Vegan diet and spirituality

These days it has become quite popular to join different cults giving high promises of spiritual ecstasy and divine intoxication. Sufi sects are common among Ahl al-Sunnah but recently deviant cults have also emerged within Shia, which don’t bear the name of Sufi but rather irfan. One of these cults which has been kept under observation by various righteous Ulema was publicly exposed on Thursday 27th August 2009 by senior Sheikh Hujjatul Islam Shaykh Usama Abdulghani in a fiery lecture at Stanmore Hujjat Islamic Centre in London. Ayatollah al-Udhma Seestani(HA) also took a stance against these new modern Sufi pseudo-Irfani trends within the Shia community in a meeting with the World Federation (also @guidance110.info).

The head of this cult is “Sheikh” Akram Majidi, who while himself is rather unknown to the youths, have an inner circle of students who are gaining reputation and influence which they use to spread the teachings of their Sheikh. To this inner circle persons like Abbas Virjee, Muhammad Reza Tajri, Mukhtar Ali and Alihussain Datoo are unfortunately counted. I define them as cults rather then sects because according to Wikipedia the definition of a cult is more closer to what they are:

Cult may popularly refer to a religous group with relatively few adherents whose beliefs or practices are regarded by others as strange or sinister.
The term “cult” was originally used to denote a system of ritual practices.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult

One of these weird practices which has gained a fair amount of followers in the West is the vegan diet. Namely not to eat halal meat. Some do this in periods of 40 days (the reason is explained later on the post) while others do it permanently. Some of the reasons put forth are:

1) The animals are treated badly
2) Meat prevents or distracts pure profound reflektion on divine matters
3) Meat strengthens the lusts and desires thus making man more bodily rather then spiritual

I have had mixed feelings about the vegan issue but I now attempt to refute them since the vegan diet has been hijacked to strengthen the cult identity and fake spirituality of these fellows. The Quranic verses are plenty in the permissibility of eating meat, such as:

(6:119) Why should ye not eat of (meats) on which Allah’s name hath been pronounced…?

(5:19 O ye who believe! fulfil (all) obligations. Lawful unto you (for food) are all four-footed animals, with the exceptions named…

Argument 1: The animals are treated badly

I can accept this argument partially, if it came from a sincere friend of nature. The industry does treat the animals wrongly. But if it is used as an excuse to justify one’s cultic spiritual innovations is wrong as well. I mean I don’t see these pseudo-Urefa being members of animals rights organizations or actively working to improve the situation of the animals so their vegan diet would be justified.

First off our respected senior Ulema and Maraj’i should be consulted as to whether it, according to Sharia and Akhlaq, is wrong to consume the meat of the current food industry while knowing their treatment of animals. If it isn’t wrong we shouldn’t forbid something for us which Allah has made permissible for us:

Say: Tell me what Allah has sent down for you of sustenance, then you make (a part) of it unlawful and (a part) lawful. Say: Has Allah commanded you, or do you forge a lie against Allah? (Yunus 10:59)

Secondly if chickens and cattle are treated bad, why abandoning fish as well? The moment fish comes out of water it suffocates. So if the argument was purely due to bad treatment of animals then fish should be eaten at least.

Argument 2: Meat prevents or distracts pure profound reflection on divine matters

This is ironic. We have narrations from the The Prophet(S) stating that one who does not eat meat for forty consecutive days will have his intellect weakened! So it is directly opposed to the teaching of the Prophet(S). Of course we also have narrations stating eating meat for forty consecutive days on the other hand will harden the heart. Imam Ali(A) has a known wise saying also stating, “Don’t turn your stomachs into the graveyard of the animals”. In Tuhaf al-Uqool another hadith is reported from Imam Ali(A) where he commands Kumayl not to eat too much fish since it will have a negative impact on his breathing. Note the “too much” in other words, eating fish moderately – not abundantly and not null!

The conclusion which could be drawn from all these and many similar narrations is that not eating meat or eating too much meat will have a negative impact on the body and soul of man. And this modest way of eating should be applied to all other foods as well:

O children of Adam! attend to your embellishments at every time of prayer, and eat and drink and be not extravagant; surely He does not love the extravagant. (Al-A’raaf 7:31)

Notice how worship and spirituality is put in the same vers as eating modestly in the vers above!

Argument 3: Meat strenghtens the lusts and desires thus making man more bodily rather then spiritual

This argument has its origin in a Sufi saying stating, “You become what you eat!” Meaning if you eat animals you will become like an animal.

