What's farming like in the Islamic World?

[Gaius I. Caesar]

What do people usually farm or keep as livestock in the Islamic world. I am thinking of starting  a personal farm for halal meat/produce and I would like an idea of what's halal or haram, especially livestock. Starting from the most obvious to least obvious choices. I have already decided on raising poultry, bees and a small garden of vegetables. Thanks in advance for  any information as what I have or keep  and may you be rewarded greatly, insha'Allah. 

[notme]

Goats and sheep!

But if you must raise only one, choose bees. 

[Gaius I. Caesar]

1 minute ago, notme said:

Goats and sheep!

But if you must raise only one, choose bees. 

What else? Commercial produce is filled with pesticides, hormones and chemicals these days. So I decided  to grow and raise my own food.

Is there anything halal that eats, digs up roots and "fertilizes" the ground? Preferably no bigger than a chicken.

[Ashvazdanghe]

6 hours ago, Gaius I. Caesar said:

What else? Commercial produce is filled with pesticides, hormones and chemicals these days. So I decided  to grow and raise my own food.

Is there anything halal that eats, digs up roots and "fertilizes" the ground? Preferably no bigger than a chicken.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partridge

growing it in Iran is becoming more popular every day

[notme]

I've read that chickens are great as pesticide and as fertilizer. Another option might be worms, but they can't be eaten. They're great for the soil and can be sold as bait to fishermen. 

Speaking of fish, I suppose recirculating aquaculture would probably be a bit too much startup cost, but fish waste also makes good fertilizer for crops. 

[Panzerwaffe]

16 hours ago, Gaius I. Caesar said:

What do people usually farm or keep as livestock in the Islamic world. I am thinking of starting  a personal farm for halal meat/produce and I would like an idea of what's halal or haram, especially livestock. Starting from the most obvious to least obvious choices. I have already decided on raising poultry, bees and a small garden of vegetables. Thanks in advance for  any information as what I have or keep  and may you be rewarded greatly, insha'Allah. 

Really ? That's full time job 

And where do you live ? Which state country ? Check regulations thoroughly 

Edited February 28, 2019 by Panzerwaffe

[Gaius I. Caesar]

4 hours ago, notme said:

I've read that chickens are great as pesticide and as fertilizer. Another option might be worms, but they can't be eaten. They're great for the soil and can be sold as bait to fishermen. 

Same, but this friend of mine said that I needed a separate processor to dilute it before using it as fertilizer as by itself "burns" plants. I was suggested pigs but I explained that I was Muslim  and handling them would be a huge issue.  I wonder if there is a halal animal with the same abilities as a pig when it comes to fertilizing? 

38 minutes ago, Panzerwaffe said:

Really ? That's full time job 

Not really, it would be a full time job if I went commercial. I just using it for personal usage, so it will be at a much smaller scale.

Edited February 28, 2019 by Gaius I. Caesar

[Propaganda_of_the_Deed]

Get a Llama or Alpaca....just because.

[Gaius I. Caesar]

4 hours ago, Propaganda_of_the_Deed said:

Get a Llama or Alpaca....just because.

Nice, North American cousins of the camel. My space is limited though, so no llamas, cattle, alpacas or camels yet. I'll keep in mind. I'm still looking for the elusive animal that can be a living trash compactor, fertilizes the ground without further processing ("poop and root") and is halal, so I can handle it or move it if I need to.

[Ashvazdanghe]

Salam you can grow Quail too

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quail

https://www.dummies.com/home-garden/gardening/animal-based-fertilizers-for-organic-gardens/

Also you can ask more from @Shia farm girl

Edited February 28, 2019 by Ashvazdanghe

[notme]

Are ostriches or emus halal?

I've never seen their meat or eggs for sale, but I know of a farm near where I used to live. 

[notme]

For chicken raising information, look up Polyface Farms (in Virginia) or just read the section on it in Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. They didn't dilute their chicken droppings, but they gave them ample space to move about and moved the pens frequently. 

[Gaius I. Caesar]

5 minutes ago, notme said:

Are ostriches or emus halal?

I've never seen their meat or eggs for sale, but I know of a farm near where I used to live. 

https://www.fossilfarms.com/ostrich-meat

Check this out. ^

[Ashvazdanghe]

1 hour ago, notme said:

Are ostriches or emus halal?

I've never seen their meat or eggs for sale, but I know of a farm near where I used to live. 

Their meat are halal & are something between red & white meat & are delicious  I don't try ostriche egg because it's very big & it's doesn't sell in stores but it's meat available in Iranian store 

1 hour ago, notme said:

For chicken raising information, look up Polyface Farms (in Virginia) or just read the section on it in Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. They didn't dilute their chicken droppings, but they gave them ample space to move about and moved the pens frequently. 

