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WHY CERTAIN FOODS ARE PROHIBITED IN THE GLORIOUS QUR'AN
The Almighty and Al-Wise created
human beings in a way that what
ever they eat influences their
bodies and the most important of
all their soul. According to a
Tradition Allah loves man
seventy times more than his
mother. Hence, in His profound
Wisdom, He has allowed certain
foods (Halal) and prohibited
certain foods (Haram). This
has been mentioned in the Surah
al-Baqarah and Surah al-Ma'idah
in which 12 items have been
stated, these are; pig, blood,
dead animals, liquor, animals
not slaughtered according to
Islamic rules, animals dead by
beating, strangled animals,
animals killed by wild animals,
stabbed animals, animals dead by
falling from height, animals
sacrificed to idols, animals
slaughtered by lottery.
Although, a faithful should
accept the Divine directives but
it is human nature to ascertain
the validity of any prohibition.
It might be of interest to note
that Professor Schultz and
Doctor Hazim of the Hanover
University, Germany, proved
through an experiment, using an
electroencephalograph (EEG) and
electrocardiogram (ECG) that
Islamic slaughter is the most
humane method of slaughter and
the captive bolt stunning,
practiced by the Western method
causes severe pain to the
animal.
(www.themodernreligion.com)
Pig: It is scientifically proven
that its meat contains 2
dangerous parasites; Trichina
and Measles. Trichina spawns
15,000 eggs every month, causing
anemia, dizziness, diarrhea
fever, rheumatic pains, nerve
injury, itching, excess fat,
fatigue, difficulty in chewing,
swallowing and breathing. The
meat of every animal carries the
features of that animal, and it
influence the conduct of the one
who eats it. Consuming pig can
lead to sexual laxity and
indifference to reputation and
chastity of one's wife and
daughters or other prohibited
relatives.
Blood: Eating
of the blood is detrimental both
to the body and soul. Blood is
haven for microbe growth.
Microbes are single cell
organism so tiny that millions
can fit into the eye of a
needle. All microbes entering
the body concentrate in the
blood, the white blood cells
destroy the bacteria. When blood
stops circulating in the body,
the white cells are destroyed,
and microbes multiply rapidly
making the body filthy. Thus a
man who consumes the blood, it
influences his glands and
producing hormones, it affects
his temperament and conduct
making him a cruel and hard-hear
ted man.
Dead animals: The
scientific reasons for the
harmful effects of the blood of
a dead animal has been stated
above. The Infallible Imam
Jafar al-Sadiq (a.s.) said: “No
body eats a dead animal, but he
becomes feeble and has no
off-springs; the one who eats
pig die unexpectedly. (Tafsir-e-Namoona
volume 1 page 585)
Moreover, it becomes impure (Najis)
and should be avoided
altogether.
Liquor: It
includes each and every
intoxicating fluid. The physical
harmful effects includes the
disorder of the stomach,
intestine, liver, lungs, nerves,
blood vessels, heart, and the
five senses. Statistics indicate
that the consumption of the
intoxicants may lead to heart
disease, stroke, throat cancer,
breast cancer, and high blood
pressure.
The adverse moral effects apart
from negative effects on soul,
includes a person's
gracelessness, or committing
unintentional actions such as
insulting, harming others,
committing crimes or murder,
divulging personal or others
secrets and trampling on social
rules and sanctity. It
dissipates one's wisdom and
disrupts sound decision making
capability and kills perception
and discretion. It is one of
the “Greater Sins”
Recent reports say that the
predominant reason for insanity
is the consumption of
intoxicants. An English
scholar by the name of Bentham
writes: “The religion of Islam
has prohibited all kinds of
alcoholic drinks and this is one
of the distinctive features of
Islam.”
Animals dead by beating,
strangled animals, animals
killed by wild animals, stabbed
animals, animals dead by
falling: In
all these cases, since the
animal's main artery is not
properly cut and consequently
the blood does not completely
oozed out and remain in the body
of the animal, hence it becomes
unfit for human consumption.
Moreover, in all these cases the
Islamic rules of slaughter are
not followed. Hence it is
prohibited.
Animals sacrificed to idols and
also animals slaughtered by
lottery:
In both these cases, the
prohibition relates to ancient
practices. Lottery relates to
gambling which is prohibited,
hence such meat s are also
prohibited. The reason for such
prohibitions are moral and
spiritual.
Conclusion: The philosophy
behind these prohibitions is to
protect human beings from
physical and moral harm to their
bodies as well as souls! |
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