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Why is the eating of pork forbidden in Islam?

Answer:

The fact that consumption of pork is prohibited in Islam is well known. The following points explain

various aspects of this prohibition:

1. Pork prohibited in Qur’an 

The Qur’an prohibits the consumption of pork in no less than 4 different places. It is prohibited in 2:173,

5:3, 6:145 and 16:115.

"Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been

invoked the name of other than Allah." [Al-Qur’an 5:3]

The above verses of the Holy Qur’an are sufficient to satisfy a Muslim as to why pork is forbidden.  

2. Pork prohibited in the Bible

The Christian is likely to be convinced by his religious scriptures. The Bible prohibits the consumption of 

pork, in the book of Leviticus

"And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is

unclean to you".

"Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch, they are unclean to you."

[Leviticus 11:7-8]

Pork is also prohibited in the Bible in the book of Deuteronomy

"And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you. Ye shall

not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass."

[Deuteronomy 14:8]

A similar prohibition is repeated in the Bible in the book of Isaiah chapter 65 verse 2-5

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“You must not use your God-given body for killing God's creatures, whether they are human, animal or Whatever.” (Yajur Veda 12.32) “By not killing any living being, one becomes fit for Salvations.” (Manusmriti 6.60) “Ahimsa is the highest Dharma, ahimsa is the best Tapas, Ahimsa is the highest self-control, ahimsa is the highest sacrifice. Ahimsa is the highest power, ahimsa is the highest friend. Ahimsa is the highest truth, ahimsa is the highest teaching.” (Mahabharata 18.116.37–41 Dashavatara (IAST:  Daśāvatāra) refers to the ten principal Avatars. In Vaishnava philosophy,

an Avatar (Sanskrit: अवतार , avatāra), most commonly refers to the 'descent' and daśa refers to

'ten' in number. The ten most famous incarnations of Vishnu or sometimes  Krishna arecollectively known as the Dashavatara. This list is included in the Garuda Purana (1.86.10-11)

and denotes those avatars most prominent in terms of their influence on human society.

The majority of avatars in this list of ten are categorised as 'lila-avatars'. The first four are said to

have appeared in the Satya Yuga (the first of the four Yugas or ages in the time cycle described

within Hinduism). The next three avatars appeared in the Treta Yuga, the eighth incarnation inthe Dwapara Yuga and the ninth in the Kali Yuga. The tenth is predicted to appear at the end of 

the Kali Yuga in some 427,000 years time.[1]

 Also according to the Vishnu Purana and

Bhagavata Purana, the Kali-yuga will end with the apparition of Kalki-avatara, who will defeat

the wicked, liberate the virtuous, and initiate a new Satya Yuga.[2]

 

At that time, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will appear on the earth. Acting with the

power of pure spiritual goodness, He will rescue eternal religion. Lord Viṣṇu — the SupremePersonality of Godhead, the spiritual master of all moving and nonmoving living beings, and the

Supreme Soul of all — takes birth to protect the principles of religion and to relieve His saintly

devotees from the reactions of material work. ( Bhagavata Purana, 12.2.16-17)[1] 

"Yada Yada Hi DharmasyaGlanirva Bhavathi Bharatha,Abhyuthanam AdharmaysyaTadatmanam Srijami Aham'.

Bhagavad Gita(Chapter IV-7) 

List

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Avatars of Vishnu lithograph by Raja Ravi Varma. Anti-clockwise from left top corner: Matsya,

Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parshurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Kalki surroundVishnu.

1. Matsya, the fish, appeared in the Satya Yuga.The Fish Incarnation is the first incarnation of 

Vishnu. Lord Vishnu takes the form of a fish to take a king to the new world along with one of every single species of plants and animals from the world's largest cyclone. What we live in now

is the new world, where the Lord traveled, carrying everything from the old, destroyed world.

