Why Quran / Islam Prohibits Eating Pork

Likewise, eating pig is shameful. Just compare pig with any other animals. Did you know a pig eats its own shit? Did you also know that pig is the ONLY animal that invites its ‘friends’ to have sex with its mate? Indeed, this should ring a bell, particularly for those who live in America or Europe: the very concept of wife swapping!

The curse word:
What more, sometimes we even insult a person by calling him/her a PIG. It is because of its nature pigs have earned a place in the list of curse words. A clumsy, dirty, immoral, greedy person is often accredited with such a comment.

The Family bond:
If you’ve noticed, almost all animals and birds have a sense of unity, family bond and are very protective of their family, especially their little ones against ANY possible danger. But in case of pigs it is exactly the opposite. They don’t bother if other animals eat their babies. They give a damn if other pigs have sex with its mate!

What do pigs eat?
The pig is one of the filthiest animals on earth. It lives and thrives on muck, faces (shit or poop) or excreta and dirt. Often trash is collected and fed to pigs.

Pigs will scavenge and eat any kind of food, including dead insects, worms, tree bark, rotting carcasses, garbage, small animals and even other pigs. Surprisingly, pigs eat their own babies! They eat anything and everything.

Even if pigs are bred in clean and hygienic conditions they are kept together in farms or barns and they simply cannot resist eating filthy substances or shit from other pigs and of theirs own. They are just filthy by nature.

Another interesting fact is that the pig excretes only 2% of its total uric acid content; the remaining 98% remains an integral part of the body.

The Cultured family!
Further more, in a pig eating family, a husband has no problem if his wife exposes her skin in the public while the wife from such a family would more certainly be willing to do so.

They have not the slightest clue that it is immodest. On the contrary they might argue that they are cultured! Do you think a woman wearing revealing outfits and attracting unsolicited attention of the mass as good culture? Perhaps it is cultured prostitution!

Disease caused by eating pork

Medical terms are excluded for easy understanding.

The pig, the worms and the pig-eater!
Eating the meat of pig can cause over SEVENTY different types of latent diseases as their body contains many TOXINS and deadly parasitic WORMS like tapeworm, roundworm, pinworm, hookworm, etc. If you eat pork you are likely to inject many of these worms or their eggs into your body! Most dangerous among them is the Tapeworm.

These worms can enter the human body through the mouth, anus, nose, or skin, with most species attaching themselves to the intestinal tract. This is why you have to stay away from pig.

Once inside the body, these worms lay eggs and raise a family! The baby worms along with their parents stroll inside your body and can reach any organ easily.

If they enter the brain it can cause memory loss. If they enter the heart it can cause heart attack, if they enter the eyes, it can cause blindness, and if they enter the liver, it can cause liver damage. Simply put, it can damage almost all the organs of the body.

One in six people in the US and Canada has trichinosis from eating trichina worms (roundworms), which are found in pork.

These worms are found in the flesh of pig and the diseases caused by eating pork are incurable once it reaches beyond a certain stage.

Influenza virus
Influenza or flu is one of the most lethal illnesses that pigs share with humans. This illness is harboured in the lungs of pigs during summer and tends to effect pigs and humans in the cooler months.

Influenza virus is common throughout pig populations worldwide. People with regular exposure to pigs are at increased risk of flu infection and other several fatal diseases.

Pork sausage contains bits of pig’s lungs, so those who eat pork sausage tend to suffer more during the epidemics of influenza.

Pork has fat building material
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. America is home to the most obese people in the world!

Those who consume pork are more prone to obesity because of the high fat content in pork. In this group, blood cholesterol level is frequently higher than normal; pork-eaters are more susceptible to arteriosclerosis, which may result in cardiovascular diseases, malfunction of the brain blood-circulation, vascular pathology of the lower limbs, etc.

Eating pork also leads to GALLSTONES.

Apart from the above mentioned, there are a host of other noxious diseases caused by eating pork. Most of the time it claims life.

How about eating well cooked pork?

