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Why is pork Haram?

Why is pork Haram?

Question:

Why is the swine prohibited in islam ?

Salaam alykum,

Most answers that are given relate to the fact that they are dirty animals, that it is prohibited by The Qur’an, and they subsequently cite various health risks, which I think is rather unconvincing to many people, especially those in the West, who, erroneously, think that swine are no dirtier than poultry or cattle.

I was talking of this subject with some of my close friends, and one friend, said the following:

“SubhanAllah, to think that something like not eating pork is many times the last string that attaches a person to Islam.”

He is right, and to be honest, it’s because its easy. I mean, I know guys who will drink until they cannot stand up, snort coke while having their arm around a prostitute, but God forbid there is bacon on their burger at Denny’s at the end of the night.

It’s easy to give up pork, to not eat it, because there’s no pressure involved. There are no “bacon parties,” no one plays “bacon pong” and just invites people over for “pork tastings.” It’s just food, there’s no societal pressure, and so when a Muslim kid goes out with his non-Muslim friends, if they ask the server for no pork/bacon/pancetta/etc no one looks at you funny, you just didn’t want that item.

However, that same Muslim kid, going out, and says no to a drink, it is as if they have turned down a marriage proposal, in a fancy restaurant, in front of everyone’s friends and family. “Whaaaaat? Why? Just one driiiiiinkkkkkkkkkk.”

People want you to drink so that you can share in your misery, it’s a horrid thing, and that’s why there is a stigma for those who drink alone, but that is beside the point.

The reason I contrast alcohol to pork is to underline why I, personally, think that pork is prohibited in Islam:

It’s easy to not eat pork. Anyone can do it. Let’s even say that it’s not that big of a deal, for the sake of argument, let’s even say that swine isn’t even a dirty animal, so why shouldn’t you eat pork?

Precisely because it is easy. It’s easy because you have made it insignificant. No one stresses about not eating pork relative to their Islam, because there is no societal pressure, and even if someone pressured you, you’d be like “uh, no, bro… moving on.” Why? Because it’s nothing, and it’s nothing because you don’t regard it as important.

So, in my mind, the prohibition of pork provides the Muslim, especially the Muslim in the West, an example, that all Muslims, across the spectrum, find easy to abstain from, so that it serves as a lesson to the individual how easy it can be to stop from doing something, if you simply minimize its importance in your head.

That’s why I think pork is prohibited, and that’s how I make sense of the rationalization, because, ultimately, it’s not that big of a deal, and the injunctions against eating swine make sense to me, from the perspectives above.

I hope that answers your question, and if not, please do not hesitate to ask me any other questions, insha Allah.

I pray this finds you and your families in the best of health and Iman, insha Allah.

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