Hen described by Imam Ali (عليه السلام) as pig of birds although it's meat is halal but it eat everything on ground & its body stores all ample drugs in its meat but meat of duck recommended as medicine the best halal meat is for birds that can fly or have ability of semi flight light duck also it narrated that daughter of Imam Ali (عليه السلام) was keeping ducks in her house that Imam Ali (عليه السلام) advised her before his last going to mosque before his martyrdom that she takes care of ducks well or releases them that eat from natural wild sources .

[Gaius I. Caesar]

1 hour ago, Ashvazdanghe said:

Their meat are halal & are something between red & white meat & are delicious  I don't try ostriche egg because it's very big & it's doesn't sell in stores but it's meat available in Iranian store 

Hen described by Imam Ali (عليه السلام) as pig of birds although it's meat is halal but it eat everything on ground & its body stores all ample drugs in its meat but meat of duck recommended as medicine the best halal meat is for birds that can fly or have ability of semi flight light duck also it narrated that daughter of Imam Ali (عليه السلام) was keeping ducks in her house that Imam Ali (عليه السلام) advised her before his last going to mosque before his martyrdom that she takes care of ducks well or releases them that eat from natural wild sources .

We rarely eat duck, way too much fat and bones for very little meat. I guess I could do turkey instead but turkeys take up a lot of space  Fayoumi chickens have semi-flight, they might fit Ali's (عليه السلام) advice to us.  

[Panzerwaffe]

1 hour ago, notme said:

Are ostriches or emus halal?

I've never seen their meat or eggs for sale, but I know of a farm near where I used to live. 

There is a great one in Wisconsin 

Ostrich tastes like beef 

[M.IB]

On 2/28/2019 at 1:04 AM, Gaius I. Caesar said:

What do people usually farm or keep as livestock in the Islamic world. I am thinking of starting  a personal farm for halal meat/produce and I would like an idea of what's halal or haram, especially livestock. Starting from the most obvious to least obvious choices. I have already decided on raising poultry, bees and a small garden of vegetables. Thanks in advance for  any information as what I have or keep  and may you be rewarded greatly, insha'Allah. 

Did you know that farming originated in the countries we now call "The Islamic world"? 

[Gaius I. Caesar]

4 hours ago, M.IB said:

Did you know that farming originated in the countries we now call "The Islamic world"? 

 Of course. Everyone knows that , I just wanted to see what was halal or haram in terms of farming.

[LeftCoastMom]

8 hours ago, M.IB said:

Did you know that farming originated in the countries we now call "The Islamic world"? 

It was  one of the places. There were several on the planet. Ask the Chinese, the Incas, etc.

 

[Gaius I. Caesar]

4 hours ago, LeftCoastMom said:

It was  one of the places. There were several on the planet. Ask the Chinese, the Incas, etc.

 

If I recall, the Chinese and Inca were especially effective in terms of adaptive farming. The Andes and Yangtze weren't exactly ideal places for farming (loose soil, flash flooding and high elevations) I found their situation to be the most interesting to study.

[M.IB]

On 6/15/2019 at 9:13 PM, Gaius I. Caesar said:

 Of course. Everyone knows that , I just wanted to see what was halal or haram in terms of farming.

Good luck! InshaAllah.

[haidermpr]

Salam 

Dear brother

you haven't mentioned area of the land where you are interested in starting farming? It is very important to know the area of land to provide suggestion.

As far as halal farming is concerned, all vegetables, pulses, medicinal plants etc are halal for farming as per my little knowledge but when it comes to livestock we need to be sure about it before starting business. 

Different Maraja have different rulings for livestock and better to follow their rulings. 

Normally haram animals can't be raised for business purpose. e.g. Dog though we are allowed to pet them under certain conditions but not allowed to do business of dogs..

Common Halal livestock in small area can be of any of these things-

Birds: Chicken, Duck, Partridge, Quail etc

Animal: Goat, Sheep

Kindly check the local authorities as sometimes different permissions may be required for livestock....

May Allah make you successful 

[The Green Knight]

Salam Gaius

I can share my experiences. In 2009 I was overwhelmed with all sorts of problems so I decided to also leave my city and farm on land I inherited. Even in farming I had/have some misfortune I had to live with, namely the tropical climate, salinity, high soil pH, high water table due to proximity to a large artificial water channel (a canal) and anti-farmer anti-society mega corrupt puppet regimes, and the occasional disastrous rainfall. But enough of my complaining.

