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Islamic Journal·Pakistan
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Renaissance
Islamic Journal·Pakistan

A journal of Islamic research in continuous monthly circulation since 1991. Published by Al-Mawrid.

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Monthly Renaissance
EST. 1991 · LAHORE
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Archive/Vol. 9 · № 1/Are Fats and Bones of a Swine Prohibited?
ARTICLE ID q637
In this issue
Sanctity of OwnershipSūrah ZilzālQur’ān: The Primary Source of IslamWhat if He is?A Brief Look at the Roots and Development of The Nation of IslamBowing Down in Martial Arts

Reading
2 min · 222 words
The Dietary Shari‘ah
— The Dietary Shari‘ah —

Are Fats and Bones of a Swine Prohibited?

DS
Dr. Shehzad Saleem
January 1999 · 2 min read

The Qur’ān explicitly forbids the flesh of swine. Does this include the fat and bones of the animal as well? The question arose in my mind because the Qur’ān, in one of its verses, specifically talks about the fact that fat was forbidden for the Jews. In one of your answers, you mentioned that Allah in the Qur’ān only forbade those edibles which He thought might confuse human beings to figure out for themselves. If everything related to swine were forbidden why didn't Allah explicitly say so in the Qur’ān? Please clarify.

The style adopted by the Qur’ān in prohibiting the swine is what we call synechdoche in linguistics, that is  "to imply the whole while referring to the part". In other words, by referring to the part (lahm: meat) the whole (everything which can be eaten from a pig's body) is implied. Therefore, its fat, bones or any other part of its body which can be eaten is forbidden.

Such linguistic styles are found in every language. For example, we say in Urdu: Bakray kā gosht halal hay (a goat's meat is halal). The statement does not mean that the meat only of a goat is halal while its bones and fats are forbidden. What we are actually implying here is that a goat is a halal animal as a whole.


DS
Dr. Shehzad Saleem

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The Dietary Laws

The objective of Islam is to purify all aspects of human life and soul. It therefore insists that besides cleansing the inner self from contamination, care must be exercised in the intake of food and...

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Cite
Dr. Shehzad Saleem (1999). Are Fats and Bones of a Swine Prohibited?. Monthly Renaissance, 9(1).