The Prohibition of Pork: A Scientific Proof.

The Prohibition of Pork: A Scientific Proof.
Dr. Fahmi Mustafa Mahmoud

Allah says:

[Say (O Muhammad), "I find not in that which has been inspired to me anything forbidden to be eaten by one who wishes to eat it, unless it be Maytah (a dead animal) or blood poured forth (by slaughtering or the like), or the flesh of swine (pork, etc.) for that surely is filth, or impious (unlawful) meat (of an animal) which is slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allah (or has been slaughtered for idols, etc., or on which Allah's Name has not been mentioned while slaughtering). But whosoever is forced by necessity without willful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits, (for him) certainly, your Lord is Oft-¬Forgiving, Most Merciful.] (Al-An`aam: 145)

The Scientific Fact:

It was through modern science that people came to know the wisdom behind Islam prohibiting certain stuffs. This prohibition was made before the discovery of the microscope. The prohibited stuffs are; dead animals where bacteria find an environment to grow, blood that contains even more bacteria, and finally swine whose bodies are magnets of some morbid strains that cannot be removed by any means of purification.

The body of the swine is a place where many parasites, bacteria, and viruses grow and can be transfused to human beings and animals. Some of these parasites are limited to pigs such as dysentery balantidium, spirals trchinella, solium taenia, and cysticercosis. Some of these maladies are common to men and animals like influenza, buski fasciolopsis, and ascaris.

It’s known that Balantidiasis is widespread among the swine herders and those people who mix with them. This malady may become epidemic under certain circumstances. This happened in one of the islands of the Pacific after a hurricane which spread the dung of swine all over the island. Wherever swine exists, such plagues and maladies erupt even in highly advanced countries. This is counter to their claims of the possibility of purging it through modern techniques which make the prohibition of pork invalid. In certain countries, the consumption of pork has become widespread and normalized as in Germany, France, Venezuela, and the Philippines.

The consumption of the infected muscles of the swine causes trinchinellosis as the female of this worm lays its eggs in the walls of the swine’s bowels. The eggs that may reach 10 thousands would be carried through the blood to the muscles where they stay and grow up. As for dysentery balantidium, it infects man when he eats the infected muscles of the pig. This worm can grow up to be seven meters long inside the bowels of the person. With its head, it can cause damage in the bowels of man and cause severe shortage of blood plasma. It grows and multiplies rapidly. When man eats any food that contains the eggs of cysticercosis, he gets infected because the eggs flow with the blood and stay in any organ. The taenia saginata that grows in cows would never cause as much damage as this one.

Facets of Scientific Inimitability:

It is known that a swine is a filthy animal both in its behavior and in how it chooses its food. Bearing this in mind, idolaters considered it to be the killer of the symbols of goodness. Myths from ancient Egypt tell us that it was a swine that killed Horus. The Cananites even tell us that it was a swine that killed their god, Adone. The Greeks believe that a swine killed their god Adonis and Atis. In ancient Egypt, herding swine was viewed as one of the most degrading jobs. People who had such a job were not allowed into the temple and were not allowed to marry any woman except one from their own class. Anyone who touched a pig was required to have a bath. The People of the Book are prohibited from eating it, yet they violate this prohibition. Speaking about its prohibition, the Qur'an declares that it is filth. The word ‘filth’ covers all types of filth and also explains that consuming it is harmful too. This prohibition is mentioned in three places in the Qur'an;

1- Almighty Allah says:

{He has forbidden you only the Maytah (dead animals), and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that which is slaughtered as a sacrifice for others than Allah (or has been slaughtered for idols, etc., on which Allah's Name has not been mentioned while slaughtering). But if one is forced by necessity without willful disobedience nor transgressing due limits, then there is no sin on him. Truly, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful}. (Al-Baqarah: 173)

2- Almighty Allah says:

{He has forbidden you only Al-Maytah (meat of a 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, etc. or on which Allah's Name has not been mentioned while slaughtering). But if one is forced by necessity, without willful disobedience, and not transgressing, then, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful}. (An-Nahl: 115)

3- Almighty Allah says:

{Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah, and [those animals] killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a head-long fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten, except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death], and those which are sacrificed on stone altars, and [prohibited is] that you seek decision through divining arrows. That is grave disobedience}. (Al-Maa’idah:3)


The prohibition covers all its edible parts, including its fat. The prohibition of fat for Jews only shows that it is counted as meat, since Almighty Allah says:
{And unto those who are Jews, We forbade every (animal) with undivided hoof, and We forbade them the fat of the ox and the sheep except what adheres to their backs or their entrails, or is mixed up with a bone. Thus We recompensed them for their rebellion [committing crimes like murdering the Prophets, eating of Riba (usury)]. And verily, We are Truthful}. (Al-An`aam: 146)

Prohibiting the meat also makes the fat prohibited even if used as fodder for an animal that will be later consumed by a person. At the time of the revelation of the Qur'an, no one ever imagined that such harm existed.

Who could tell such a thing except Allah; the All-Knowing, the All-Wise?! Almighty Allah says:

{But your people have denied it while it is the truth. Say, "I am not over you a manager [i.e., authority]." For every news [i.e., happening] is a finality; and you are going to know}. (Al-An’aam:66, 67)