Just a couple of weeks back, I was standing in line to get lunch at an eating
place near our office that I usually patronise. I like to walk out for lunch
after the off-peak hour. This is so that I can finish lunch and head directly
for prayer before settling back at my desk. Another reason is to avoid the
crazy lunch crowd in the city! Walking out for lunch at this crazy hour will
have you brisk walking, and not strolling (because the motion of everyone else
sets in that way), and returning to office at the same speed.
Alhamdulillah, that the office environment I work in allows us for such flexibility
to either head out much earlier or later than the peak lunch hour.
Back at the line I was in… there was another Muslim Sister in the queue,
just before me. Just before it was her turn to place her order, she turned to
me abruptly and asked. “Does this place serve halal food?”
“Of course,” I said, and turned to point her towards the huge sign on
the entrance (which was supposed to be there!). To both our disappointment, it
wasn’t there anymore. By this time, the lady serving food (who is Muslim) was
already calling out to this Sister. This Sister asked her if the food was
halal-certified. And she said yes. She then asked her where the certificate was,
to which the lady just smiled. The Sister made a quick order and paid. Next was
my turn. Usually I would order a meat dish and vegetables from here. I made the
same order, picked up a bottle of mineral water (as always) and walked out to
get a seat.
I said my duas and started eating. After taking two mouthfuls, I was uncomfortable
and had many questions from the episode that had just unfolded. Why was the halal-certified sign not there anymore? For how long has it not been there, and
why did I not spot it until now? Why was the lady serving food not able to give
us an answer? Maybe the owners were renewing their certificate? Or did they not
meet the renewal criteria? What made me feel worse was that I frequently packed
food for another Muslim colleague from there. Ya Rabb. Astaghfirullah.
I stopped eating, and gulped down some water. I sure felt terrible
because if the food was halal after all, then I was wasting food which is not
encouraged in Islam. I felt really bad at that moment and will never return to
that eatery again, until I see the halal-certified sign again.
Just after this incident, a Buddhist friend, and a former colleague,
wrote me an email for her article at work on why Muslims do not eat pork. I
thought it was good to give her readings on Quranic evidence for a better
comprehension, and sent her two links, here and here, from which the useful information below
came up.
The
Muslim’s diet, like all other aspects of his or her life, is governed by divine
law. Muslims (male and female) implement the commandments of Islam because the
fundamental concept of Islam is submission to Allah, Almighty God, recognising
that in His infinite knowledge, He knows what is best for His creation.
Quranic
Evidence
The
prohibition of pork in Islam is derived from the following verse of the
Glorious Qur’an:
“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]
In
another passage of the Qur’an, pork and pig derivatives are described as being
impure:
“Say,
“I do not find within that which was revealed to me [anything] forbidden to one
who would eat it unless it be a dead animal, or blood spilled out, or the flesh
of swine – for indeed, it is impure – or it be [an animal slaughtered in]
disobedience, dedicated to other than Allah. But whoever is forced [by
necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit], then indeed,
your Lord is Forgiving and Merciful.”
The
Arabic word rijs is used specifically to describe pork in the
Qur’an. It means something that is impure, filthy, and unfit for consumption.
The fact that the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth describes pork in this
way is enough of a justification for a Muslim to refrain from eating it.
We
know that pork bears many health risks to its consumers, with a significant
number of diseases and pathogens being found in various parts of the pig, such
that a number of health professionals from non-Muslim and non-Jewish
backgrounds advise against eating it.
These include trichiniasis
trikinisis, a parasitic disease caused by a kind of roundworm, as well
as yersinia enterocolitica, which causes fever, diarrhoea,
vomiting, and stomach cramps. The meat of pigs is also higher in toxins than
other meats.
Pigs
themselves have been plagued by a variety of hazardous infections and diseases,
including Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome, Nipah Virus, Porcine
Endogenous Retrovirus, Hepatitis E, Swine Flu, Menangle Virus, and others, many
of which have lead to infections in human beings.
It
should be noted that these specific health concerns are simply mentioned to
illustrate part of the wisdom behind the prohibition of pork; however, a Muslim
refrains from eating pork in submission to Almighty God, and in recognition
that The Creator knows what is best for His creation.
Therefore, whether or not
these risks can be mitigated by proper farming, storing, and cooking
procedures, a Muslim will always refrain from eating it, demonstrating his or
her submission to their Creator, and affirming that the laws of Allah are full
of wisdom and represent the best for mankind.
Furthermore, the laws of Islam
are universal for every people, in every time and place. The risks associated
with pork have been – and to a certain degree remain – significant for the
majority of people in the world.
The
Nature of Pork
The
main utility of pigs in the ecosystem is as scavengers. They live and thrive on
muck, feces and dirt. It
could be argued that in developed countries, pigs are bred in very clean and
hygienic conditions. Even in these hygienic conditions the pigs are kept
together in sties, and so the chances of them consuming filth are very high.
Health
Aspects
Research
has shown correlation between pork consumption and several diseases. Eating
pork can expose the individual to various helminthes (worms) like roundworm,
pinworm and hookworm.
One of the most dangerous of worms is Taenia Solium,
which, in lay man’s terminology is called the pork 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, in the eye it
can cause blindness, and in the liver it can cause liver damage. It can damage
almost all the organs of the body.
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 (another worm commonly found in
pork), 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 hypertension is a common ailment due to the prevalence
of the consumption of pork.
Thus
the prohibition of pork in Islam is a blessing.
SubhanAllah, indeed it really is a
blessing that Allah (S.W.T) has given us guiding principles on every aspect of
life. Every single aspect.
