Why the Pig is haraam

Society Religion & Philosophy
1

The other day someone asked me why we aint allowed to Pig. Now I explained to them that firstly, because it it didnt keep in hot weather at the time of our prophet and went off, it wasnt eaten incase it diseased humans. (Not to mention it wallows in its own crap!!)

I also explained that the islamic way of slaughter requires the animal to have a neck in order for the blood to drain out.

Now the pig does not have a neck right?

Now, can anyone give me some sources as to any other reasons why it is haraam. Some people say it has a curse, but I havent to date heard or read anything about it. (Apart from the jesus story, but that is vague also)

This subject has been on my mind for a while, so if anyone can give us any good info it will be greatly appreciated.

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2

Well Mariah easing ham brings "bayhayaee" into you or in other words it makes one shameless or something to that effect.

3

Yeah pathan bhaya i guess you are right because i've heared of pigs having some weird sexual characterstics like. they have sex with more then one female at times and also don't hesitate to do the THING with their own babies.
I hope that answers your question Mariah.
I for one feel ham is yuckyy. Hate even looking at it.......

[This message has been edited by Pagluu (edited November 15, 2000).]

4

pigs are only animal that has close to humans
physiologically. thats why in surgery pig valves are used. pig are source insulin
heparin that is used in humans. i wont be surprised we humans may be walking arounf
in near future with pig kidneys hearts.
if it saves human lives it is ok

[This message has been edited by rvikz (edited November 15, 2000).]

5

what so it is meant to be an aphrodisiac??

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(sorry couldnt help it)

Pagluu, that is gross,I didnt know that.

rvikz,
You have bought up a good topic which could be discussed greatly in another thread.

Anyway seriously, thanks guys for your input, but is there a specific story in hadiths or anywhere which talks about them?

[This message has been edited by Mariah (edited November 15, 2000).]

6

Mariah,

Next time someone asks why pig is haram just tell them because it says so in the Quran. Period.

Absolutely refuse to offer any further explanations or scientific theories. If they ask for any other reasons just say you don’t need any other reasons.

It leaves 'em totally gob-smacked

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7

Xtreme,

Yeah, i suppose that makes sense, but people would be more interested if they knew the reasons why.  If things are explained they get a better understanding and hence understand other religions better, not just have an ignorant attitude towards them.

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8

in my opinion it is simply a dirty animal - tht is why we dont eat it. it wallows, eats, and lives in its own muck.

9

Well Mariah, have a look at Usmansalim’s answer. It might make seem sensible, but what if some smarty-pants like for example, NYAhmadi*, our resident pig appreciater, comes here and declares that the pig is a perfectly hygeinic and clean animal. You still wouldn’t eat it would you?

So in my view, the ignorant answer is better than one you are having to make up as you go along in order to justify our anti-pig prejudice.

Nice topic BTW. You probably weren’t here when I discussed this with some of our senior members a while back

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*This member was chosen strictly at random. Mr Xtreme wishes to totally disassociate himself from any allegations of libel or misrepresentation.

10

Yeah extreme i understand what you are saying.
BTW Thanks.

Usman, yes that is a perfectly good reason for not eating it.

BUT is there another far more detailed source which tells all the reasons why it is haraam for religious reasons, or is it then just basically for hygienic reasons?

11

It's not only because of religious or hygenic reasons, but eating pig could also harm your health.

The risk of suffering from a tape-worm after eating the pig's meat is 10 times higher, than that after eating any other kind of meat.

Umer, the Pakistani Brain of Austria

12

You have to ask why the pig was created inn the first place. What is it's role? Why may it be differemnt to other animals?

The reason why pigs are generally used is because they are very good at cleaning up. Might sound strange. But they are. They are good at cleaning up after other animals too.

Unlike other farm animals, pigs are scavengers. This may be one reason why we don't eat them.

They shoot partypoopers, don't they?

