God Arises
The Challenge of The Qur’an
~ 373 ~
the reason for the special method of slaughter
prescribed in Islam. The wielder of the knife, having
taken the name of God, makes an incision in the
jugular vein; leaving the other veins of the neck
intact. This causes death by a total loss of blood
from the body, rather than by injury to any vital
organ. Were the animal’s brain, heart, liver or any
other vital organ to be crippled, the animal would
die immediately, and its blood would congeal in its
veins and eventually permeate the flesh. The
animal’s flesh would thus be contaminated with
uric acid and would become poisonous.
Pork has also been prohibited in the Quran. At that
time the reasons for this prohibition were not fully
understood. Nowadays, people are much more well
informed about its harmful effects. Uric acid, as we
have seen, is present in all animals. The human
body too has its share, which is extracted by the
kidneys and excreted by means of urination. Ninety
per cent of the uric acid collected in the human
body is extracted in this way. But the pig’s
biochemistry is such that it excretes only two
percent of its uric acid. The rest remains an integral
part of the body. It is this factor which causes the
