'No Animal Has Ever Been Sacrificed In My House': The Story Of A Muslim Vegan

This Eid, we bring you the story of a Muslim vegan who has always chosen to practice compassion towards all beings. Based in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, 21-year-old Sajid Khan has been a vegan since 2018.

“I didn’t want any animals to suffer because of me,” he says.

Sajid has felt a deep connection with nature since he was a child, and has been dedicated towards the environmental cause for as long as he can remember. An eye-opening moment for him was when he studied about the Budhha’s teachings in fifth standard. This made him introspect, and he wished to not cause any harm to any being - be it humans or animals.

“When I read that meat comes from an animal that is killed by us, I didn't like that and decided to quit eating meat. I realized that I was intentionally making animals suffer because of me, and that wasn’t right. And it’s not like I cannot survive without meat, so I gave it up.”

It was when he turned 14-years-old when Sajid took the decision to go completely vegetarian and gave up eggs and fish as well. Due to his dedication, most of the food that was cooked in his house was also vegetarian. Even then, he was deeply affected by celebrations and festivals where meat was served. 

In 2017, he met his mentor Abhishek Dubey at an environmental conservation event which was held in his school. This opened Sajid up to a wide knowledge base he had been previously oblivious of, including the concept of veganism.

Eventually, he took it upon himself to research veganism and was shocked to learn the impact of the meat and dairy industry on the environment.

“On World Environmental Day on 5th June 2018, I found out about the impact of animal agriculture on our environment through Abhishek Sir. I didn't know that our eating habits also affect the environment on such a large scale. I did further research on this topic and finally decided to go vegan as I couldn’t fathom contributing to environmental damage.”

Sajid’s decision to go vegan was purely environmental. In fact, he used to consider veganism as an environmental movement before he came across the ethical side of it. When he moved to Delhi later in 2018, he was introduced to Vegans for Animal Liberation. Through this, he learned about the ethics of veganism and the condition of animal suffering in factory farming.

It took him one month to make the decision to give up every animal product he used - dairy, honey, leather, wool, silk. After this he started to call himself an ‘ethical vegan.’ This decision did invite some backlash from friends and family, but he has been dedicated towards his cause ever since.

Sajid mentions that he does not participate in festivals where animal sacrifice is involved. Because of his deep compassion for animals, no animal has ever been sacrificed in his house. In fact, he even avoids serving meat to guests, as it doesn’t agree with his conscience.

“People use religion as a reason to be cruel to animals. But religion was made by people, and they created rituals and customs according to their own beliefs. But I say, if God is all-loving and all-merciful, then He wouldn’t ask us to sacrifice tens of thousands of animals every year in His name.”

Sajid wishes everyone a compassionate and kind Eid, and sends the message to go vegan!