Short answer
No, choosing not to eat meat is not haram in itself. Eating meat is permitted, not obligatory, so a Muslim may avoid it for health, taste or personal reasons. What is not allowed is believing meat is forbidden or that eating it is wrong, since that makes haram what Allah made halal. A Muslim with the means must still give qurbani.
Abstaining from meat is mubah when it is a personal choice. Believing that meat is haram or sinful is not allowed and is a serious error in belief, and avoiding it as an act of piety goes against the Sunnah. Qurbani remains wajib on those who hold nisab, even if they give all the meat away.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Allah made the meat of grazing animals lawful and a blessing, and the Prophet ﷺ ate meat when it was available. But no verse or hadith makes eating meat a duty, and many Companions went long periods without it.
A group of Companions once wanted to go beyond the Prophet's ﷺ worship: one said he would not marry, one that he would not eat meat, and one that he would not sleep on a bed. He praised Allah and said: but I pray and sleep, fast and break my fast, and marry; whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not of me. The problem was not the food but treating giving up meat as a form of piety.
So the reason matters:
- Health, allergies, digestion or taste: permissible.
- Halal meat is hard to find where you live: permissible, and a cautious choice.
- Believing that killing animals for food is immoral or that meat is impure: this contradicts the Quran, which makes slaughter of grazing animals lawful and a rite in qurbani. A Muslim should correct this belief, while still being free not to eat meat personally.
A vegan Muslim who must give qurbani still offers it and can give all the meat to others. Vegan products still need checking for things like alcohol-based flavours. Concern for animals is good, and Islam asks for mercy to them (see is halal slaughter cruel). The four schools agree on this.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Maaida 5:87
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تُحَرِّمُوا۟ طَيِّبَٰتِ مَآ أَحَلَّ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ وَلَا تَعْتَدُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُعْتَدِينَ ﴿٨٧﴾
O you who have believed, do not prohibit the good things which Allah has made lawful to you and do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors.
Forbidding what Allah made lawful is not allowed.
Quran, Surah An-Nahl 16:5
وَٱلْأَنْعَٰمَ خَلَقَهَا ۗ لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌۭ وَمَنَٰفِعُ وَمِنْهَا تَأْكُلُونَ ﴿٥﴾
And the grazing livestock He has created for you; in them is warmth and [numerous] benefits, and from them you eat.
Livestock were created as a benefit and food for people.
Sahih Muslim 1401
Sahih... وقال بعضهم لا آكل اللحم ...
"And one of them said: I will not eat meat."
One of the vows the Prophet rejected as going against his Sunnah.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5063
Sahih... فمن رغب عن سنتي فليس مني ...
"Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not of me."
Giving up lawful things as piety goes against the Sunnah.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Udhiyya. Qurbani is wajib on every free, resident Muslim who owns the nisab.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.