Prevention through Prohibition of pork and alcohol
The holy Qur'an has strongly forbidden the use of pork, saying:
He has only forbidden you carrion, blood and the flesh of swine and the animal, which is
slaughtered other than on the name of Allah.[1]
Islam protects the larger and long-term interest of man. Islam approves the ultimate benefits
and disapproves the ultimate harm. All the unclean items which are detrimental either to human
body or soul, have been forbidden.
Pork
As per modern medical research, there are two worms in pork called:
i. Taenia solium
ii. Trichinella spiralis
The former causes epilepsy and the latter trichinosis. Patients who suffer from acute
trichinosis, may develop high body temperature, their blood stream may be affected by
poisonous substances, resulting in paralyzing of their heart and respiratory system. It
also causes inflammation of brain and other body tissues and may affect the muscles of
tongue, neck, eyes and throat etc. But major harm of the Pork is that all forms of its
meat are most fattening, containing the largest amount of calories and fat. None of the
other meats (beef, lamb, chicken and fish) contains such an enormous amount of fats and
calories. Moreover, pork has a very high level of cholesterol.
100 grams of beef contains a maximum of 284 calories whereas the
maximum number of calories in bacon is 496.
Certain varieties of bacon contain 44.8 gms of fat per 100 gms whereas
the maximum amount of fat in beef is 21.1 gms.
Now Islamic wisdom of the prohibition of pork and bacon is becoming popular in America and Europe,
because the health-conscious people are reducing the intake of pork drastically. Greater preference
is being given to those forms of meat, which are permitted by Islam, particularly fish and chicken.
Alcohol
The Qur'an declares alcohol (even every kind of wine, liquor and intoxication) absolutely
forbidden, saying:
0 believers, indeed wine, gambling, idols and divining arrows are an abomination. These are the
Satanic acts, so avoid it completely so that you may
prosper.[2]
The holy Prophet (saw) has put a final end to all possible discussions and controversies on this
subject through his two wise sayings:
Every intoxicant is a wine and every wine is forbidden.[3]
If a large quantity of anything causes intoxication, then its small quantity is also forbidden.[4]
The basic medical problem of alcohol is that it provides the human body with calories, but fails
simultaneously to supply either the essential vitamins or the necessary amino acids. Hence,
metabolism of the body is badly affected, which results in large number of physical diseases and
mental disorders.
Alcoholism is highly harmful and damaging to liver, stomach, intestines, spleen, oesophaegus,
brain and heart. In addition to numerous diseases, it specially causes cardiomyopathy and ischemic
cerebral infraction. Moreover, the regular intake of alcohol creates blood pressure problems and
affects the cardiovascular system. Heart attack risks gain higher level due to alcoholism, because
alcohol increases the amount of HDL cholesterol, without undermining the overall cholesterol level
in the blood. As a result, HDL-LDL ratio slightly shifts, which improves the total risk. That’s why
a tendency of reducing alcohol consumption is also developing in the US amongst the health-conscious
people and most of heart associations are also considerably stressing the same.
It is definitely a scientific and moral victory of Islamic Injunctions, being established through
the west, day by day.