A common misconception about pork is that if it is cooked well, these deadly bacteria/worms dies. In a research project undertaken in the United States, 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 bacteria present in the pork do not die under normal cooking temperature.

Even if cooking pork to an extremely high degree kills few of the deadly bacteria/worms which causes many disease, there arise another vital question. Does it concern an individual whether he or she is consuming live worms or dead worms?!

So much for the atheists, now let us analyse what religious scriptures mention about eating pork.

Eating Pork is forbidden in the Quran

The Quran prohibits the consumption of pork in many verses including: 2:173, 5:3, 6:145 and 16:115.

The Quran 5:3
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.
 

Further, Pigs have NO neck that makes it impossible to be slaughtered the Islamic way (The Halaal way) by the insertion of a knife in the neck and thus getting rid of the blood, which contains an abundance of uric acid, a toxic chemical substance that can be injurious to human health.

Eating Pork is forbidden in the Old Testament Bible

Pork is forbidden from consumption for Jews as it mentioned in Torah or the Old Testament. According to the rules of kashrut (Jewish dietary law) eating pork is prohibited for Jews because the pig is considered as unclean. It is a non-Kosher (unclean) food.

The Bible prohibits consumption of pork in the book of Leviticus:

Leviticus 11:7-8 (New International Version)
11:7) And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.
11:8) You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.
 

Deuteronomy 14:8 (New International Version)
14:8) The pig is also unclean; although it has a split hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses.
 

Isaiah 65:4 (New International Version)
65:4) who sit among the graves
and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;
who eat the flesh of pigs,
and whose pots hold broth of unclean meat;
In all the above verses God issues a stern warning against those who eat pork.

Eating Pork is forbidden for Christians

The most stubborn to convince among the whole lot are the Christians! They plainly say that the Old Testament is for the Jews and not for Christians and that nowhere in the New Testament it is specifically mentioned against eating pork.

Ironically, Jesus was a practicing JEW himself and a strict follower of the Old Testament. Jesus even told his people flat out that he did not come to abolish the Law of Moses. Surprisingly, this very statement comes from the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew that the Christians adhere to.

Matthew 5:17 (New International Version)
5:17) Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.
Numerous writings of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) are carried on to the New Testament. Although Jesus DID NOT write any of the Gospels by himself, his law was no different than Moses’. Jesus preached his followers to refer to the Law of Moses.

Introduction of pork on a Christian table
Since the New Testament was composed during the time of Emperor Constantine, some 50 to 80 years after the death of Christ it is possible that PORK was deliberately added to the Christian menu to pacify the Roman pagans who ate pork. This way it became easier to deceive and convert the pagans into Christianity. Though a cheap trick played by the church it did work back then.

Points to ponder:
Why is it that no-where in the Bible we see Jesus eating pork and yet his followers eat pork?
 

Christian Objection #1:

Apostle Peter’s vision – Acts: 10

Some Christians misinterpret Peter’s vision as God’s permission to kill and eat any animal including PIG. What was this vision all about and what really happened? Here is the story:

Some ten years after the resurrection of Jesus while Peter was on the rooftop praying he fell into a trance.

In his vision he saw the heaven opened-up and some sheet/vessel/container desended down unto him. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, reptiles and birds.

A voice then told him “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” (Acts: 13)

Now, a pig eating Christian cuts the story short here and finish his pork sandwich! However, the story continues further…

Peters responds, “Surely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” (Acts: 14). The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” (Acts: 15)

Subsequently Peter began to ponder about his vision and its significance. Eventually he understands the meaning of his vision and that it did not relate to food.

Later, the same day, when Peter met a large gathering of Gentiles (non-Israelite tribes) he said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. BUT God has shown me that I should not call any MAN impure or unclean…” (Acts: 28)

So, Peter HIMSELF very clearly explained his OWN vision. Without this vision, Peter probably wouldn’t have neared a gentile because JEWS considered them unclean and Peter was a JEWISH follower of Christ!

Therefore, if you are an open minded Christian you will understand that Peter’s vision was to treat every MAN equally and not to eat pork!

