Quranic
Prohibitions:
FOOD:
2: 173
"He has forbidden
you dead meat, and blood, and flesh of swine , and on which any other
name has been invoked besides that of Allah. But if one is forced by
necessity without willful disobedience, nor transgressing, due
limits.... than he is not guilty, for Allah is forgiving, merciful."
5:4
"Forbidden to you
are: Dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine and that on which has been
invoked a name other than Allah's, and that killed by strangling, or
by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death:
That which has been eaten by a wild animal: Unless you are able to
slaughter it, that which has been sacrificed on stone: (forbidden)
also is the divination of arrows: that is impiety.
6:145
"Say: I find not
in the Message received by me by inspiration any meat forbidden to be
eaten by one who wishes to eat of it, unless it be dead meat, or
blood poured forth, or the flesh of swine, for it is an abomination,
- or what is impious, (meat) on which a name has been invoked, other
than God's. But even so, if a person is forced by necessity without
wilful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits, - Your Lord is
Oft-Forgiving , Most Merciful."
16:115
"He has-only
forbidden you dead meat, and blood; and the flesh of swine, and any
(food) over which the name of other than God has been invoked. But if
one is forced by necessity without wilful disobedience, nor
transgressing due limits, - Your Lord is Oft-Forgiving , Most
Merciful."
INTOXICANTS: 2:219
"They ask you
concerning wine and gambling. Say: "In them there is great sin,
and some profit, for men, but sin is greater than the profit."
4:43
"O you who
believe! Approach not prayers, with a mind befogged, until you can
understand all that you say."
5:90
"O you who
believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and
(divination by) arrows, are an abomination of Satan's handiwork.
Avoid such (abomination) that you may prosper."
5:91
"Satan's plan is
to sow enmity and hatred among you with intoxicants and gambling, and
to hinder you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. Will you
not then give up."
PROPHET MOHAMMED
(PBUH) ON THE SUBJECT OF LAWFUL AND PROHIBITED.
I. "That which is
lawful is plain and that which is unlawful is plain and between the
two of them are doubtful matters about which many people do not know.
Thus he who avoids doubtful matters clears himself in regards to his
religion and his honour, but he who falls into doubtful matters falls
into that which is unlawful." (narrated by Abu Abdullah An Numan
Bin Bashar-R.A. Reported in Bukhari and Muslim.)
2. "Allah the
Almighty has laid down religious duties, so do not neglect them; He
has set boundaries, so do not cross them; He has prohibited some
things, so do not violate them; about some things. He was silent out
of compassion for you, not due to forgetfulness-, so do not seek
after them." (narrated by Abu Tbalaba Al Khushani Jurtum Bin
Nashir-R.A.reported in Ad-Daraqutni.)
3. "Allah the
Almighty is pure and accepts only that which is pure. Allah has asked
the believers to do that He asked the messengers, and the Almighty
has said: (23:5 1) "0 you messengers! Eat of the pure things and
do right." And Allah the Almighty has said: (2:172) "O you
who believe! Eat of the pure things that we have provided you."
Then the Prophet (pbuh) gave example of a man tired and dusty after a
long journey, raises his hands to the sky and says: "O Lord! 0
Lord!".. while his food is unlawful, Ns drink is unlawful, his
clothing is unlawful, and he is nourished unlawfully, so how can his
prayers be answered?"(Narrated by Abu Huraira-R.A. reported in
Muslim.)
INTRODUCTION:
It is not required of
the believer to always find a scientific justification for the divine
prohibitions. However, if they look and find it, they must share the
information, that will increase their faith. To the contrary, lack of
confirmation should not question the authenticity of the Quran. We
believe that all Quranic statements are true, and if science has not
confirmed some of them yet, it will do so in the future, may be it
needs to examine its data more deeply or repeat the experiment.
For the benefits of
non-medical readers, before I describe the topic in question i.e.
hormonal and behavioral effect of prohibited food, intoxicants and
ingredients, I must define some medical terms and
inter-relationships:
HORMONES:
These are the powerful
secretions of Endocfine (internal) glands. They control the functions
of all organs, and even individual cells. They are made from proteins
(peptides) or sterols in nature. The endocrine glands are hypothalmus
which secretes various releasing hormones for pituitary, and
pituitary which secretes hormones for target endocrine glands. Both
of them are inside the brain. Target endocrine glands are thyroid
hormones. Thyroid hormones control our metabolism, energy level, and
temperature tolerance.