13

I agree 100% with Xtreme’s first post. Its disallowed, and that is enuf…

http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/smile.gif

However, non-believers may need more evidence. In addition to many many reasons offered by others (hygiene, sexual degradation blah blah blah), one muslim scholar also explained that the pig is the only four-legged animal whose intestines do not fully digest whatever he eats. This means that those who eat pigs, also eat semi-processed pig-food. Now thats a yucky thought. But you might want to reconfirm/research this point further.

PS. I usually feel like puking when I see those US TV ads where kids are greedily eating pepperoni. Yikes!

Don’t Blame me…
C’est La Vie :slight_smile:

14

Can anyone put forward any GOOD Authentic sources which speak about this animal?????

15

NO I am agree with you Pristine, if Islam said no it had a reason and we need to explain that reason to everbody. I think pig is Haram because.

  1. Pig is only animal who is HomoSexual.
  2. Pigs enjoys group sex
  3. Pig is not meat eater, but still he will eat his own young ones.
  4. Eating habits of pigs are also dirty, they will eat their own shit and like to live in dirty environment. So, whatever they eat it turns into meat and everbody is eating that meat (now you know what they are eating)
  5. They love to live in dirty places.

I think pigs were made so they can take care of Garbage, it's a part of Natural recycling system.

Now if you compare above qualities with peoples who eat pigs, you will know why pigs are Haram in Islam.

16

I think the only argument that would make sense or work would be that its been mandated by Allah....and that should be enough. Because most of the reasoning is really man made, and there always is a rebuttal to man made reasons. A lot of people have mentioned the fact that a pig wallows in its own feces, hence its a dirty animal, hence haram. But a cow and a buffalo does the same. Cattle wallow in their feces as well, and as a matter of fact, in indo-pak villages, people do it for them.....making aablas and pasting them on walls all over. So i dont know if I would buy that argument, let alone a non muslim.
For a muslim, simply put, the argument that Allah SWT says so should be enough. For a non muslim however, an explanation is needed, because they deserve it, and for that, they are better off being directed to someone knowledgeable rather than have us novices take our shots at it.

17

JohnD: Well said!

Mariah:

I heared about that tape worm issue in my Islamiat class, when I went to school. Long, long time ago…

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Anyway, I have been looking for some scientific research on the harm of pork for the human body. I know, that there are some books about it, but I haven’t found them yet.

I’m not doing that, because I have any doubt about the rightness of the quranic order not to eat it. But I want to be able to explain that order to non-Muslims as well and they will only believe it, when you give them scientific evidence.

Umer, the Pakistani Brain of Austria

18

dost - being a restaurant major we r just as suseptible to getting Salmonella,becillicerious or any other disease from any other flesh product. killing of most of the bacteria, parasites or viruses, it has to be heated to 180 F. no more or less and the temperature danger zone in which germs multiply is between 40 -140 F. think abou it

19

i just love my religion..i thank God for making me a Muslim..its just perfect!!

Forbidden to you (for food) are, dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which has been invoked the name of other than Allah" - (Quran Chap 5:3) 

                             FOREWORD

This article, in the form of a conversation on pork, was written by Allamah Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi. Savyid Saeed is a Muslim scholar and researcher. He has, so far, written a number of books on Islamic topics, which have been published by the Bilal Muslim Mission of Tanzania, of which he is the founding Chief Missionary. In this article, the author argues strongly against Pork, citing both scientific and religious reasons. in order to prove his case, he has made use of medical and social reports which prove beyond doubt the bad effects of pork on health and morality.

QUESTION: What is the teaching of Islam about pork?

ANSWER: Pig is absolutely unclean and eating its meat, and fat etc., as well as using its skin or any other parts Is strictly forbidden. Allah has said in various places in the Holy Qur'an;- "Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine...."
(Qur'an, 5:3)

QUESTION: I, being a Christian have no difficulty in eating pork I often wonder why Muslim brethren have not been allowed to enjoy this tasty food, as we Christians do?

