non muslims at my work want to know"WHY DONT WE EAT PIQ"they aware its haraam but critically want to know WHY?

WHY ISLAM FORBIDS PORK?%0D%0A%0D%0AFood and drink have direct effect on our health. That is why Islam has%0D%0Aprescribed regulations about our food and drink. It lays great emphasis on%0D%0Aour physical as well as moral health, because both of these are equally%0D%0Aimportant for a healthy society. The abstention from eating pork is one of%0D%0Athe steps taken by Islam to practise hygiene and to attain purity of soul.%0D%0AIslam, for the cultivation of inner faculties, insists upon the cleanliness%0D%0Aof body and the purification of soul through Salaat (prayers) Zikr%0D%0A(remembrance of Allah) and other devotional duties. Islam teaches us how to%0D%0Aattain the virtues and how to give up bad habits because both good and bad%0D%0Agrow in the man according to his upbringing, education and environment.%0D%0AA human being has natural desires: food, sleep and sex being the three%0D%0Aprimary ones. He has also natural emotions: sorrow, happiness, love, fear,%0D%0Adisgust and avarice etc. Islam doesn't recommend the complete abrogation of%0D%0Athese impulses but offers a method of controlling them through religious%0D%0Aeducation and discipline.%0D%0AThe prohibition of eating pork in Islam is relevant in this context. There%0D%0Ais a saying in English that "a man becomes what he eats." According to%0D%0Aphysicians and medical experts, pork is a harmful diet. Consumption of%0D%0Aswine-flesh creates lowliness in character and destroys moral and spiritual%0D%0Afaculties in a man.%0D%0A%0D%0ABody & Soul%0D%0AThe life of a man is a compound of body and soul. Anything, which is harmful%0D%0Afor the body, hurts the soul as well. Consumption of swine-flesh reduces the%0D%0Afeeling of shame and as such the standard of modesty. Those nations, which%0D%0Aconsume pork habitually, have a low standard of morality with the result%0D%0Athat virginity, chastity and bashfulness are becoming a thing of the past in%0D%0AEurope today. The number of unwed mothers is on the increase despite the use%0D%0Aof pills and other contraceptives.%0D%0AAccording to a report, 60 to 70% girls in Sweden become mothers before%0D%0Amarriage. The formula of "skin to skin is no sin" is having its toll but%0D%0Athere is hardly and feeling of shame and remorse over the end-result. Since%0D%0Athe European nations have become addicted to wine and pork, sexual freedom%0D%0Awith all its attendant evils has got ingrained in their culture.%0D%0AConsequently, homosexuality has been legalized by the British Parliament.%0D%0AThe Holy Qur'an has prohibited the swine-flesh, hence the Muslims would not%0D%0Adare touch it. The Bible has also forbidden swine-flesh, but Christians%0D%0Adisregarded this order and started consuming it. The Europeans now proclaim%0D%0Athat pork is a very powerful diet, rich in protein. Some of them further%0D%0Aargue that since there is a great scarcity of food-stuffs in the world and%0D%0Aswines are available in abundant quantity, they should be consumed in diet%0D%0Ato overcome the food shortage. If this argument is true, why don't they use%0D%0Adog's meat as dogs too are available in plenty? The Europeans perhaps hate%0D%0Athe mention of dog's meat in the same way as the Muslims shun pork.%0D%0AAnother wrong notion about swine-flesh is that its consumption lengthens%0D%0Alife-span, although this is a pure myth and absurdity. On the contrary,%0D%0Apeople, who abstain from pork and liquor, have a longer span of life. The%0D%0AMuslims in Central Asia bear a testimony to this truth.%0D%0AHowever, in the consumption of flesh Muslims are required to be selective%0D%0Aand distinguish between Halaal (Lawful) and Haraam (Unlawful). This step%0D%0Aleads automatically to the deeper understanding of the need for the%0D%0Acultivation of a pure human nature. As blood is virtually our life-stream%0D%0Aand whatever we consume ultimately affects the blood system, it is,%0D%0Atherefore, necessary to exercise choice in the selection of our food and%0D%0Adrink as per the requirements of the Shariah.%0D%0AThere are certain foods and drinks specified by Allah, and His Messenger%0D%0AProphet Muhammad (peace be on him) as forbidden. The prohibition of these%0D%0Afoods and drinks is not by any means an arbitrary action or an unwarranted%0D%0Adecree of Allah. It is the first and foremost a divine intervention in the%0D%0Abest interest of man and for his own benefit.%0D%0AThe reasons behind the Divine intervention are numerous. They are of a%0D%0Anature intellectual and spiritual, moral and mental, physical and economic.%0D%0AAnd the sole purpose is to show man how to develop himself according to an%0D%0Aupright course of life in order to be a healthy unit in the structure of the%0D%0Afamily, then of society and eventually of humanity at large.%0D%0AReliable medical doctors and social scientists are able to realize how those%0D%0Afoods and drinks forbidden by Islam are harmful and destructive to the human%0D%0Aspirit and morality as well as to the physique and moral fibre of man and to%0D%0Averify the benefits of Islamic legislations on the subjects.