Behind them are
para-thyroid gland which control our calcium metabolism. In the
abdomen are adrenal glands above the kidneys which secrete cortisone,
the life saving essential hormone, and catecholamines and aldosterone
which control our blood pressure and heart-rate. Steroids and
catecholamines are derived from cholesterol. Also in the abdomen is
the pancreas which secretes insulin which lowers blood sugar, and
glycogen which raises a low blood sugar. Lower down in the pelvis are
gonads, ovaries in women, and testes in men, which secrete estrogen,
progesterone and testosterone respectively. All these hormones have
internal control, and influence each other. They control our growth,
muscle mass, bone development, temperature tolerance, blood pressure,
energy, fertility, sex desire, thirst, and well being in general.
HOW DO HORMONES
AFFECT BEHAVIOUR:
The site of secretion
of releasing hormone, and of neurotransmitter in the brain are the
same in the hypothalmic area. Most of the psychotropic drugs either
act by increasing or decreasing the neurotransmitter levels i.e.
epinephrine, norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine or endorphrin level
in the hypothalmic area. Similarly, peurotransmitters influence
hormone secretion.
Clinically we see
various behavioral manifestations in endocrine disorders.
Hypoglycemic patients (low blood sugar) suffer from depression and
poor mental concentration and patients with low thyroid have
impotency and depression, while patients with high thyroid have
agitation, irritability, and lack of sleep. Patients with low
cortisone (Addison Disease) have severe depression while with high
cortisone have hallucination and psychosis. Patients with high
testosterone have been claimed to have criminal tendencies (i.e.
rapists) while low testosterone have behavioral problems in
adjustment. Patients with calcium changes.
Physiologically, boys
and girls are different in playing behavior i.e. aggressive versus
passive (playing with mechanical toys and guns versus dolls) due to
difference in their sex hormone even in pre-pubertal age. This
becomes more obvious after full sex differentiation takes place. In
fact, by changing the sex hormone level of a given sex one can change
not only the sexual behavior but the aggressiveness of a particular
sex. Homosexual males have been noted to have less male sex hormones,
and on the other hand, repeated sex offending males can be "cured"
by castration or by the injection of the female hormone progesterone.
In one experiment, female rats whose mothers were treated with
testosterone while pregnant showed male behavior pattern of
threatening peer, rough play, and increased sexual activity as
compared to a control rat. This shows that testosterone not only
affects the individual, but the offspring as well. Girls with
congenital adrenal hyperplasia (excessive testosterone secretion)
when in post puberty age show tomboy attitude with liking rough
sports, preferring boys as playmates, and low interest in dolls and
baby care. Sexual behavior is not only affected by testosterone, but
also by the pineal gland which is turned off and on by light and
darkness.
Hormones, not directly
but indirectly by controlling\sugar, calcium, sodium balance, affect
behavior in general to include anger, love, anxiety, panic attacks,
and agitation. The hyperactivity in children could be due to low
blood sugar or due to many food preservatives and coloring agent like
nitrites, and Dye No. 5.
After this much
introduction of hormones, and behavior, I turn to the main theme.
HORMONAL AND
BEHAVIORAL EEFFECT OF PORK MEAT AND FAT INGESTION:
Pork meat and fat are
not only prohibited to Muslims, but were also prohibited to Jews and
Christians as well because "Swine were designed to be
scavengers, to eat up filth." In old testament Leviticus Chapter
7-8, it is mentioned about swine "Though he divides the hoof and
be cloven footed, yet he cheweth not the cud, he is unclean to you.
Of their flesh shall you not eat." There is no mention in the
Bible that Jesus ever ate pork in his life. It was Paul who declared
all food and drink permissible saying, "To the pure, everything
is pure."
THE LIFE OF THE
SWINE:
To get a first hand
idea, I interviewed farmers of Fisher, Indiana, who breed swine.
According to them "Swine is cheaper to breed, since it does not
require pasture, it can live on manure and other such items including
dead meat. In fact, it can even eat its own feces. Their sexual
habits are also different from other animals like cow, sheep and
goat. Swine have very little shame i.e. engage in sex acts anytime
anyplace. The female hog is very aggressive in sexual activities when
she is in "heat" she does not care about anything (i.e.
food or privacy) until she has the sex. They i.e. swine, also lick
the genitals of their partners after sex like dogs, but not other
mammals like cow, sheep or goat."
