The prohibition of pork has been a commandment of God and a belief for Muslims since the time of the Prophet Muhammad Saw when the holy Qur’an began to be revealed. But up to 1300 years after the Prophet died, many Muslims still think that it is just a religious commandment, with no real effect on human health. In fact, behind the ban there is a scientific reason why pork is forbidden. How is this explained?
Prohibition of Eating Pork in the Qur’an
In the Qur’an surah Al-Baqarah verse 173, Allah swt mentioned that He forbade meat to be eaten. Not only pork, in the verse Allah also forbids carrion, blood, and animals that are called without mentioning His name. No kidding, Allah prohibits Muslims from eating pork with the same verse in the A-Qur’an in three different suras, namely in surah Al-Baqarah, surah Al-Maidah, and surah An-Nahl.
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“Indeed, Allah has only forbidden to you carrion, blood, pork, and animals (which when slaughtered) are called by names other than Allah.”(QS. Al-Baqarah: 173)
“Forbidden to you (are) carrion, blood, pork, (the meat of animals) slaughtered in the name of other than Allah.” (QS. Al-Maidah: 3)
“Indeed, Allah has only forbidden you (to eat) carrion, blood, pork and animals slaughtered in the name of other than Allah.” (QS. An-Nahl: 115)
Thus, it can be concluded that Allah swt strictly forbids His people to consume pork. Of course, it is a big question in the minds of Muslims why pork is forbidden for them, because in the Qur’an Allah does not explain clearly why He forbids pork to be eaten by Muslims. But as science and technology develop, the reason why pork is forbidden is beginning to be explained scientifically.
Scientific reasons why pork is forbidden
According to Harry Freitag, a lecturer in the Health Nutrition Study Program at Gadjah Mada University (UGM), pork is considered dangerous because of the potential for tapeworm infection. Harry explained that pork has a higher risk of parasites compared to other animal meat.
“So, pork has a high risk of containing parasites Trichinella spiralis or roundworm, Taenia solium or tapeworm, and Toxoplasma gondii,” Harry was quoted as saying by Kompas.com.
However, Harry said that with the development of modern times, tapeworm cases in pork began to decrease. One way to prevent tapeworms in pork is to cook the meat thoroughly.
In line with Harry Freitag, Clinical Nutrition Specialist at MRCCC Siloam Hospital, South Jakarta, Dr. Inge Permadhi also revealed that pork can cause parasitic infections caused by tapeworms and Truchinella Spiralis worms.
“Pork is also at risk of causing parasitic infections, so it should not be consumed raw or undercooked,” said Inge.
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To avoid infection from parasites, Inge suggests that meat should be cooked thoroughly. This then becomes the difference between pork and beef, where beef can be eaten half-cooked or raw, while pork cannot.
Meanwhile, a number of symptoms that arise for someone infected with tapeworm parasites were explained by Nutritionist Specialist, Dr. Samuel Oetoro. According to him, people infected with tapeworms will find it difficult to get fat and lack red blood cells. In addition, Samuel also revealed that tapeworm parasitic infections generally occur in children, and very rarely in adults.
Pig Meat Structure Similar to Human Meat
But as technology advances, the argument about tapeworms in pork becomes very easy to dismiss. Experts are starting to find ways to remove tapeworms from pork by implementing proper meat processing and sterilization. So, is there another scientific explanation why pork is forbidden?
Quoting the West Sumatra Ministry of Religious Affairs, there are many scientific facts that explain the bad effects of eating pork. One of them is that the structure of pork DNA is similar to the structure of human DNA, both the internal structure and the structure of the DNA of the outer skin, so it is not surprising that pork is often used as a substitute for human anatomy in the practice of medical students. The similarity in structure makes pork difficult to digest by the metabolic process of the human body. Pork has high back fat and is prone to oxidative rancidity, making it chemically unfit for consumption.
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Another scientific reason is explained by Prof. Rachman Noor, a Livestock Genetics Expert in his book entitled “Secrets and Wisdom of Inheritance of Traits.” It is mentioned in the book that pigs have a very high level of SINE (Short Intersperse Nucleotide Element) and LINE (Long Intersperse Nucleotide Element) similarity with humans, so eating pork can be considered the same as cannibalism and it is feared that it can cause abnormalities in the next generation.
On the other hand, pigs are animals that have abundant urine, so the urine gets into the blood and even contaminates the meat. As a result, pork smells a little fishier than beef or other animals. In addition, the uric acid content in pork is also greater when compared to other animals. If consumed, uric acid will become waste in the blood. Uric acid itself is formed due to incomplete metabolism caused by urine content in food. Normally this compound is excreted as feces, and 98 percent of uric acid in the body is excreted through urine and discharged through urine.
Wallahu a’lam bissawab…