%0D%0AThe prohibition is based on the aim of the purification of one's nature,%0D%0Abecause food, when consumed, doesn't merely enter the stomach and intestines%0D%0Aand become excreta. It is absorbed and metabolized into the system and%0D%0Acirculated to all parts of the human body, including the brain, and this in%0D%0Ano small way affects man's nature.%0D%0AThe pig is naturally lazy and indulgent in sex, it is dirty, greedy and%0D%0Agluttonous. It dislikes sunlight and lacks the spirit and will to "fight."%0D%0AIt eats almost anything, be it human excreta or anything foul and%0D%0Aunwholesome. Amongst all animal flesh, pork is the favoured cradle of%0D%0Aharmful germs. Pork also serves as a carrier of diseases to mankind. It is%0D%0Afor this reason that its flesh is not suitable for consumption.%0D%0ASome people have argued that the "modern pig" reared in farms is given only%0D%0Aclean foods, therefore, its flesh should be consumable. The answer is that%0D%0Ayou may feed the pig on clean, wholesome food, but you can't change its%0D%0Anature. It is still a pig. A pig is not a plant and you cannot change it by%0D%0Abud-grafting.%0D%0A%0D%0AMedical Reports%0D%0ADr. E. Kazim. M.D. in his article "Medical aspects of forbidden foods in%0D%0AIslam" (July 1981 issue of Muslim Journal has described diseases carried or%0D%0Acaused by the flesh of the swine. He writes:%0D%0AThe pig is a scavenger. It is an omnivorous animal. It eats everything.%0D%0AThere are many disease carried from swine to man, particularly parasite%0D%0Ainfestations. Lately extensive research has been focused on senility-old age%0D%0Ais characterized by hardening of inner lining of the blood vessels of the%0D%0Aheart, brain etc. a process called atheroselerosis. When a clot forms, it%0D%0Aresults in coronary thrombosis or a heart attack, cerebral thrombosis or%0D%0Astroke.%0D%0ADifferent dietary factors are responsible for atheroselerosis. Gross%0D%0Aatheroma may be produced in rabbit by feeding it with cholesterol, but when%0D%0Ayou add lard (derived from hog fat) to the cholesterol, the incidence of%0D%0Aatheroma is increased and thus you would produce coronary thrombosis, and%0D%0Amyocardial infraction.%0D%0ABesides, lard contains 2800 units of vitamin D per 100 grams and no vitamin%0D%0AA at all. Lately vitamin D has been held responsible for atheroma, by%0D%0Acausing increased absorption of calcium in the blood vessels. In human%0D%0Abeings, serum cholesterol is not dependent on the intake of cholesterol in%0D%0Athe diet, but depends upon the proportion of animal fats in the diet, which%0D%0Aelevate the beta-lipo protein level in the blood. Animal fats contain%0D%0Asaturated fatty acids and these saturated fatty acids have been found to be%0D%0Aas one of the causes of atheroma in man. Medium fat bacon contains 25%%0D%0Aproteins and 55% fat."%0D%0AAccording to medical research, the fat content in pork is more than any%0D%0Aother meat (beef, mutton etc.) and it takes longer to digest. Dr. M Jaffer%0D%0Ain an article in the Islamic Review (London) of January 1997 issue has%0D%0Alisted 16 kinds of harmful germs, which have been discovered in pork in%0D%0Amodern researches and the diseases, which could be caused by them. The%0D%0Anumber of patients suffering from tapeworm disease is the highest in the%0D%0Aworld among pork eating nations. Other diseases attributed to pigs are%0D%0Acaused by tri-chinelia spirates and intestinal worms occupy first place%0D%0Aamong such nations too.%0D%0ADr. Glen Shepherd wrote the following on the dangers of eating pork in%0D%0AWashington Post (31 May 1952).%0D%0A"One in six people in USA and Canada have germs in their muscles -%0D%0Atrichinosis 8 from eating pork infected with trichina worms. Many people so%0D%0Ainfected have no symptoms. Most of those, who do have, recover slowly. Some%0D%0Adie; some are reduced to permanent invalids. All were careless pork caters".%0D%0AHe continued "No one is immune from the disease and there is no cure.%0D%0ANeither antibiotics nor drugs or vaccines affect these tiny deadly worms.%0D%0APreventing infection is the real answer."%0D%0AAfter reading the statement of Dr. Shepherd, one can realize that there is%0D%0Ano real guarantee of safety when eating pork that one would not be affected%0D%0Aby trichina worm. That is why modern doctors advise three prohibitions%0D%0Aduring illness: no liquor, no pork and no smoking.%0D%0AMuslims follow the divine law which is much higher than the medical advice.%0D%0AThe Glorious Qur'an says, "So eat of the lawful and good food which Allah%0D%0Ahas provided for you, and thank the bounty of your Lord if it is Him you%0D%0Aserve. He has forbidden for you only carrion and blood and swine-flesh and%0D%0Athat which has been immolated in the name of any other than Allah; but he%0D%0Awho is driven thereto, neither craving nor transgressing, Lo! then Allah is%0D%0AForgiving, Merciful." (16:114-115)%0D%0AThe above is the order from the Creator of the universe and Supreme%0D%0ALaw-Giver. All Muslims are under the obligation to obey it. This is a plain%0D%0Aand straightforward answer to those, who usually ask why Muslims abstain%0D%0Afrom eating pork. Nevertheless, there is no sin, if a Muslims is forced by%0D%0Afamine or starvation to eat pork in order to save his life.%0D%0A%0D%0ARashid Shamsi (The Muslim World League Journal, Rajab 1420 - October 1999)