OUR Muslim brethren, time and again, are trying to justify the cow-slaughter by invoking the dictation of Allah in the Holy Koran. Instead of condemning this mischievous propaganda, some Muslims are supporting it and advance the argument. “If Hindus can take goat-meat, then why should they hate taking beef; flesh is flesh, anyway.” No doubt, flesh is flesh, why then, do they get irritated by hearing the name of a pig and start murmuring Lahaul Vilaquate.
A full chapter of the Koran deals with cow protection. There is not even a single sentence in the whole holy 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?
“Name: Why the name Al-Baqarah?
“Al-Baqarah (the cow) has been so named from the story of the cow occurring in this Surah (V.V.67-73). It has not however, been used as a title to indicate the subject of the Sarah. It will, therefore, be as wrong to translate the name Al-Baqarah in the The Cow or the Heifer as to translate any English name, say Baker, Rice and wolf etc., into their equivalents in other languages or vice-versa because this would imply that the Sarah dealt with the subject of the The Cow. Many more Surahs of the Kuran have named in the same way because no comprehensive words exist in Arabic (in spite of its richness) to denote the wide scope of the subject discussed in them. As a matter of fact all human languages suffer from the same limitation…
“In order to understand the meaning of this Surah, we should know its historical background…”
(Al-Baqarah, page 37, The Meaning of the Quran)
Only at three places, we get the reference of cow-slaughtering in the whole Koran:
“Firstly, a Sura Bakr (which means cow), because in Arabic Bakr is used for cow, based on an story of Yahudi in the Bible”
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.
Other 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
Bakr-Eid And Killing of Cows
OUR Muslim brethren sacrifice all sorts of cattle and life, except pigs. Cow they sacrifice, more out of vengeance, and provocation. Koran does not enjoin the killing of the cow on the day of Eid. Cow is not indispensable to kill on religious ground at all. Moreover, the reference of cow occurs only once and that two, not in the context of killing. It appears to be almost lukewarm. Cow is a rarity in the desert land of Arabia—the birthplace of Islam. Even 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. Europeans and soldiers consume quite an enormous number of the bovine species; they are the main beef-eaters. But we don’t have the power to stop it. All that we could do is nothing beyond a memorandum, a petition or a deputation, because we are domineered by an alien government. We have to face the argument that beef is cheaper than mutton and hence the slaughter of cow or at least, an extensive use of beef by Mohammedan community This was he argument advanced by the late Maulana Muhammad Ali in his presidential address at the Kakinanda session of the I.N. Congress. It is true that the state of things is such we cannot hoodwink all; we shall have to stave the confusion along with Mohammedan brethren as compatriots and non-constituents of this nation.
“…Again, it is not incumbent on Mohammedans to offer an animal if they cannot afford it out of poverty. Why should they kill a cow, if they cannot not procure a goat according to Koran’s injunction?”
--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 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
3rd Oct, 1910
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 Aryajagat, in 1984.
So nowhere cow-slaughtering is justified. It is sheer invaders’ own imagination, only to destroy the culture and religion of others in the land of their settlement, zealously and rabidly implemented by those who not very long ago, were converted to Islam in India.
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