Salaamun alaykum, dear readers!
It is unfortunate and regretful that Muslims who follow commonly-accepted Islamic doctrine on halal and haram (prohibited) foods violate the Quran in two ways.
The first way is by prohibiting something that God made lawful or did not prohibit in His Book. The second way is by not following the actual practice for making foods halal and haram.
Prohibition of What God Didn’t Prohibit
Regarding the first way, God says in the Quran that He does not like those who prohibit something not prohibited (therefore, lawful) by God.
[6:148-150] The ones who partnered will say, “If God willed, we would neither have partnered, nor our fathers, nor would we have prohibited from anything.” Like that, the ones from before them denied until they tasted Our might. Say, “Is there any knowledge with you? Then exit it for us. You follow not but the assumption, and you do not but guess.” Say, “Then for God is the argument that reaches. And if He willed, He definitely would have guided you altogether.” Say, “Bring your witnesses, the ones who will testify that God has prohibited this.” So if they testified, then do not testify with them, and do not follow the desires of the ones who denied Our signs, and the ones who do not believe in the Hereafter, while they make equals with their Lord.
[16:116] And do not say for what you attribute with your tongues of the lie, “This is lawful, and this is unlawful,” for you may fabricate the lie against God. Indeed, the ones who fabricate the lie against God will not succeed
[66:1] O you Prophet, why do you prohibit what God has made lawful for you, seeking to please your wives? But God is Forgiving, Merciful.
If there are foods that God did not prohibit in the Quran, then prohibiting those foods is tantamount to what is known as “bid’ah” (innovating rules and regulations not originally found in Islam’s source material, the Quran), which is a sin that is heavily frowned upon in Islam.
If the Quran stated that ONLY the carrion, blood, the flesh of the pig, and food that is sacrificed in consecration of others except God is prohibited (like in verse 2:173 and 6:145), then that logically means only those foods are prohibited.
The Quran told Muhammad to say in verse 6:145 that he does not find, in anything that was revealed to him, any food that is prohibited to eat EXCEPT carrion, blood, pork, and what was consecrated to other than God (also known as “the big four”).
So even if you consider the Hadith a revelation from God, the Quran declares that none of prophet Muhammad’s revelations contain any other prohibited foods besides the big four, so any Hadith that prohibits foods other than the big four is a confirmed fabrication.
- [6:145] Say, “I do not find in what has been revealed to me that which is prohibited upon an eater who eats it, except that it be carrion, or blood that is leaked, or the flesh of pigs—for indeed, it is impurity—or a deviance which was consecrated to other than God.”…
Verse 6:145 makes it clear that the prophet was not given via revelation any food prohibitions besides the “big four”.
Yet in Bukhari and Muslim Hadiths, other prohibited foods besides the big four exists, thus making them a clear contradiction with 6:145 given that Sunni Muslims believe that Bukhari and Muslim Hadiths are a second source of Islamic law revealed to Muhammad. Those other prohibited animals include:
- Predatory animals with fangs (Muslim, no. 4752)
- Birds of prey such as hawks, eagles, falcons, etc. (Muslim, no. 4752)
- Donkeys (Bukhari 7:67:431)
Prohibition of Pork
Regarding the prohibition of pig meat, some may be confused as to why out of all things, pig meat was prohibited and called impure. In what way is it impure? It can’t be due to the health hazards of eating undercooked pork, because undercooked meat from any species poses significant risks of infection that our bodies aren’t made to handle; we’re not vultures.
My theory is that there is some sort of spiritual impurity attached to pig meat, but the full knowledge is not with us. There can be all sorts of speculation on what the source of the impurity of pig meat is from compared to other meats, whether physical, spiritual, or both, but what is certain is that the Quran prohibited it.
A Failed Test
One thing we do know, however, is that the prohibition of pig meat contained a test which the entire Muslim community has failed.
Even I had failed this test for all of my life until November 26, 2024 as I re-edit this book which I published four years prior. I was reading a 1990 article by Soad Khalifa (pronounced like So-Ad, not like “toad”).
She is the sister of Rashad Khalifa, and in her article she stated that only the “lahm” (meat) of the pig is prohibited and not the “lard” or pig fat.
My first thought was, “Is she crazy? Does she not know that the Arabic word “lahm” refers to pig fat too?”
Most Muslims grow up believing that all parts of the pig are forbidden to eat. But the Quran prohibited specifically the “lahm” of the pig, so the belief that most Muslims have is that “lahm” refers to any and all parts of the pig.
But in reality, the term “lahm” in Arabic is just muscle meat and the adipose tissue attached to the muscles, also known as the “flesh”. Bones and organ meats are not considered “lahm” as they are not flesh.
In scientific terms, the word flesh refers to the muscles and the adipose tissue layer, so lard (fat which has been completely separated from the adipose tissue attached to pig meat) can no longer be considered “lahm” (flesh), thus it is not prohibited.
Not only that, but in multiple verses like 23:14, the Quran states that inside the embryo, God covers bones with “lahm”. Thus, whatever directly covers the bone is what is known as “lahm”. Pig fat (lard) only covers the muscles and bones when it is inside adipose tissue, thus it is not a part of the flesh when separated from adipose or fatty tissue.
