Is Halal meat healthier?

Being Muslim, we are only allowed to consume Halal food and drinks. However, Haram food is not forbidden in Islam just for the sake of forbidding it. There is a strong reasoning behind it.

What is Halal meat?

First of all, there are Halal animals, which Muslims can consume and Haram animals which Muslims cannot consume. Among the Haram animals, the most prominent is swine/pig.

Allah (SWT) says in the Holy Quran:

“He has only forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah. But whoever is forced [by necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit] - then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (Quran 16: 115)

Secondly, out of the animals that have been prescribed as Halal, the whole process of rearing and slaughtering the animal has been outlined and is to be strictly followed in order to make the meat Halal.

Benefits

In Islam, all living things are to be treated with the utmost care and respect. Similarly, the animals reared for consuming are also to be cared for and should be reared in good conditions. This eventually ensures that the animal is not sick at the time of the slaughter and no disease is transferred to the consumer. Moreover, the animal is slaughtered after taking Allah’s (SWT) name, making it all the more pure.

Once an animal is slaughtered, in the Halal meat process, the animal is allowed to bleed out. This ensures that all the toxins are released from the animal and it is safe to eat for the end consumer. Hence, it is healthier for the person eating the meat. In addition to being healthy, the resulting meat turns out to be tender and much tastier to the regular meat when cooked.

Coming over to the meat forbidden in Islam, pork is not only considered Haram in Islam, in fact, if we look at scientific evidence it is not suitable for consumption. For starters, pigs eat waste. Anything that an animal eats is eventually transferred in some form or the other to the consumer of that animal.

Pigs have fewer functional sweat glands as a result of which the toxins are not released and hence, trapped inside the body. In addition, the digestive system of the pig works very fast, digesting all that it eats in up to four hours as opposed to other animals like cows who take up to 24 hours to digest their food. Digesting helps the body get rid of the toxins or any other waste that can be injurious to health. Since a pig’s digestive system is not very complex and works rather quickly, it is not able to get rid of the toxins which are eventually stored in the fat that is consumed by the people. Consequently, consumers of pork are highly prone to dangerous diseases.

The concept of consuming Halal meat is not only ensuring that the consumer is eating a healthy and safe meal at the end of the day but the whole process is very humane as the animals do not have to go through an agonizingly painful process. Therefore, in its entirety, the concept of having Halal meat is not only good for practicing Muslims but every human being who wishes to lead a healthy life.