Source: Chicago Islam Examiner | December 8, 2009
By Qasim Rashid | Chicago, IL.
This is an excerpt from a landmark book, The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam, written by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. In this book, the author presents Islam strictly from the teachings of the Holy Qur'an to show that Islam is in fact a living practical religion. The complete book can be read at http://www.alislam.org/library/books/Philosophy-of-Teachings-of-Islam.pdf
One matter to be kept in mind in this context is that in the very name of this animal, God has indicated the reason for the prohibition of its flesh. The Arabic word for swine is Khinzeer which is a compound of Khanz and Ara, which means: "I see it very foul." Thus the very name that God Almighty gave to this animal at the beginning points to its uncleanness. It is a curious coincidence that in Hindi this animal is called Suar, which is a compound of Su and Ara. This also means: "I see it very foul." It should not be a matter of surprise that the Arabic word Su should have found its way into Hindi. We have established in our book Minanur Rahman, that Arabic is the mother of all languages and that many Arabic words are to be found in all languages. Thus Su is an Arabic word and its equivalent in Hindi is bad. This animal is also called bad in Hindi. There is no doubt that at the time when Arabic was the universal language this animal was known in this country by an Arabic name which was synonymous with Khinzeer, and so it has continued to this day. It is possible that in Sanskrit this word might have undergone some transformation, but the true word is Khinzeer which proclaims its own meaning.
It is not necessary to enter into a detailed exposition of the foulness of this animal. Everyone knows that it eats filth and is utterly shameless. Thus the reason for the prohibition of its flesh is obvious, as by the law of nature its flesh would have a foul effect on the body and the soul of one who eats it. As we have already demonstrated food affects a person's soul and there can be no doubt that the flesh of such a foul animal would also be foul. Even in pre-Islamic times, Greek physicians had opined that the flesh of this animal particularly damages the faculty of modesty and fosters shamelessness. The eating of carrion is also prohibited in Islamic law for the same reason; that is to say, it affects the moral qualities adversely and is also harmful to physical health. The blood of an animal that is strangled or is beaten to death remains inside the body of the dead animal and they are all carrion. It is obvious that the blood of such an animal is soon corrupted and corrupts the whole flesh. It is established by recent research that the germs in such blood spread a poisonous corruption in the flesh of the dead animal.
Read here: Why is the flesh of swine prohibited in Islam?
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