ANSWER: This question is somewhat aston-ishing because, according to the Scriptures, even the Christians are not allowed to eat pork.

QUESTION: How can you say this?

ANSWER: Well, let us see what the Bible says about pork: "And the swine.... he is unclean to you. Of the flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you." (Leviticus, 71:7-8).The same command is repeated in Deuteronomy, 14:8.commenting upon these passages: "The laws were inculcated and obeyed because they embodied God's will" (p.371).Dr. E. A. Widmer quotes in his article Pork, Man and Disease (Good Health, vol 69, no l):-"pork though one of the most common articles of diet, is one of the most injurious. God did not prohibit the Hebrews from eating swine's flesh merely to show His authority, but because it was not a proper article of food for man.

20

QUESTION: Well, these. revelations are very interesting. Can you please, give some more references on this subject from Christians' writings?

ANSWER: Yes, you may see the discourse under the word "Swine" in The
Westminster Dictionary of the Bible which is very clear. Here is an extract from it: "The Swine was a ceremonially unclean animal It is dirty, does not refuse to eat offal and carrion, and the use of its flesh for food in hot countries is supposed to produce coetaneous diseases. It was not raised by Arabs (Pliny Hist. Nat viii.78), and was regarded as unclean by Phoenicians, Ethiopians, and Egyptians. To the Jews Swine's flesh was abomi-nable, the pig was the emblem of filth and coarseness Yet pork found entrance to the idolatrous feasts of degenerate Hebrews (Isa. 65:4; 66:17).
In the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes the command to a Jew to offer or to taste swine's flesh was used as a means of whether he was loyal to the religion of his fathers or was willing to accept the worship favoured by his conquerers (I Macc. 1:47,50; II Macc. 6:18,21; 7:1,7). But many Jews affected Grecian manners, and John Hyrcanus found it advisable to issue an edict that no one should keep swine. In the time of Christ one large herd of swine at least was pastured in the Decapelis (Mark 5:11,13), a region colonized by Greeks, among whom the swine was highly esteemed as an article of food. There is no reason to suppose that Jews owned either these swine's or those in the far country fed by the prodigal son (Luke 15:15)." (pp.584-5).Similar statements may be found in almost all Bible
dictionaries.

QUESTION: Thank you very much. But I have just observed that all these
quota-tions are from the Old Testament. They are binding upon the Jews. But we, the Christians, would like to know what was the teaching of Jesus Christ on this subject.

ANSWER: Well, I was coming to that point. You see, whatever the teaching of Old Testament, the same was the teaching of Jesus Christ. He says in clear words that the laws of the Old Testament were to be obeyed without any change: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For veriIy I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be ful filled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men, so he shall be called the least in the?Kingdom of Heaven." (Mathew 5:17-19).

QUESTION: I remember reading this saying of the Gospel Several times.
Sometimes I wondered why Christ stressed this point in so many words?

ANSWER: It was because he knew that after his ascension some of his
followers would denounce the Law. Jesus Christ himself obeyed the Law
faithfully. It was only after his depar-ture from this world that St. Paul, a forceful orator, and a member of the "elite" circle of the society, who took to heart the Greek 'advanced' civilization (as many people now-a-days, take pride in being 'Westernized') prevailed upon the illiterate and simple-minded Christians to abandon the Law. The fact that he himself had never met Jesus Christ, and those who opposed him were constant companions of Christ, is most revealing. Jesus Christ corrected Pharisees' misinter-pretation of the Law. For example, his disciples in their hunger plucked the ears of corn on Sabbath day. When the Pharisees objected, Jesus Christ replied, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." (Mark 2:27). But he never said anything against the Law, including the dietary laws. St. Paul on the other hand denounced the Law, saying that "the Law worketh wrath; for where no law is, there is no transgression." (Romans., 4:15)