He has only forbidden you carrion, blood and
pork and what has been consecrated to other than Allah. But anyone
who is forced to eat it-without desiring it or going to excess
in it-commits no crime. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
(Qur'an, 2:173)
Eating
pork is harmful to health in a great many regards. This harm still
persists today, despite all the precautions that are taken. First
and foremost, no matter how clean the farms and environments on
which it is raised may be, the pig is not by nature a clean-living
animal. It often plays in, and even eats, its own excrement. Due
to this and its biological structure, the pig produces much higher
levels of antibodies in its body than other animals. In addition,
far higher levels of growth hormone are produced in the pig compared
to those in other animals and human beings. Naturally, these high
levels of antibodies and growth hormone pass across to and collect
in the pig's muscle tissue. Pork meat also contains high levels
of cholesterol and lipids. It has been scientifically proven that
these significant amounts of antibodies, hormones, cholesterol and
lipids in pork represent a serious threat to human health.
The existence of above-average numbers of obese individuals in
the populations of countries such as the USA and Germany, in which
large quantities of pork are consumed, is now well-known. When exposed
to excessive quantities of growth hormone as a result of a pork-based
diet, the human body first puts on excessive weight and then suffers
physical deformations.
Another harmful substance in pork is the "trichina" worm. This
is frequently found in pork and when it enters the human body, it
settles directly in the muscles of the heart and represents a possibly
fatal threat. Even though it is now technically possible to identify
pigs that are infected with trichina, no such methods were known
in earlier centuries. That means that everyone who ate pork risked
infection by trichina and possible death.
All these reasons are just a part of the wisdom in our Lord's prohibition
on the consumption of pork. Moreover, this commandment of our Lord's
provides complete protection from the harmful effects of pork under
any conditions.
Until the 20th century, it was impossible to be aware
of the danger posed to human health by pork. The fact that the Qur'an,
revealed fourteen centuries ago, warns against this harm which has
been incontrovertibly revealed with modern medical equipment and
biological tests, is one of the miracles demonstrating that the
Qur'an is the revelation of Allah, the Omniscient. Despite all the
precautionary measures and inspections that take place in modern-day
pig rearing, the fact that pork is physiologically incompatible
with the human body and is a variety of meat harmful to human health
has not altered.
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