By Editorial Staff
As a general rule, all the good kinds of food are permissible while the harmful ones are impermissible as the Quran stated,
Those who follow the messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, whom they will find described in the Torah and the Gospel (which are) with them. He will enjoin on them that which is right and forbid them that which is wrong. He will make lawful for them all good things and prohibit for them only the foul… (Al-A`raf 7:157)
Islam does not put any restrictions on the people’s choice of the kinds of nourishment so long as they are not detrimental to their health, in which case it is not allowed.
There are some people who opt to follow a special food system such as the vegetarians who refuse to consume special foods such as meat and its derivatives. They have their own justifications and reasons, and there is no problem about this. That is OK as Islam does not enjoin us to take specific food without others, with the exception of the impermissible foodstuff that Islam prohibited such as pork and intoxicant beverages.
In the below video, Dr. Zakir Naik answers a question of one of the audience who inquires about the Islamic permission of the slaughter of the animals and the consummation of meat. As the vegetarians do not prefer to take meat, he asked Sheikh Zakir Naik the reason why Islam allowed this kind of violence against animals, according to his own viewpoint.
Dr. Zakir Naik explained to him that Islam does not prohibit the vegetarian food system at all. There is no harm about this in Islam because these things are related to natural behavior of man, i.e. it is not a creedal issue at all.
Dr. Zakir also mentioned some interesting facts about the nutritional elements of meat as well as the life cycle of animals as a whole that expound the Islamic permission of the slaughtering of edible animals. Enjoy watching this video to know more about the Islamic stance regarding the vegetarian food system and how Islam considers the issue of food in general.