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Question:
Why is the eating of pork forbidden in Islam? Answer: The fact that consumption
of pork is prohibited in Islam is well known. The following
points explain various aspects of this prohibition:
The Qur’an prohibits the consumption of pork in no less than
4 different places. It is prohibited in 2:173, 5:3, 6:145
and 16:115. "Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the
flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the
name of other than Allah."
[Al-Qur’an 5:3]
The above verses of the Holy
Qur’an are sufficient to satisfy a Muslim as to why pork
is forbidden.
The Christian is likely to be convinced by his religious scriptures.
The Bible prohibits the consumption of pork, in the book
of Leviticus "And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven
footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you". "Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall
ye not touch, they are unclean to you."[Leviticus 11:7-8] Pork is also prohibited in the Bible in the book of Deuteronomy "And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth
not the cud, it is unclean unto you. Ye shall not eat of
their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass." A similar prohibition is repeated
in the Bible in the book of Isaiah chapter 65 verse 2-5.
The other non-Muslims and atheists will agree only if convinced
through reason, logic and science. Eating of pork can cause
no less than seventy different types of diseases. A person
can have various helminthes like roundworm, pinworm, hookworm,
etc. One of the most dangerous is Taenia Solium, which is
in lay man’s terminology called tapeworm. It harbours in
the intestine and is very long. Its ova i.e. eggs, enter
the blood stream and can reach almost all the organs of
the body. If it enters the brain it can cause memory loss.
If it enters the heart it can cause heart attack, if it
enters the eye it can cause blindness, if it enters the
liver it can cause liver damage. It can damage almost all
the organs of the body. Another dangerous helminthes
is Trichura Tichurasis. A common misconception about pork
is that if it is cooked well, these ova die. In a research
project undertaken in America, it was found that out of
twenty-four people suffering from Trichura Tichurasis, twenty
two had cooked the pork very well. This indicates that the
ova present in the pork do not die under normal cooking
temperature.
Pork has very little muscle
building material and contains excess of fat. This fat gets
deposited in the vessels and can cause hypertension and
heart attack. It is not surprising that over 50% of Americans
suffer from hypertension.
The pig is one of the filthiest animals on earth. It lives
and thrives on muck, faeces and dirt. It is the best scavenger
that I know that God has produced. In the villages they
don’t have modern toilets and the villagers excrete in the
open air. Very often excreta is cleared by pigs. Some may argue that in advanced
countries like Australia, pigs are bred in very clean and
hygienic conditions. Even in these hygienic conditions the
pigs are kept together in sties. No matter how hard you
try to keep them clean they are filthy by nature. They eat
and enjoy their own as well as their neighbour’s excreta.
The pig is the
most shameless animal on the face of the earth. It is the
only animal that invites its friends to have sex with its
mate. In America, most people consume pork. Many times after
dance parties, they have swapping of wives; i.e. many say
"you sleep with my wife and I will sleep with your
wife." If you eat pigs then you behave like pigs. We
Indians look upon America to be very advanced and sophisticated.
Whatever they do, we follow after a few years. According
to an article in Island magazine, this practice of swapping
wives has become common in the affluent circles of Bombay.
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