15. NO PORK, WHY?
There
are many synonyms and names derived from pigs. They are: swine, boar, hog,
pork, sow, lard, ham, porcine, and bacon. Pepperoni which is highly
seasoned, hard sausage of beef and pork, should be avoided by Muslims as
precaution.
There are four verses in four chapters
of the Qur'an mentioning the prohibition of pork, as follows:
"حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ وَالدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ الْخِنْزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ
لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ وَالْمُنْخَنِقَةُ
وَالْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَالْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ
وَالنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَا أَكَلَ السَّبُعُ...)المائدة:3)
Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead
animals, blood,
the flesh of swine, and that on which Allah’s name has not
been mentioned while slaughtering,
(that which has been
slaughtered as a sacrifice for
others than Allah, or has
been slaughtered for idols) and that which has been
killed by strangling, or by a
violent blow, or by a
headlong fall, or by the goring of horns, and
that which has been (partly) eaten
by a wild
animal….(Q. 5:3)
إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكُمُ
الْمَيْتَةَ وَالدَّمَ وَلَحْمَ الْخِنْزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ
فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ غَيْرَ بَاغٍ وَلا عَادٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيم (النحل:5)
He has
forbidden you only meat of dead animal, blood, the
flesh of swine, and any animal
which is slaughtered as a
sacrifice for others than Allah
(or has been slaughtered for
idols or on which Allah’s Name
has not been mentioned
which slaughtering). But if one is forced by necessity,
without willful disobedience, and not transgressing,
--then, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful.(Q. 16:115)
إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ
عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةَ وَالدَّمَ وَلَحْمَ الْخِنْزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ بِهِ لِغَيْرِ
اللَّهِ فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ
غَيْرَ بَاغٍ وَلا عَادٍ فَلا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ (البقرة:173)
He
has only forbidden you carrion, blood and pork
and what has been consecrated to
other than Allah. But
anyone who is forced to eat it--without desiring it or
going to excess in it--commits no
crime. Allah is
Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Qur'an, 2:173)
قُلْ لا أَجِدُ
فِي مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ مُحَرَّماً عَلَى طَاعِمٍ يَطْعَمُهُ إِلا أَنْ يَكُونَ مَيْتَةً
أَوْ دَماً مَسْفُوحاً أَوْ لَحْمَ خِنْزِيرٍ فَإِنَّهُ رِجْسٌ )الأنعام 145)
Say (O Muhammad): “I find not in that which has been
revealed to me anything forbidden to be eaten by one who
wishes to eat it, unless it be a dead animal, or blood poured
forth (by slaughtering or the like), or the flesh of swine
(pork); for that surely is impure
…” (Q. 6:145)
... وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَآئِث...)الأعراف:157)
… and he allows all lawful and good things and
prohibit them as unlawful all
evil
and unlawful things…Q. 7:157)
Why
Muslims are not allowed to consume swine flesh, Allah through the Qur’an simply
said that it is because it is unclean, as mentioned in the above verses.[1]
Allah let people find themselves the reasons for this prohibition, some of
which are as follows:
1. Pigs are dirty animals. They are not
considered the source of food, because they are scavengers; they eat anything
they can find, waste and garbage, not only bugs and insects, but also their own
feces, and dead carcasses of sick animals, including their own young.
2. Pigs contain viruses dangerous to humans. Pigs were first domesticated
in China around 7500 B.C., and pork is one of the most consumed meats in the
world. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) there
are more than 100 viruses enter the United States each year from China through
pigs, and some of them are dangerous to humans. The swine flu (HIN1) is
a virus that has made the leap from pig to human. Other sickness could be got
from eating the meat of the pig. Pigs are primary carrier of Hepatitis E virus (HEV), Nipah virus, Menangle virus, and PRRS (Porcine
Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome).[2] A
kind of virus called Japanese encephalitis was originally from birds, but infected
pigs through mosquitoes, and from pigs to humans which causes inflammation of
brain. The encephalo myocarditis virus that causes the inflammation of
the brain and the heart was from large rats eaten by pigs, and from pigs it
infected humans.
3. Pork is toxic, as it contains toxins more
than most other meats such as chicken and beef. It is more saturated with
toxins. This is caused by the poorest and quickest digestive system of a pig.
It digests its food quickly, about four hours. Due
to short period of the digestive process in a pig’s short intestine, many of
these toxins are not properly eliminated, but remain in its system and stored
in its fatty tissues to be consumed by human. On the contrary, a cow eats
vegetation, digests its food in about twenty-four hours, as it has three
stomachs. Therefore, it has more time to get rid of excess toxins and other
components of food that could be dangerous to health.
4. Pigs do not have any sweat glands to get
rid of toxins. This increases the toxins in the pigs’ body. A person eating
pork meat these toxins will enter his body.
5. Pigs carry various parasites some of which
are difficult to kill even with cooking. Danger increases with eating
undercooked pork, especially the trichinella worm commonly found in
pork. The larvae of this worm cause infection call trichinellosis or trichinosis,
a serious illness. Among its common symptoms are: nausea, vomiting,
diarrhea, headache, chills, swollen eyes, muscle pain, aching joints, breathing
and coordination problems.[3]
Pigs are also primary carrier of taenia solium tape worm.
6. Pigs produce higher level of antibodies and
growth hormones than other animals and human. Excessive quantities of growth hormone
could cause excessive weight and as well as physical deformations. Pork
contains higher levels of cholesterols and lipids causing a serious threat to
human health, such as arteriosclerosis, sterility, damage of liver, and cancer.