You are lucky you probably won't have it so bad. You will be happy to know you have many options in this field. For instance, you should also consider growing mushrooms. With a little study on the subject and very small finances you can start growing mushrooms. My advice to your is to always keep an eye on market trends, prices of what you grow or plan to grow, and farmer trend I.e. what everybody is growing. Some things you will always need and spend money on can be worked with now like energy generation, especially now you might need a lot of energy to, say, power a tube well for irrigation. I advise you to aim for the latest techniques and mechanization in as many things as possible. Minimizing hired labor and maximizing profit. Adopt irrigation methods like drip or sprinkler systems. Use automatic feed and water dispensers for chicken and good news is that you can DIY these little things and help yourself greatly.

Soil is your best friend now. You should study it, study plant nutrients, study the chemicals you will be using and their alternatives. You can DIY fertilizers and other things like pesticides too. There is this golden rule of small business which says that we should only do something we have full knowledge of and what we are able to do ourselves and not do things we can not. For example I myself can not feed a cattle farm with the ancient cutting tools and transportation method and the time it takes, and I don't know how to milk a cow either so such a venture is not for me.

Study and plan first and take small steps. Remember that big things have small beginnings.

[LeftCoastMom]

For your needs, you might have to go to a " two animal solution". You want something to process the ground for you...which even a few chickens will do...but you need cool manure that doesn't need composting. Rabbits can provide that. I have both chickens and rabbits . I throw my "bunny berries"  directly into all of my gardens.  You  can collect the poop from under the cages if you have wire mesh  bottoms on the cages for lightweight breeds or you can train them to go in a hay-filled cat litter pan if you have a heavy breed that should not be run on mesh or just don't like keeping rabbits on mesh ( like me).  My chickens are free range in daytime and there are only a few of them, so the droppings aren't a problem as the property is big enough so that they don't accumulate anywhere and if I see any, I can just rake them under. I don't end up with many  droppings in the garden areas as it doesn't take my chickens very long to clear a space for me when I confine them there for the few hours I need them. Some people divide their property into sections for their " chicken tractors" to work on and move them section by section, letting the processed areas rest for a few months ,usually the winter ones, so that the sun and air can kill any bacteria in the droppings before planting the area in the spring. Others compost, which speeds up the process considerably.

I really enjoy both species and have had a lot of garden success this way.

 

 

[Gaius I. Caesar]

10 hours ago, Darth Vader said:

Salam Gaius

I can share my experiences. In 2009 I was overwhelmed with all sorts of problems so I decided to also leave my city and farm on land I inherited. Even in farming I had/have some misfortune I had to live with, namely the tropical climate, salinity, high soil pH, high water table due to proximity to a large artificial water channel (a canal) and anti-farmer anti-society mega corrupt puppet regimes, and the occasional disastrous rainfall. But enough of my complaining.

You are lucky you probably won't have it so bad. You will be happy to know you have many options in this field. For instance, you should also consider growing mushrooms. With a little study on the subject and very small finances you can start growing mushrooms. My advice to your is to always keep an eye on market trends, prices of what you grow or plan to grow, and farmer trend I.e. what everybody is growing. Some things you will always need and spend money on can be worked with now like energy generation, especially now you might need a lot of energy to, say, power a tube well for irrigation. I advise you to aim for the latest techniques and mechanization in as many things as possible. Minimizing hired labor and maximizing profit. Adopt irrigation methods like drip or sprinkler systems. Use automatic feed and water dispensers for chicken and good news is that you can DIY these little things and help yourself greatly.

Soil is your best friend now. You should study it, study plant nutrients, study the chemicals you will be using and their alternatives. You can DIY fertilizers and other things like pesticides too. There is this golden rule of small business which says that we should only do something we have full knowledge of and what we are able to do ourselves and not do things we can not. For example I myself can not feed a cattle farm with the ancient cutting tools and transportation method and the time it takes, and I don't know how to milk a cow either so such a venture is not for me.

Study and plan first and take small steps. Remember that big things have small beginnings.

Thank you very much, this is extremely helpful. I'll look into it further.

 

38 minutes ago, LeftCoastMom said:

For your needs, you might have to go to a " two animal solution". You want something to process the ground for you...which even a few chickens will do...but you need cool manure that doesn't need composting. Rabbits can provide that. I have both chickens and rabbits . I throw my "bunny berries"  directly into all of my gardens.  You  can collect the poop from under the cages if you have wire mesh  bottoms on the cages for lightweight breeds or you can train them to go in a hay-filled cat litter pan if you have a heavy breed that should not be run on mesh or just don't like keeping rabbits on mesh ( like me).  My chickens are free range in daytime and there are only a few of them, so the droppings aren't a problem as the property is big enough so that they don't accumulate anywhere and if I see any, I can just rake them under. I don't end up with many  droppings in the garden areas as it doesn't take my chickens very long to clear a space for me when I confine them there for the few hours I need them. Some people divide their property into sections for their " chicken tractors" to work on and move them section by section, letting the processed areas rest for a few months ,usually the winter ones, so that the sun and air can kill any bacteria in the droppings before planting the area in the spring. Others compost, which speeds up the process considerably.