As said earlier too much or too little meat is bad. We have plenty of examples in the Holy Quran and hadiths which show that the Prophets(S), who where the masters of spirituality, mysticism and irfan, did actually eat meat. When the following verse was revealed:

Admonish your nearest kinsfolk (al-Shu’ara, 26:214)

According to Ayatollah Jafar Subhani(HA) in “The Message” the Prophet(S) invited 45 persons from Bani Hashim for a meal which was prepared by Imam Ali(A) who was not more then 15 years old. What was the food produced? It was a meat soup. The Prophet(S) initiated his call to Islam, which brings man to the ultimate point of spirituality, with a meat meal prepared by the infallible Imam Ali(A). In fact some traditions even state that the food was barely enough for a couple of people but through a divine miracle everyone ate their full share and was satisfied!

Let me bring forth another example, when the angels visited Prophet Ibrahim(A) before going to Prophet Lut(A):

And certainly Our messengers came to Ibrahim with good news. They said: Peace. Peace, said he, and he made no delay in bringing a roasted calf. But when he saw that their hands were not extended towards it, he deemed them strange and conceived fear of them. They said: Fear not, surely we are sent to Lut’s people. (Hud 11:68-69

This verse clearly states that Prophet Ibrahim(A), the friend of Allah, the father of monotheism, the Ul al-Azm Prophet, served meat for his guests.

I think the the story of how Prophet Musa(A) and Khidr(A) meet is the most clear example in our context. If some would say that in the above two examples the Prophets(A) themselves didn’t eat but served it for their guest and ate for their sake, the following verse will be an obvious answer. Imagine, this is indeed a spiritual story of how a discipline meets his spiritual master. we read in Surah Kahf:

And when Musa said to his servant: I will not cease until I reach the junction of the two rivers or I will go on for years. So when they had reached the junction of the two (rivers) they forgot their fish, and it took its way into the sea, going away. (Al-Kahf 18:62-63)

Notice the underlined bit. Prophet Musa(A) would meet his spiritual master in a place where he forgot not his carrot but rather his FISH. Prophet Musa(A), one of the Ul al-Azm Prophets, in his pursuit for higher spiritual truths hadn’t undertaken a vegan diet prior to meeting his master but rather brought with himself meat (fish) on the journey!

One thing that is disturbing me quite a lot is how these youngsters who have barely learned to crawl spiritually are taking on themselves practices, such as the diet, which, if for argument’s sake we would consider valid, are meant for the elite of Urefa.

The way to spiritual climaxes goes through the Sharia, slowly and steadily. Not like hindus or buddhists who spend years in extreme asceticism and meditation to reach some heights. This is not the Islamic stance on true spirituality. True spirituality is reached through the society, not by separating oneself from it.

I remember Ayatollah Javad Amuli(HA) once said that he ate an apple and that apple made him loose so and so much of spiritual rank. Among the elite of Urefa even a vegetable or fruit eaten with the wrong intention or during the wrong timing will have cast a shadow in the illuminated heart. But us ordinary mortals with hearts of darkness and days filled with non-godly thoughts, surely eating a whole basket with apple, or in this case a whole lamb, won’t have any effect on us. We should rather focus on implementing the Sharia perfectly and have a good understanding of it. Once this has been accomplished and we have gained sufficient and proper knowledge of the fundamentals of Islam, we can start the spiritual path – slowly and steadily without any haste or extremeness.

As the saying goes: the faster you go up the faster you will fall down.

We should busy ourselves with the remembrance of Allah (dhikr), purging our hearts of sin and reforming our morals. Continuing this struggle and jihad for years will ultimately produce a profound effect on the heart and open its eyes for spiritual wonders.

I will conclude this post with the words of one of our the greatest masters of spirituality, mysticism and irfan in contemporary times – Ayatollah al-Udhma Behjat(RA). The quote is from the newly translated book “Spring Time – Imam Mahdi(AJ) in the Words of Ayatollah Behjat” and summons the correct way to the highest point of true islamic spirituality. Read and reflect my dear friend, read and reflect:

Complete following

The one who has faith in and conviction of the Creator and the creation, has belief in and a bond with the Prophets and their successors (peace be upon them), turns to them (tawassul) in his belief and deeds, walks and halts according to their commands, in worship empties his heart from all other than Allah and wholeheartedly performs the prayer (which everything depends upon), in doubtful situations follows Imam al-Asr(AJ) – in other words distances himself from all that which is against the Imam and approaches everything which is with the Imam, curse the one whom the Imam curses and is compassionate towards the one whom the Imam is compassionate to – a person who possesses all these characteristics and attributes will not lack any perfection and won’t have any trouble.

ShamsAlDin.net >> Library >> Spring Time >> Section 3: The duty of the waiters