7. Pigs excrete only 2% of its total uric acid
content, the remaining 98% remains as an integral part of the body. The kidney
extracts 98% of the uric acid from the blood and is removed through urination,
whereas in pigs it is kept in their bodies.
8. Some diseases are unique to humans which
are not shared by animals, except pigs, such as rheumatism and joint pain.[4]
9. Pork meat and fat contribute to obesity and
related diseases that are difficult to treat.[5]
10. Pork meat and pork fat contribute to the
spread of cancers of the colon, rectum, prostate and blood.
11. Pork is a kind of meat that contains the
most cholesterol, an increase of which in the bloodstream leads to an increased
likelihood of blocked arteries. The fatty acids in pork are also of an unusual
formation, compared with the fatty acids in other types of food, which makes
them more easily absorbed by the body, thus increasing cholesterol levels.
12. Eating pork leads to scabies, allergies and
stomach ulcers.
Pork had been prohibited earlier in
Judaism, as mentioned in the Old Testament:
“And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely
divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.
You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses;
they are unclean for you.” (Leviticus 11:7-8).
"The pig is also unclean; although
it has a split
hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their
meat; for you it is unclean.” (Deu.14:8)
In the
time of Jesus (Prophet ‘Īsā, a.s.) early Christians might have also avoided
pork, following him in observing the Biblical food restrictions when he said:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the
Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the
smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any
means disappear from the Law until everything
is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17-18).
The
followers of Seventh-day Adventists also do not eat pork, but Catholics and other
Christians, mostly eat it for the following reasons:
a. Jesus said: “What goes into a man’s
mouth does not make him ‘unclean’, but what comes out of his mouth, that is
what makes him ‘unclean.’” (Mathew 15:11). “Nothing outside a man can
make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man
that makes him ‘unclean.’” (Mark 7:15-16)[6]
b. Peter has a vision where a sheet is let
down from Heaven with all sorts of animals (unclean) according to Old Testament
Law. A voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord.”
Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke
to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
This happened three times and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven
(Acts 10:13-16). For further details, see Acts 10 and 11). Act 10
abrogates two laws: food and Gentiles are no longer unclean. (He was hungry but
did not have chance to eat from it).
c. Paul declared that “Christ is the end of
the Law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes” (Romans
10:4), and “Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law,
locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead
us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we
are no longer under the supervision of the law.” (Galatians 3:23-25).
For
the Muslims Islamic dietary law remains unchanged till the Last Day. Pork
remains unclean and ḥarām for consumption, even if we burn it into ashes
and kill its whole bacteria and viruses.
(CIVIC,
1 May, 2015)
Bibliograpy:
Al-Makatabah al-Shāmilah
The Noble Qur’an. Translated by Dr. Muhammad Taqī-ud-Dīn and
Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khān
Khalifa, Rashad.Quran the Final Testament.
The Holy Bible. New International Version.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/12/12/eating-pork.aspx (Dr. Mercola, Why I Do Not Recommend)
http://mawdoo3.com/ لماذا حرم الله لحم الخنزير
[1] The late Dr. Rashad Khalifa who claimed to be “Allah’s
Messenger of the Covenant,” the founder and exponent of Inkār al-Sunnah said
that based on the Qur’anic verses it is
“the meat” of pigs which is prohibited, not “the fat.” (See Quran the Final Testament, Appendix
16, Dietary Prohibition, p. 663).What about pigs’ organs, which are
not meat, are they also lawful like pigs’ fat (lard)?
[2] The Nipah Virus was discovered in 1999, has
caused disease in both animals and humans, and can lead to deadly encephalitis
(an acute inflammation of your brain) in human. In 1998 this virus was
discovered in Malaysia which was believed to have been from infected bats to
pigs, where 117 pigs died, and then to humans; to prevent the spread of this
virus one million pigs were destroyed. Menangle Virus was discovered in
1997 when sows at an Australian piggery began giving birth to deformed piglets.
One year later, in 1998, it was reported that this virus could infect
humans. The PRRS had been
referred to as "swine mystery disease," "blue abortion,"
and "swine infertility," a nightmare since mid-1980s. It was first
reported on in 2001 and is said that it may afflict about 75 percent of
American pig herds.
[3] It is said that Mozart’s sudden death at the age of
35 was caused by trichinellosis. He had suffered many of its symptoms,
and he died after consuming pork forty-four days earlier. A local German police
at Stadt Allendorf near Marburg (a/L) in 1965 told me that long ago many people
died in Germany because of the parasite in pigs called trichine, namely,
trichina (Trichinella spiralis).
[4] In late 50s I happened to read a book claimed to be
written by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908) who
claimed to be a prophet, the mujaddid (divine reformer) of the 14th
Islamic century, the promised Messiah and at the same time the promised Mahdi
awaited by Muslims, where he said this: The reason why swine flesh is
prohibited for Muslims is because pigs are food for lions. I found this idea
fascinating until I found myself in a film about animals’ lives in Africa where
even lions did not like eating swine flesh; yet, most people do.
[5] Mrs. Alma Schröder, my former landlady at Stadt
Allendorf in Germany, was advised by her doctor not to eat pork because of her
obesity.
[6] It is said that “scholars believe Jesus was speaking here of the Pharisaic requirement to
emulate the Priests by washing hands before eating, and not of the Bible’s
dietary laws.” Rabbi Bernard J.
Bamberger (1904-1980) said: "There
is no reason to doubt that Jesus observed the Biblical food restrictions, and
there is no reason to think that he called for their abrogation.”
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