Can We Eat Meat in al-Muharram?

Question

My husband’s family avoids eating meat from the beginning of Muharram until the tenth, claiming it is a covenant passed down from their forefathers and must be observed. Is this practice valid in Islam? Can we eat Meat in Al-Muharram if we feel like it?

Bottom Line

Islam allows what Allah has made lawful, and meat is never forbidden in this month.

Quick Answer

There is no evidence in the Qur’an or Sunnah that avoiding meat in Muharram brings reward. Such practices fall into monasticism, which the Prophet ﷺ rejected. A Muslim may choose to eat less for health, but to believe that refraining is an act of worship is bid‘ah.

Key Points

• Islam forbids inventing acts of worship not prescribed by Allah or His Messenger ﷺ.
• Meat is halal, and avoiding it as a ritual act has no basis in revelation.
• The Prophet ﷺ condemned monastic practices such as never marrying or never eating meat (Sahih al-Bukhari, Muslim).
• Innovation often starts small, but distances believers from the Prophet’s Sunnah.

Detailed Answer

The custom of avoiding meat in Muharram comes under the heading of innovation. Allah says:

“O you who believe! Do not forbid the good things which Allah has made lawful to you, and do not transgress. Verily, Allah does not like the transgressors.” Al-Ma’idah 5:87

The Prophet ﷺ warned against inventing restrictions: “Whoever introduces into this matter of ours that which is not part of it, it will be rejected.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)

Some of the Companions once vowed not to marry, not to sleep at night, or not to eat meat. The Prophet ﷺ corrected them, saying:

“I fast and I break my fast, I pray and I sleep, I marry women, and I eat meat. Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not of me.” Sahih al-Bukhari 5063

Therefore, abstaining from meat as a religious practice is neither obligatory nor virtuous. True piety lies in following the Sunnah, not inventing restrictions.

What This Means for You

You can eat meat in Muharram without guilt. Avoiding it as an act of devotion is misguided and baseless. Do not let inherited customs override the clear guidance of the Qur’an and Sunnah.

And Allah knows best.

References

Primary Sources

Qur’an

1. Al-Ma’idah 5:87: Do not forbid what Allah has made lawful.

Hadith

2. Sahih al-Bukhari 5063: The Prophet ﷺ ate meat and warned against rejecting his Sunnah.
3. Sahih al-Bukhari 2697, Sahih Muslim 1718: Every innovation in religion is rejected.

Secondary Sources

4. Ibn Taymiyyah, *Majmu‘ al-Fatawa* (11/612-614); *Al-Jawab al-Sahih* (2/194-197).
5. Ash-Shatibi, *Al-I‘tisaam*, p. 59.