Halal food in Sanatan Dharm

Sanatan dharm and the command of eating Halal food.

Khurshid Imam

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Arabic word Halal means permissible.

Quran uses this term in different context. One such context is : food.

God has created the whole universe for the benefit of mankind. Animals and plants also serve us. Some of the animals have been made permissible by God to be eaten as food. This permission of eating food is present in both Islamic and Hindu religious scriptures.

Wanton killing of animals is prohibited. But for consumption as food, it is allowed with the permission of God. So, we take God's name while slaughtering these animals. Otherwise we will think that taking life is somehow in our hands. 

We remind ourselves that though it is surely wrong to take life, we are taking this life for the purpose of eating it as food alone purely by the permission of God. Indeed God is the greatest with power over all lives and we ourselves have no power at all over these animals. This "allowed" or permissible is called as halal in Arabic.

If you read Hindu scriptures, at numerous places there is command of eating meat.

Shri Ram Chandr ji himself used to eat meat. Read this.

The great Indian personality - Swami Vivekananda - emphasized the need of eating meat to Hindu brethren.

"You will be astonished if I tell you that, according to the old ceremonials, he is not a good Hindu who does not eat beef. On certain occasions he must sacrifice a bull and eat it." 
[The complete works of Swami Vivekananda, Volume 3, Page 536]

"There was a time in this very India when, without eating beef, no Brahmin could remain a Brahmin;" [Page 174]

These are well known things. What is surprising is that Sanatan Dharm also commands to eat Halal food. Eating meat, without following the due procedure is prohibited in Hinduism.

Two conditions were laid for their slaughter in Hindu Scripture.
1. Name of God must be taken during slaughter so that it must be remembered that with his permission, slaughter is being done.
2. The procedure given by God must be followed. Otherwise, this will be considered as killing.

Meat is made sacred or pure by the recitation of mantras.

Above verses of Manusmriti very clearly say that animal should be slaughtered as per law and divine mantr should be recited.

It is the God who created us and animals. It is the God who has allowed us to use some of them as our food.

Human being can not survive without consuming Living thing. Every human being - whether Veg or Non - Veg - survives by eating other living being.

Read this to know details:

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