The Meat of Pigs

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"Prohibited for you are 'al-maytah' (animals that are found dead),

'Al-Damm' (blood), 'lahm Al-Khinzeer' (the meat of pigs),

and animals dedicated to other than God."  

5:3 

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We know that God is the most accurate and efficient in delivering any message to us.  We note that God said 'al-maytah' which literally means 'the dead'. God did not say (the meat of the dead). We also note that God said specifically the 'meat of pigs', and not 'the pig'. God did not say the 'meat of the dead' and also God did not say 'the pig'.  The obvious reason that are apparent to any intellectual is that God means exactly what He says.  When God says 'the dead' and NOT the 'meat of the dead', He means anything found in a dead animal.  Similarly when God specifically says the 'meat of the pig' and NOT 'the pig', God simply means only the MEAT of the pig and NOT everything in the pig.

The prohibition of only parts of certain animals is not unfamiliar in the Quran.  We are told in 6:146 for example, how God prohibited only the fat of the cattle and sheep (except that which is carried on their backs, or in the viscera, or mixed with bones).  In a general sense, prohibitions are means through which our Creator tests our obedience to Him, what was prohibited to one people may be lawful for another as we are told in the Quran.  This indicates that the item of prohibition is not always prohibited for an inherent reason within the item itself.  Since God prohibited the fat of some animals for the Jews but made it lawful for us, it can only mean that there is no physical harm in the fat itself.  

This goes a long way in demonstrating that there is no harm in the fat of the pig either, which according to the Quran is NOT prohibited.  As a matter of fact, it is a known fact today that many industries use the fat of pig in the production of numerous consumer products (e.g. cosmetics, drugs ... etc).  God knows this and thus God is very precise in prohibiting only the meat of pigs.

Obviously, God also knows that lard (fat of pig) would be used in baked goods and other food products, and that such usage does not render the foods Haraam (prohibited).

Indeed the harm is found in the meat of the pig.  The devastating trichinosis parasite, Trichinella spiralis, (also the pork tapeworm Taenia solium) survives in the meat of pigs, NOT the fat. More than 150,000 people are infected annually in the United States alone.

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