2. Kurma, the tortoise, appeared in the Satya Yuga. The turtle Incarnation is the second

incarnation of Vishnu. When the devas and asuras were churning the ocean in order to get thenectar of immortality, the mount Mandara they were using as the churning staff started to sink 

and Lord Vishnu took the form of a turtle to bear the weight of the mountain.

3. Varaha, the boar, appeared in the Satya Yuga. The Boar incarnation is the third incarnation of 

Vishnu. He appeared in order to defeat Hiranyaksha, a demon who had taken the Earth (Prithvi)

and carried it to the bottom of what is described as the cosmic ocean in the story. The battlebetween Varaha and Hiranyaksha is believed to have lasted for a thousand years, which the

former finally won. Varaha carried the Earth out of the ocean between his tusks and restored it to

its place in the universe.

4. Narasimha, the half-man/half-lion appeared in the Satya Yuga. The Man-Lion Incarnation isthe fourth incarnation of Vishnu. When the demon Hiranyakashipu acquired a boon fromBrahma, which gave him inordinate power, Lord Vishnu appeared in the form of half-man/half-

lion, having a human-like torso and a lower body, but with a lion-like face and claws.Now,

Hiranyakashipu had thought well before wishing for a boon. He asked for a boon that no man,

god, or deva could not kill him; he should neither be killed at day nor night; neither indoors nor

outdoors; neither on earth nor space and neither animate or inanimate. Hiranyakashipu could notbe killed by human, deva or animal, Narasimha is neither one of these, as he is a form of Vishnu

incarnate as a part-human, part animal. He comes upon Hiranyakashipu at twilight (when it is

neither day nor night) on the threshold of a courtyard (neither indoors nor out), and puts thedemon on his thighs (neither earth nor space). Using his sharp nails (neither animate nor

inanimate) as weapons, he disembowels and kills the demon.

5. Vamana, the dwarf, appeared in the Treta Yuga. The fourth lineal descendant of 

Hiranyakashyap, named Bali, through his devotion and penance defeated Indra, the god of firmament, humbled other gods and extended his authority over the three worlds. All the gods

appealed to Lord Vishnu for protection and He became manifest in His Dwarf Avatar of Vaman

for the purpose of restraining Bali. Once when this king was making a great religious offering,

Lord Vishnu in the form of Vaman appeared before him in the company of other Brahmins. Baliwas extremely pleased to see a holy man with such a diminutive form and promised to give him

whatever he should ask. Lord Vishnu asked only for as much land as he could measure by three

steps. Bali laughingly agreed to grant the boon of three steps. Lord Vishnu as dwarf stepped over

heaven in first stride and netherworld in the second stride. Then he asked Bali where can he puthis third step . Bali realized that Vamana was Vishnu incarnate and he was going to take the

Earth in his third stride. He offered Vamana to put his third step on his head. Vamana did so and

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thus blessed Bali marking him as one of the few immortals blessed by Vishnu. Then out of 

respect to Bali's kindness and his grandfather Prahlad's great virtues, he made him the ruler of pathala, the subterranean region. Bali is believed to have ruled Kerala and Tulunadu. He is still

revered there as the king of prosperity and remembered and called on before the harvesting

season.

6. Parashurama, Rama with the axe, appeared in the Treta Yuga. Parashurama a Brahmin, the

sixth avatar of Vishnu, belongs to the Treta yuga, and is the son of Jamadagni and Renuka.Parashu means axe, hence his name literally means Rama-of-the-axe. He received an axe after

undertaking a terrible penance to please Shiva, from whom he learned the methods of warfare

and other skills. Parashurama is said to be a "Brahma-Kshatriya" (with the duties between aBrahmana and a Kshatriya), the first warrior saint. His mother is descended from the Kshatriya

Suryavanshi clan that ruled Ayodhya and Lord Rama also belonged to. A haihaya King

Kartavirya Arjuna (Sahasrarjuna - purportedly with a thousand arms) and his army visited

