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.”

SECRET WILL OF BADSHAH BABAR TO PRINCE HUMAYUN:

“O son, the kingdom of India is full of different religions. Praised be the Almighty God that He bestowed upon thee its sovereignty. It is incumbent of thee to wide all religious prejudices off the tablet of the heart; administer justice according to the ways of every religion. Avoid especially the sacrifice of the cow by which thou can capture the hearts of the people of India; and subjects of this country may be bound up with royal obligations. “Do not ruin the temples and shrines of any community who the laws of governments. Administer justice in such a manner that the king be please with the subjects and the subjects with king. The cause of Islam can be more promoted by the wound of obligation than by the sword of tyranny. “Overlook the dissensions of the shias and Sunni, else the weakness of Islam will manifest. And let the subjects of different beliefs be harmonised in conformity with the four elements (of which) the human body is harmoniously composed, so that the body of the kingdom may be free from different diseases. The memoirs of Taimur, the master of conjunction (i.e. fortune) should always be before the eyes, so that thou mayst become experienced in the affairs of administrations.”

1st Jamadi-ul Awal, 935 A.H:THE FIRMAN OF JALLALUDDIN MUHAMMAD AKBAR SHAH

“GRANTED to the Jains in guttering the Rights of Worship and the exercise of their religion and doctrine throughout out Empire and dominions. One can kill an animal on those mountains of Shantrunjaya in the Palitana state in Kathiavar. It is but proper that the Jain should perform his devotions with composure of heart. Let no one ever oppose or make objection to the decree. Let the orders contained in the Firman be acted upon and carried out.”

The second edict is from the Emperor Jahangir in similar terms:-

“The third Firman is from Shahjahan who confirms the preceding documents. Then we have another granting greater liberty. He emphasizes that every year new order shall not be demanded but that those whom it concerns shall not serve from what is here commanded.”

According to Islamic Gorakshan, later Mughal sovereigns of India such as Muhammad Shah and Shah Alam prohibited cow-slaughter. –Travels in the Moghal Empire, Bernier

(Dr. Syed Mahmud, Ph.D. who obtained a facsimile copy of the said wills, preserved in the Bhopal State Library. All the foregoing account vividly shows as to have careful even the mighty Moghul sovereigns were in not hurting the feelings of Hindus. )

FATWA OF MISRA GOVERNMENT

“THE GOVERNMENT HAS PUBLISHED LEGAL FATWA BY THE HEADS OF THE FOUR MUSLIM SECTS RECOMMENDING MUSLIMS NOT TO KILL MORE THAN ONE SHEEP ON THE OCCASION OF THE BAKRAID FEAST WHICH FALLS ON THE 8TH INSTANT.” –Egyptian Mail Cairo

HAKIM AJMAL KHAN

“BAKRA-ID is the religious festival in which Mussalmans perform pilgrimages around their holy places in Mecca. At this festival, they have to sacrifice in pursuance of the sacrifice of Abraham, the Mussalmans of India being too far away from Mecca, go to the city of Ajmer. But Neither the text of the Koran not tradition enjoined the slaughter of the cow. In Turkey, Egypt, Syria, and Persia where a cow might be slaughtered without offence to any one a sheep are preferred.”

• Questioned about the reasons, why the Indian Muslims prefer the cow to any other animal in their sacrifice, the Hakim continues:“Simply because the goat and the sheep are much more expensive in India than the cow, the Mussalman cannot afford the price of a sheep. But the Koran specifies that the sacrifice is not necessary for the poor. Mussalmans are so poor that they cannot afford even a cow. The poor Muslims resort to the sacrifice of cows, because all people are not actuated by commonsense and good feelings.”These two extracts practically conclude that neither Koran nor Arabic tradition has anything to say about the fundamental importance of cow-slaughter in Islam on sacrificial occasions.

• The late-lamented Hakim Ajmal Khan, a moulvi of no mean scholarship and erudition, in a pamphlet under the title of “Hindu-Muslim Unity” comprising the presidential address to the All India Muslim League, Amritsar in 1919, published by the Cow Protection Society, 43, Banstolla Street, Calcutta, state as under:-“We are, and should be full cognizant of the fact that cow-killing seriously annoys our fellowmen. But before holding out any assurance to them, we must first see in what light our religion views this question. We must also determine the extent to which the Qurbani is enjoined upon us irrespective of course, of the slaughter of the cows. According to Islam Qurbani or sacrificial offering is incumbent on Muslims. Now, is a matter of choice to fulfill this observance by sacrificing camels, sheep, goat, or cow, which simply means that any of these animals can be fir for offerings? Crores of Indian Muslims must be strangers to the slaughter of the camels, for the fulfillment of this observance, but none of them can possibly be accused of the slightest religious omission.

• “On the contrarily, Mussalmans of Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Tripoli, Asiatic Turkey have been faithful to this observance without ever having slaughtered a Cow, and I am confident no erudite theologian or Mufti can maintain that these Mussalmans have failed to observe the Sunnal (practice of the Prophet) or have been guilty of any religious shortcoming. If any Mussalman dares to call religiously legitimate practice illegitimate, he certainly commits a sin. I conceder it appropriate at this stage, to recount some of the Ahadees (religious practices) according to which the sacrifice of animals other than the cow is entitled to preference. For instance, Ummti Salmah (the Holy Prophet’s venerable wife) says that the Prophet once observed ‘if any of you see the crescent heralding the month of Zil Hijjah and desires to sacrifice a goat…, etc which obviously indicates that the Arabs were in the habit of sacrificing goats. According to another tradition our Prophet said that ‘of all sacrificial animals sheep was preferable; if we reserve sheep alone for the offering, we will be complying with this tradition.’ He then exhorts the Indian Muslims to take the initiative instead of being advised by their Hindu neighbours, and by thus using judicious discrimination in the selection of the sacrificial animal which will be in the best accord with Islamic tradition, bring about an era of peaceful relation within India and enhance national reputation abroad”.

(The above mentioned wills of Mughals and views of Hakim Ajmal Khan are derived from Romance of the Cow, by D.H.Jani,Gold Medalist, published by The Bombay Humanitarian League, Bombay, in 1935)

Above all, in Saudi Arabia, the cow-slaughters are sentenced to death. The marriages there are providing successful—yes, without slaughtering cows.” If Indian Muslims resolved not to kill any cow and live as one entity like any other India, then this country,e.g., Bharat will be more prosperous than our expectations”, says Prof J,N. Bismil of the Jamia Milia, Delhi in his long article in the Ary.