I really enjoy both species and have had a lot of garden success this way.

 

 

Glad to hear that, one question: Does it matter what kind of rabbit I use? 

[LeftCoastMom]

For manure...no, not really. They're all pretty much round-the-clock bunny berry machines.

[The Green Knight]

49 minutes ago, Gaius I. Caesar said:

Thank you very much, this is extremely helpful. I'll look into it further.

You're welcome. Also look up silkworm rearing if you have access to mulberry trees.

Concerning rabbits I also have an idea. Look up Angora rabbits. Their wool is very expensive.

[LeftCoastMom]

^ Hi, @Darth Vader ...how are the cows?

@Gaius I. Caesar, Angoras are cool rabbits, but In my humble opinion, high-maintenance. To get the best price for their wool, you have to pluck the wool when it is " ripe", not shear it like a sheep. Plucked wool spins into yarn better. But it soooo time-consuming. Plus Angoras can  get wool-block internally , which they occasionally need food-additives to prevent, and you have to brush them constantly to prevent mats and to keep their wool in top shape.

 

If you're not using rabbits for meat and don't care what you have, why not give a home to some rescue rabbits? Save a life. Their manure is all the same. Plus they are usually neutered  before they are adopted out. You don't have to worry about babies, but always get a buck and a doe anyway if you want two. Rabbits of the same gender sometimes get along, especially sister does, but I wouldn't bet on that. Adult rabbits, especially males, will kill each other. I have them separated at 8 weeks old. Keep them separate or keep a neutered male-female pair. ( Even that doesn't work sometimes and often the doe will beat up the buck.)

Edited June 24, 2019 by LeftCoastMom

[Guest]

From Duas.org

The 4th Imaam (عليه السلام). said that Farming is the most excellent business. While tilling the land and sawing the seeds one should recite this Duaa:
(a) ~~Wa Mathalu Kalimatin Twayyibatin Ka Shajarati Twayyibatin Asluha Wa Saabitan Far'uha Fis-Samaai Tu'tee Ukulaha Kullu Heenin Bi Idhni Rabbiha~~.
( = Of a goodly word like a good tree whose origin is steadfastly fixed and its branches in the heavens, yielding its fruits every moment by the permission of its Lord Nourisher.)

(b) For harvesting a bumper crop recite 1001 times everyday ~ "ADH-DHAARRU"~

(68) When you want to grow the seeds in your farm take a handful of them in your hands, stand facing Qibla, and recite this 3 times : ~ Wa Antum Tadhra'oonahum Am Nahnudh-Dhaari'oon. ~ ( =What ! Is it you that grow it or are We the growers? ) Then recite : ~ Allaahumaj'alhu Harasam-Mubaarakan Warzuqna Feehees-Salaamata Wat-Tamaamata Waja'alhu Habbam- Mutaraakiban Walaa Tahrimnee Khayra Maa Abtaghee Walaa Taftinnee Bimaa Matta'anee Bihaqqi Muhammadin Wa Aalihit-Twayyibeen. ~ ( =O Allaah make this field worthwhile for us, and let us have enough food from this field with complete easiness, make these seeds into corn and the revenue which I seek from these, don't take away from me of it, for the sake of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم).W. and his Holy Progeny (عليه السلام). not to make me undergo trial through the profit that I receive. ) 

[Gaius I. Caesar]

@Darth Vader

I have decided to grow mushrooms and bought a mushroom growing kit. I have yet to get spores but I should get it soon. I'm already trying to  figure out when would  be a good time for visiting the farmers market.

[The Green Knight]

1 hour ago, Gaius I. Caesar said:

@Darth Vader

I have decided to grow mushrooms and bought a mushroom growing kit. I have yet to get spores but I should get it soon. I'm already trying to  figure out when would  be a good time for visiting the farmers market.

I can send you a couple of ebooks on mushroom growing if you message me your email address. The process revolves around facilitating your choice fungus' growth while removing all competition through sterilization, cleanliness and adjusting grow room environment. Other fungi like molds and inky caps will try to take their place and some bacteria or even viruses can be present and hamper growth. Grower's job is to not let that happen. Its a fun and rewarding thing. These days I am growing Milky mushrooms which is a local variety that is able to tolerate the tropical summer heat. Some varieties are easier to grow while a few are more delicate or require compost.