Jamadagni, a Brahmin sage, who fed his guest and the whole army with his divine cowKamadhenu. The king demanded the magical cow. Jamadagni refused because he needed the

cow for his religious ceremonies. King Kartavirya Arjuna (Sahasrarjuna) took the cow forciblyand devastated the ashram. Angered at this, Parashurama killed the king's entire army and, aftercutting each one of his thousand arms, the king himself with his axe. As a revenge, the King'ssons killed Jamadagni in Parashurama's absence. Furious at his father's murder, Parashurama

killed all sons of Sahasrajuna and their aides. His thirst for revenge unquenched, he went on

killing every adult Kshatriya on earth, not once but 21 times, filling five ponds with blood. Theseare the actions which highlight his warrior characteristics. Ultimately, his grandfather, Richeek 

Rishi, appeared and stopped him.

7. Rama, Ramachandra, the prince and king of Ayodhya, appeared in the Treta Yuga. Rama is

one of the most commonly adored gods in Hinduism and is known as an ideal man and hero of 

the epic Ramayana. Rama defeated and killed the king of Sri Lanka, Ravana for capturing andimprisoning his wife Sita in the Ashoka Garden in Sri Lanka.

8. Balarama(elder brother of Krishna)- One of the ten avatars of Vishnu that appeared in theDwapara Yuga. In many versions of the mythology, the ninth incarnation is often mentioned as

Lord Buddha.

9. Krishna (meaning 'dark coloured' or 'all attractive') appeared in the Dwapara Yuga along with

his brother Balarama. According to the Bhagavata Purana, Balarama is said to have appeared in

the Dwapara Yuga (along with Krishna) as an incarnation of  Ananta Shesha. Krishna is one of 

the most commonly worshipped deities in the Hindu faith and is also counted as an avatar of Vishnu by the majority of  Vaishnava movements. As per the North Indian belief, Krishna is the

eighth avatar, while as per south Indian belief, Balarama is considered as the eight avatar and

Krishna as the ninth. He is also a significant character in the epic of Mahabharata. Krishnadelivered Bhagwad Gita on battlefield of the Battle of Kurukshetra to Arjuna. He, like Rama, is

also known for his bravery in destroying evil powers throughout his life. He is usually depicted

as playing the flute (murali), indicating spread of the melody of love to people.

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• Buddha, the ascetic prince is listed as an avatar of  Vishnu in many Hindu scriptures inlcuding

Bhagavata Purana, Bhavishya Purana, Narasimha Purana etc.[8][9]

 With the departure of Krishna,Kali Yuga sets in, in this age, the true devotion to Vedas was replaced by empty rituals. To

enlighten the world in such times, Vishnu descended the earth as Buddha, the enlightened one

10. Kalki ("Eternity", or "time", or "The Destroyer of foulness"), who is expected to appear atthe end of Kali Yuga, the time period in which we currently live. The tenth and the last avatar of 

Vishnu, Kalki, is yet to appear. Kalki will appear at the end of the Kalyuga. This avatar willappear seated on a white horse with a drawn sword blazing like a comet. He shall come finally to

destroy the wicked, to restart the new creation and to restore the purity of conduct in people's

lives.Kalki will move with a „great speed‟, on a „Big‟ „White‟ „horse‟ with a „sword‟ in his hand.This description also comments on the astrological facts with regard to the planetary positions at

the birth of Kalki i.e. Moon in Dhanishtha (Very swift, Most Famous, the richest) (Aquarius

sign) ("Great Speed" of action & thoughts), Sun in swati, the only nakshatra associated with

sword nakshatra, Jupiter in Purva Ashadha nakshatra["Horse-Sagittarius sign", “the invincible”

“early victory” ], Ascendant Lord in Purva ashadha Nakshatra["Horse" and Early Victory

significance], Saturn exalted in Libra["Justice" & “balance” & “sword”] and Ketu(lord of horseheaded Ashwini) exalted in Scorpio["Big & White Horse"]. Birth year can be derived fromJupiter, Saturn and Ketu; Sun can give the birth month, moon birth day and finally ascendantlord the birth hour.