Eating meat has been the favourite food of the man since ages. And generally man does not differentiate in meat coming from any animal and devour it to their full. Yet when it comes to Muslims, they strictly follow the Divine Command on the subject as pronounced in Al Qur'an, specially with regard to eating pork or any animal upon whom name of Allah has not been called at the time of slaughter. While Muslims follow the Divine commandment, yet many a eyebrow are raised for Muslims not eating pork.
The reason eyebrows are often raised is usually due to lack of awareness of the common ground between Islam, Judaism, and even parts of Christianity regarding food laws. We will explain the exclusive verse from Qur'an as given below with reference to the Divine Commandment on the subject in other Divine Scriptures.
Let’s unpack verse 115 of Surah al-Naḥl (The Honey Bee) which specifically lays down the dividing line between the lawful and unlawful (ḥalāl and ḥarām), and Allah’s mercy in giving guidance about what can and cannot be consumed.
اِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ عَلَيۡكُمُ الۡمَيۡتَةَ وَ الدَّمَ وَلَحۡمَ الۡخِنۡزِيۡرِ وَمَاۤ اُهِلَّ لِغَيۡرِ اللّٰهِ بِهٖۚ فَمَنِ اضۡطُرَّ غَيۡرَ بَاغٍ وَّلَا عَادٍ فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ غَفُوۡرٌ رَّحِيۡمٌ
(16:115) Allah has forbidden you only carrion, and blood, and the flesh of swine; also any animal over which the name of any other than Allah has been pronounced. But whoever eats of them under compelling necessity - neither desiring it nor exceeding the limit of absolute necessity - surely for such action Allah is Much Forgiving, Most Merciful.
The Key point of the verse:
While Muslims are free to eat anything that Nature has provided for them, only four foods are explicitly forbidden:
- Dead animals (carrion).
- Blood.
- Pork.
- Anything slaughtered in the name of other than Allah.
- Exception: In necessity (life-saving situation), it is permitted.
Main Themes
- Clear rules: Allah explicitly defines only a few forbidden foods.
- Flexibility & Mercy: Necessity allows exceptions.
- Authority belongs to Allah: Humans must not invent their own halal/haram.
- Past nations’ mistakes: Jews made religion difficult by adding prohibitions.
- Repentance: Islam emphasizes Allah’s mercy for those who correct themselves.
Qur’an & Hadith Correlation
- Qur’an (5:3) also lists prohibited foods in detail, matching 16:115.
- Hadith: Prophet ﷺ said: “What is lawful is clear and what is unlawful is clear, and between the two are doubtful matters which many people do not know…” (Bukhari, Muslim).
- This shows balance: Allah has kept Islam simple and clear.
Qur'an and the Old Testament
While the Islamic viewpoint on Halal and Haram food is elaborated above, let us see what the Old Testament and the Bible says about consuming pork.
- The Bible prohibits eating pork. Both Jewish and Christian scriptures contain passages that identify swine as unclean and prohibit their consumption.
- Prohibition in the Old Testament (Torah) The prohibition is not unique to Islam — it’s found in the Jewish law:
- Leviticus 11:7–8 – “And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.”
- Deuteronomy 14:8 repeats the same rule.
- Thus, Jews traditionally do not eat pork (kosher law).
- New Testament
- Early Christians, many of whom were Jews, also followed these dietary restrictions.
- Later, Paul’s letters (e.g., Romans 14:14, Colossians 2:16) argued that dietary laws were not binding for salvation, which is why many Christians today eat pork.
- This shift creates the perception that pork prohibition is “uniquely Islamic,” though historically it is not.
- Thus despite the above said interpretations of the New Testament which suggest a shift away from these Old Testament dietary laws, particularly for Christians, the Old Testament prohibitions remain clear.
Why the “Eyebrow Raising”?
Despite pork being made unlawful to eat even in the Old Testament, the eyebrows keep raising on Muslims. This unnecessary raising of eyebrows is thus resultant of the following factors"
- Ignorance of Biblical parallels: Many people simply don’t know it’s also in the Bible.
- Cultural habits: In the West, pork is very common in cuisine (bacon, ham, sausages), so rejecting it seems unusual.
- Religious divergence: Since most Christians don’t observe the prohibition anymore, they see Muslims (and Jews) as being “overly strict.”
- Negation of Shared Abrahamic Wisdom
- All Divine religions stem from the Prophet Abraham (Ibrahim عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ) and should thus be followed in letter and spirit.
- Therefore, Islam reaffirms the same Divine law that existed in the Torah.
- It emphasizes continuity: the same God who forbade it to Moses reaffirmed it to Muhammad ﷺ.
- The wisdom includes both obedience to Divine command and health protection (pigs are carriers of parasites and diseases historically).
Lessons for Today
- Islam is not about restrictions — it is about balance.
- Don’t fall into extremes: making too many things haram (like some past nations), or ignoring clear prohibitions.
- Always remember necessity overrides prohibition — Islam is practical and merciful.
- Allah’s law is for guidance and purification, not hardship.
Let us not single out Islam for the sake of objection without understanding the reference to the context of the commandments contained in Al Qur'an with relation to Old Testament. Muslims follow AL Qur'an in true letter and spirit for they believe in it and do not deviate. If others do not follow what was brought to them, Islam cannot be made to answer for it.
You may refer to our reference page Selected verses from Surah 16. An Nahl for more selected verses from this surah already published.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
You may also refer to our exclusive reference page: Selected verses from selected Surahs of Al-Qurʾān for compiled verses from other surahs.
For more Selected Subjects, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from Al Qur'an about a Specific Subject (Reference Page) to know more about what Qur'an says about specific subjects and our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. .
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs and selected verses of Al-Qurʾān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.
In addition, other sources which have been explored and views of other scholars have been incorporated while explaining meaning of a verse. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites. For expansion of meaning and themes / contextual background help from ChatGPT is also taken.
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