- [23:14] Then We created the drop into a leech, then We created the leech into a fleshy lump, then in the fleshy lump We created bones, then We swathed the bones in “lahm” (flesh), then We produced it as another creation. So blessed was God, the Best of Creators.
Moreover, the Quran’s term for fat (which is the term used in today’s Arabic as well) is “shahm” in verse 6:146, thus drawing a distinction between flesh and fat. Rendered fats that are fully separated from the flesh, such as beef tallow and lard, cannot linguistically be called “lahm” anymore, but is instead known as “shahm”.
Why Prohibit Lard If It Is Not “Lahm”?
So if only the flesh (muscle meat and adipose tissue) of the pig is forbidden in the Quran, then why have Muslims for centuries prohibited foods such as lard (which is separated from adipose tissue), pig bones, pig organs (liver, heart, etc), and more?
One common answer is that the entire animal is impure, so it is forbidden even if only the muscle meat is mentioned. However, this does not make sense. Why would the entire animal be considered impure if the only part of the pig that God specifically called impure in the Quran is the “lahm” (flesh), as opposed to other parts such as the “shahm” (fat)?
Here is a weak response from islamweb.net, which says that the only reason the muscle meat was singled out was because it is the most desired part of the pig, but really when God says flesh, He means the entire animal:
- “There is no disagreement among the scholars of Islam (may Allah’s Mercy be upon them) that the flesh of the pigs (lard, lean and any other parts of pig) is completely forbidden. Indeed, Allah has specifically mentioned lean meat since it is the most wanted and beneficial part of a lawful animal.”
This response by islamweb.net is like if someone said, “When God says to fast in Ramadan, He means that a Muslim must fast during the entire calendar year. God specifically mentioned Ramadan because it is the month when the Quran was revealed, so it is the most wanted and blessed month of the whole year.”
Multiple verses condemn prohibiting things that God never prohibited. Regarding the topic of dietary prohibitions, we Muslims have failed this test by making up prohibitions such as fanged animals, donkeys, lard, pig organ meats, and more.
But it is never too late.
The Real Method of Making Food Halal
And also, for some reason, we Muslims prohibit on each other livestock that was not killed using the “halal” slaughtering method. The halal slaughtering method involves a number of requirements that are not found in the Quran.
There is a misconception that the name of God must be mentioned on an animal before it gets slaughtered or killed. But the Quran never stated anywhere that before slaughtering, the name of God must be mentioned on the animal.
Rather, we know that the Quranic verses do not say to mention God’s name upon what you “slaughter” but what you “eat”. There is no verse in the Quran saying that one must mention God’s name on any animal before slaughtering in order for it to be permissible as food. The Quran says to eat from “what God’s name is mentioned on” and not “what God’s name is mentioned upon of the animals”.
The Quran does not restrict the command to mention God’s name on our food to only meat. So that means that whether you eat an apple or a steak, the name of God must be mentioned on it before eating, by saying “Bismillah” or “In the name of God.” That is the actual halal method according to the Quran.
- [6:118] So eat from what the name of God has been mentioned upon, if you have been believers in His Ayat.
- [6:119] And what is for you that you may not eat from what the name of God has been mentioned upon, while certainly He has detailed for you what He prohibited upon you, except what you are forced toward?…
- [6:121] And do not eat from what the name of God is not mentioned upon; indeed, it is definitely deviance…
The Quran does not forbid any one particular form of slaughtering except animals slaughtered in the name of someone or something other than God.
- Therefore, the meat at McDonald’s or other fast-food restaurants are not actually prohibited, but ethical concerns remain because their meat probably comes from factory-farmed cattle and chickens, which are raised on poor conditions such as tight quarters, minimal grazing space, forced breeding, and maybe other forms of animal abuse.
The second thing that we are invited to do after mentioning the name of God upon what we eat is to take a moment to appreciate God’s goodwill and favor when we eat.
- [16:114] So eat from what God has provided for you, lawful, good, and appreciate God’s goodwill, if you were to worship Him.
Conclusion
Some might evoke verse 22:36 when trying to use Quranic evidence to support that the only way to make meat halal would be to slaughter it by mentioning God’s name upon it and following certain other procedures.
However, starting from verse 27 (of Sura 22), all the verses were talking about the Hajj, including verse 36.
So the slaughtering mentioned in 22:36 is how Muslims are supposed to do the animal sacrifice during Hajj. This is not an animal slaughtering method to do outside of Hajj.
- [22:36] And the animal sacrifices, We have made them among the rites of God for you. For them therein is good. So mention God’s name on them in line. Then when their sides have gone down, you shall thus eat therefrom…
So in conclusion, there are only four prohibited categories of food, also known colloquially as “the big four”.
Beyond the big four, all other categories of food are permitted. This includes lard and the organ meats from pigs (such as liver, kidney, brain, etc.) since lard and organ meats are neither linguistically or Quranically “lahm al-khinzeer” (flesh of pigs).
There is no specified method of slaughter for meat in the Quran. Whether someone mentioned God’s name on the animal before slaughtering or not has no effect on whether an animal is permissible or not. What would make the animal impermissible is if it were killed in the name of someone or something other than God.
And lastly, the method to make all foods permissible in the Quran (fruits, veggies, eggs, fish, poultry, red meat, etc.) is to mention the name of God on it before eating it, according to verses 6:118-121.
With this, the issue of halal (lawful) food has been resolved according to the viewpoint of the Quran.
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