Points to ponder:
If ALL the animals were cleansed by Peter’s vision why don’t Christians get excited about eating cats, vultures or rats?
Did Jesus (The Christian God) FORGET to preach that ‘pork is okay to eat’ during his time on earth so he had to appear in a VISSION to Peter to rectify his blunder?! This is very unlikely.
In spite of Peter’s explanation of his OWN vision (Acts: 28) why do Christians attach a different meaning to it?

Christian Objection #2:

What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean’ – Matthew 15:11

Based on the above verse many ignorant Christians argue that eating the flesh of swine is permitted in the Bible. On the contrary they fail to notice that the entire passage is about the man-made traditions of the Pharisees and their faulty attitude towards God and His commands.

Since Mark 7:1-23 and Matthew 15:1-20 are parallel to each other we here analyse the passage from the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 15:1-20 (New International Version)
15:1) Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,
15:2) “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
15:3) Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?
15:4) For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
15:5) But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’
15:6) he is not to ‘honor his father’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
15:7) You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
15:8) ” ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
15:9) They worship me in vain;their teachings are but rules taught by men.'”
15:10) Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand.
15:11) 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.'”
15:12) Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
15:13) He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.
15:14) Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
15:15) Peter said, “Explain the PARABLE to us.”
15:16) “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them.
15:17) “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body?
15:18) But the things that come out of the mouth come from the HEART, and these make a man ‘unclean.’
15:19) For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
15:20) These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’ “
If you read the above passage you will clearly understand that the whole incident was initiated by the Pharisees who were unhappy with the disciples of Jesus for eating without WASHING their hands. Washing hands before eating any clean-food was supposedly one of their traditions.

When Pharisees mentioned this, Jesus accused them of nullifying God’s actual commands for the sake of their tradition.

So said, Jesus refers to the OLD TESTAMENT, Exodus 20:12 or Deuteronomy 5:16 “honour father and mother” and Exodus 21:17 or Leviticus 20:9 “that whoever curses a parent shall be executed”. This also means that the Law of Jesus was NO different than the Law of Moses’.

The Pharisees broke the command of God by NOT taking care of their age-old parents because they would take some peculiar kind of oaths (vows) to God. According to the oath their entire resources (money) belonged to God but available for personal use until death. Since the resource (money) was promised to God and limited to use, their parents were not taken good care of. Hence, the Pharisees broke the Law of Moses (Exodus 20:12 or Deuteronomy 5:16) and Jesus was unhappy about it.

Further, once again Jesus refers to the OLD TESTAMENT, Isaiah 29:13, “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.” and accused the Pharisees of merely lip serving God and not serving Almighty God by true heart.

Then he calls the crowd and says 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)

In Matthew 15:17 & 18 Jesus explains that eating (clean food) with washed or unwashed hands is not a big offence because we eat to fill our stomach and this eventually is excreted. But what matters are one’s respect towards God and his commands.

Mathew 15:18 clearly point out that it is a matter of the HEART rather than diet.

In Mathew 15:19 Jesus makes it clear of what possible filthy attitude can come out of mouth (heart).

Mathew 15:20 very explicitly state that eating (clean food) with UNWASHED hands does not make a man unclean.

So, firstly the problem is regarding tradition and not the God’s Law and second, the question is NOT what is lawful to eat but is eating any clean food without washing one’s hands (as per the tradition) is really an offence.

Also note that, earlier in Matthew 12:34 Jesus had already stated, “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”

To sum up, Jesus and his disciples were having or about to have CLEAN food at the time of this conversation. Jesus spoke in accordance to the settings in front of him and the Pharisees DID NOT question about the MEAL or FOOD that was in front of them.

The only problem of Pharisees was that the food was eaten without hands being washed as per their man-made tradition and the only problem of Jesus was that the Pharisees had not obeyed the command of God.

To conclude, Jesus simply meant that eating (clean food) with unwashed hands does not make a man unclean (at heart) but what comes out his mouth does because mouth expresses the content of one’s heart.

Points to ponder:
Jesus referred to the Law of Prophets all the time without creating his own law book. So then why do the followers of Jesus refuse to accept what Jesus had accepted?