have a very large amount of plants, which may strain his digestive 

system. Because the human intestine is short compared to the intestines of herbivorous animals.

Thus, the wisdom of Islam appears in combating vegetarian doctrines and urging the eating of meat.

And about meat 

( And the cattle hath He created, whence ye have warm clothing and uses, and whereof ye eat; ) Surah An-Nahl  5

Allah almighty emphasized the importance of meat and its increased nutritional power over plant foods, when some Jewish rabbis began turning to vegetarianism

( (60) And when ye said: O Moses! We are weary of one kind of food; so call upon thy Lord for us that He bring forth for us of that which the earth groweth – of its herbs and its cucumbers and its corn and its lentils and its onions. ) Surah Al-Baqara 61

That is, legumes, wheat, and other plant foods. The response to them was: (He said,: Would ye exchange that which is higher for that which is lower? Go down to settled  )Surah Al-Baqara 61

Despite this, Islam, as a middle religion, has commanded moderation in eating meat and not eating too much of it. On the authority of Omar – may God be pleased with him – on the authority of the Messenger of God: Beware of meat, for it has a virulence similar to the virulence of wine… It is known that eating a lot of meat increases a person’s temper and his tendency to violence. Also, from a medical standpoint, it increases the level of cholesterol in the blood due to animal fat, exposing people to heart attack and atherosclerosis