WHY IS PORK FAT
DIFFERENT FROM OTHER ANIMAL FAT:
Fats are lipids which
are a source of energy. They can be of vegetable source or of animal
source. Triglycerides are neutral fats with 1 molecule of glycerol
and three fatty acids. The fatty acids can be saturated or
unsaturated. The more unsaturated fats have high melting points. The
iodine value of fat gives the degree of un-saturation. The iodine
value of lard is 65, beef 45, and mutton 32. After ingestion,
emulsification of fat takes place in the stomach by gastric lipase.
By pancreatic lipase hydrolysis of triglyceride into glycerol and
fatty acids takes place.
The fatty acids and
glycerol are used by various tissues like muscle, heart, kidney, and
liver for an energy source. Herbivorous (plant eating) animals have
unsaturated fatty acid on the position 2 of the triglyceride (tg)
molecule, while the carnivorous (meat eating) animals have saturated
fatty acid at the position 2. Pancreatic lipase (pl) can not
hydrolyze TG molecule if saturated fatty acid at position 2. Fat of
dogs, rats, cats, and pork, have saturated fatty acids on positions
2.
If a person eats fat of
herbivorous animal, the fat will be hydrolyzed, absorbed, and then re
synthesized and stored as human fat, while that of carnivorous
animals and pork fat will not be hydrolyzed and therefore has to be
deposited in humans as pork fat in the adipose tissue.
WHAT HAS DEPOSITION
OF PORK FAT TO DO WITH HORMONE AND BEHAVIOR IN HUMANS:
Circulating hormones
are in bound form and free form. The free form has to be attached to
receptor in fat tissue before becoming active. Obesity decreases the
number of receptors therefore the hormones cannot be utilized.
Therefore, if the hormone is insulin, it leads to diabetes (type 2);
and if it is testosterone, it leads to sub fertility and amenorrhea.
The amount of fat also controls hormone release. Therefore we see
menarche is delayed in athletic girls with less fat, and occurs early
in sedentary overweight girls.
It can be postulated
that in humans who have pork fat deposit there is derangement in the
binding of hormones, therefore they have a higher level of
circulating active hormone. It is possible that the sexual
promiscuity and deviant sexual practices of pork eating society is
due to what they eat! After all, it has been said by nutritionists,
"You are what you eat."
Since this is a paper
on hormones and behavior, the time does not permit discussing the
effect of pork on cholesterol, sodium and the relationship to heart
disease.
EFFECTS OF DEAD MEAT
AND BLOOD INGESTION: Dead meat is the meat of animal which died
before slaughtering and blood could not flow out, and blood ingestion
is not only the drinking of blood as it was prevalent in the Jahiliya
of Arabia or even now in Africa (and in France) but also the blood
which is retained inside the meat by improper killing of the animal.
All hormones, and antibodies are retained in the blood, and all
infective organisms including virus flourish in the blood media,
therefore ingestion of such will be dangerous medically. It may also
induce animal instincts as seen in carnivorous animals like dogs,
cats, and lions.
HORMONAL EFFECTS OF
ALCOHOL:
Both in acute and
chronic alcoholism, endocrine glands are affected. Hypoglycemia is a
manifestation of acute alcoholism which may be severe, and can lead
to coma. This should be recognized and treated with dextrose
intravenously since it mat not respond to glycogen. Low magnesium
with resultant low calcium is another effect resulting in poor
concentration, muscle twitching and even seizure. Increase in urine
flow is due to depression of antidiuretic hormone.
Chronic alcoholism
leads to pancreatitis with failure of pancreatic endocrine system
(sometimes Diabetes) and exocrine gland (malnutrition). This leads to
protein deficiency leading to reduced production of testosterone,
which may lead to impotency, gynecomastia in men and amenorrhea in
women. Alcoholics can also have a pseudo (false) cushing syndrome.
Alcohol related liver disease causes increased clearance of
testosterone with testicular atrophy leading to true hypogonadism.
Sperm formation is also affected leading to infertility. Infants born
to an alcoholic mother can also have undercended testes and labial
hypoplasia. In addition, the cortisol levels are increased during
withdrawal, while LH and LH-RH levels are suppressed during chronic
alcoholism.
BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS OF
ALCOHOL: Alcohol, being a central nervous system depressant,
depresses both facilitatory and inhibitory pathways. It is the
suppression of the latter that abolishes the shame and removes
control. Therefore, what a normal person will be prevented from doing
i.e. abusive language, undressing in public, etc. will not be
prevented under the influence of alcohol. There are more serious
behavioral disorders described to include brain disjunction in 50-
70%, memory loss, depression both acute and chronic, high suicide
rate, mood fluctuation, delirium tremorous (DTS) in withdrawal state,
and blackout spells during drinking. One-third of all auto accidents
are due to alcoholism. Under the influence of alcohol are mental
judgement and motor skills, which are both affected. Sometimes the
level of consciousness is also affected. Alcohol had been found to be
at the root of family violence, sexual violence, rape, assault, and
child abuse.
Alcohol is not an
aphrodisiac, as it is claimed. Not only does it depress the central
nervous system's effect on the libido, but actually lowers the penile
blood flow and tumescence (swelling) thereby decreasing the
performance.
EFFECTS OF NARCOTICS
(COCAINE & MARIJUANA) ON HORMONES AND BEHAVIOR: Both LSD and
cocaine cause decreases in plasma testosterone and LH. The
aphrodisiac effect is due to local anesthesia causing prolonged
erection and central stimulation causing general well being. Also by
inhibiting the inhibitions, they encourage engagement in unusual sex
acts like sodomy or oral genital sex.
Psychologically they
cause mood elation and a false sense of euphoria followed by
depression, anxiety and agitation Panic attacks, suicidal tendencies,
and violent behaviors are not uncommon. Chronic usage may lead to
schizophrenia, paranoia, and a variety of psychiatric disorders, even
infants born to cocaine addicted mothers show signs of withdrawal.
EFFECTS OF INGREDIENTS
ON HORMONES AND BEHAVIOR: If ingredients are of prohibited nature,
i.e. pork, lard, alcohol, cocaine etc., the effect will be as
described earlier, though because of the small quantity, the effect
will be slow and may be cumulative.
More serious are items
like sugar which causes reactive hypoglycemia; sodium which may lead
to hypertension; DES (Diethylstillbestrol, a female hormone given to
cattle and chickens to increase fat and muscle content) linked to
vaginal and cervical cancer in women; and artificial sweeteners like
saccharine related to bladder cancer in rats, and aspartame related
to brain damage.
CONCLUSION:
More research is needed
on all of the above areas, especially those affecting the life style
of Muslims. Though usage of prohibited items are not commonly found
in Muslims, the dangers also may come to their health and spirits by
the effects of non-prohibited items like western rock music, dress
(i.e. tight jeans affecting testicular temperature) and sexual
practices, and cigarette smoking.
SELECTED REFERENCES:
1.
-Qur'an;2:173,5:4,6:145,16:115,2:219,4:43,5:98,5:91.
2. - Yusaf Al Qardawi;
The Lawful and Prohibited in Islam: 39-61.
3. - Hussaini, M.M. and
A.H. Sakr. 1983, Islamic Dietary Laws and Practices, Published by the
Islamic Food and Nutiition Council of America, Chicago, Illinois
U.S.A.
4. - William,R.H.;Test
Book of Endocrinolocy. 6th edition:chapter on Psychoendocrinology.
5. - Felig &
Baxter; Endocrinology and Metabolism.
6. - Goodart &
Shils; Modern Nutrition in Health And Disease: 6th edition.
7. - Badri,M.B.; Islam
and Alcoholism: ATP Publication, lndianapolis.
8. - Saud, M.A.; Sex
Roles in Muslim Families in U.S.A.; Published in Al-ittihad.
9. - Drucker, WM.;
Endocrinc Abnormalities caused by Alcobolism;
Medical Aspect
of Human Sexuality-Vol. 16, No. 12, Dec. 1982.
10. - Eckardt et a];
Health Hazard Associated with Alcohol Consumption: JAMA 1981.
11. - Washton and
Stone; Human Cost of Cocaine Use; Medical Aspects of Human
Sexuality-Vol. 18, No. II, Nov. 1984.
PRESENTED ON:
September 20, 1986 at
the Fourth Annual Convention of the Islamic Food and Nutrition
Council of America, held at the Muslim
Community Center,
Chicago.
