Does God Demand Sacrifice? The Muslim Case for a Bloodless Eid

Of animal sacrifice, the Qur’an proclaims “It is not their meat Nor their blood, that reaches Allah: it is your piety That reaches Him” (22:37). In the spirit of this passage, Shahid ‘Ali Muttaqi argues in his essay “An Islamic Perspective Against Animal Sacrifice” that animal sacrifice was not itself instituted by God, but adopted by the early Muslim community as a way of turning the slaughter of animals for food – necessary for survival in that time and place – into a spiritual occasion for giving thanks and sharing food with others. It is not the outward ritual, but the inner spiritual state, that is important, and since killing animals for food is no longer necessary to survive for most people in the 21st century, neither is their sacrifice during the Eid. He writes,

“Nowhere in the Qur’an does it suggest that people who do not need to eat meat to survive or who eat meat but do not have access to the same animals present in Arabia are somehow unable to be Muslims.

And nowhere in the Qur’an does it suggest that sacrifice is meant for any purpose other than to thank Allah for that which we have sometimes been obliged to kill, or as a personal sacrifice of something that is considered a possession in order to share it with our more needy neighbors, etc.”

The late Anila Muhammad, former head of Muslims for Progressive Values Toronto and co-founder of Universalist Muslims, concurs with Muttaqi in her article “Should Muslims Reconsider Animal Slaughter on Eid?” Going into more extensive detail as to the cruelty associated with Eid slaughter, she notes that the majority of animals sacrificed in the Middle East are imported from distant countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil, tightly packed into ships where they suffer for weeks with little or no food or water, surrounded by their own piling excrement. Many die of dehydration or malnutrition, including infants born during the journey.

Footage from a ship carrying 5,000 cows from Brazil to Lebanon, which capsized and sunk on October 6th, 2015

Such treatment is entirely incompatible with the teachings of Islam, which demand that animals be treated with compassion. The Hadith, or sayings of the Prophet, contain numerous stories of him speaking out on behalf of animals: telling a camel’s master not to keep her hungry or tired; stating that anyone who mutilates an animal for fun is cursed by God; forbidding the branding or striking of animals’ faces; allowing snakes to be killed only when they pose a serious threat; criticizing the destruction of anthills, “nations that glorify Allah;” and praising a prostitute forgiven her sins by Allah for giving water to a thirsty dog.

According to a famous hadith related by Abdullah ibn Umar,

“The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘If someone kills so much as a sparrow or anything larger without a just cause, then Allah the Exalted will ask him about it on the Day of Resurrection.’ It was said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is a just cause?’ The Prophet said, ‘A just cause is that you slaughter it for food, but you should not cut off its head and throw it aside.'”

(Source: Sunan al-Nasa’i 4445)

While Islam does permit the killing of animals for food, it prescribes strict conditions for humane treatment during halal (“lawful”) slaughter: animals cannot be too young, they must be given ample food and water beforehand, cannot be slaughtered in sight or hearing of fellow animals, and should be killed in a comfortable position as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Banner in Jakarta, Indonesia advertising home delivery of animals for slaughter (photo credit Wolf Clifton)

Such conditions are not mere suggestions, but absolute requirements if meat is to be lawfully consumed at all. Umar ibn Al-Khattab (583-644), a companion of the Prophet Muhammad and second caliph of Islam, is said to have beaten a man for leading a sheep roughly to slaughter, and another for holding a sheep down with his foot while sharpening his knife (Stilt, Animal Welfare in Islamic Law, 42-44). With regard to long-distance transport, Anila Muhammad cites the opinion of the late Islamic scholar Al-Hafiz B.A. Masri (1914-1992), that even if an animal is killed perfectly according to the strict rules of halal slaughter, if he has been subjected to cruelty beforehand his meat is haram (forbidden) for consumption.

Sheikh Muhammad Sayed Tantawi (1928-2010) affirms Masri’s view in a fatwa, or legal ruling, issued in 2008 as Chief Imam and Shaikh of Al-Azhar University, the world’s foremost center of Islamic learning. According to the fatwa, it is haram to treat an animal with cruelty during transport as well as at the time of slaughter:

“Islamic law requires that the animal at the time of its slaughter must be treated with kindness and with procedures that guarantee to it mercy. … Any action incompatible with kindness to animals or treating them any way other than with mercy at the time of slaughter… is a forbidden and sinful act, and is inconsistent with the kindness to animals that Islam requires.
…
We advise that Islam’s call for kindness to animals and for treating them with mercy applies to all of the situations in which this mercy is necessary. This includes transporting animals. The transport must be done in a way that is comfortable and that ensures the animal’s safety. The means of transport must protect against the causing of pain to the animal, threat to the life of the animal, or affliction of the animal with diseases contagious to humans or others.”

Chief Imam and Shaikh of Al-Azhar
Dr. Muhammad Sayed Tantawi
signed April 24, 2008