Why can Muslims drink alcohol or eat pork?
There are known potential benefits of drinking alcohol in moderate quantities. However social drinking can easily lead to heavier drinking and there are known potential risks from drinking alcohol in large quantities, including fatal accidents, fatal diseases, an increased chance of developing cirrhosis of the liver, increased risks of many different types of cancer; alcohol can also harm an unborn baby. “They ask you (O Muhammad) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say: “In them is a great sin, and (some) benefit for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit.”……..” Thus God makes clear to you His Laws in order that you may give thought.” (Surah Al Baqarah, Chapter 2 Verse 219) The Qur’an has not explained the reason for the prohibition of pork. But Muslims are not alone in abstaining from pork: Jews do not eat pork, neither did Jesus; Confucius also advised against it. It may be due to the pig’s willingness to eat any kind of food, including dead insects, excreta and
