What Does the Quran Say About Pigs? A Cross-Religious Comparison

Not applicable in the sense that the Quran is not a Jewish scripture. However, the substance of the question — whether pigs and pork are forbidden — is deeply relevant to Judaism through its own independent sources.

Jewish dietary law (kashrut) prohibits pork based on the Torah, specifically Leviticus 11:7-8 and Deuteronomy 14:8, which classify the pig as a non-kosher animal because, while it has split hooves, it does not chew its cud. The pig is sometimes called the paradigmatic example of a forbidden animal in rabbinic literature. Rabbi Joseph Karo codified this in the Shulchan Aruch (16th century), and it remains binding in Orthodox and Conservative communities today. The prohibition covers not just eating pork but also handling or deriving benefit from pig flesh in certain contexts.

So while Judaism doesn't cite the Quran, it arrives at the same practical conclusion — pork is forbidden — through its own scriptural and legal tradition.

Not applicable in the strict sense that the Quran is a specifically Islamic scripture with no authority in Christian theology. Christianity does not recognize the Quran as divine revelation.

On the broader dietary question, mainstream Christianity generally permits the eating of pork. The New Testament, particularly Acts 10:9-15 and Mark 7:19, is interpreted by most Christian denominations as abrogating the Old Testament dietary restrictions for Gentile believers. The Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15, c. 49 CE) did not impose Mosaic food laws on non-Jewish Christians. Theologians like John Calvin and Martin Luther both affirmed that ceremonial Torah laws, including dietary rules, were not binding on Christians under the New Covenant.

Some smaller Christian communities, such as Seventh-day Adventists, do voluntarily abstain from pork, citing the Old Testament texts. But this is a minority position. The dominant Christian view is that pork is permissible.

The Quran is unambiguous and emphatic on this point: the flesh of swine is haram (forbidden). The prohibition appears in at least four Quranic passages — 2:173, 5:3, 6:145, and 16:115 — making it one of the most repeatedly stated dietary rules in the entire text Quran 5:3.

Surah 5:3 is the most comprehensive of these, listing pork alongside blood, carrion, animals slaughtered in the name of other than Allah, and several other categories of forbidden food Quran 5:3. Crucially, the same verse includes a mercy clause: "But whoever is forced by severe hunger with no inclination to sin — then indeed, Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful" Quran 5:3, meaning the prohibition can be suspended in genuine life-threatening necessity (darura).

Classical scholars like Imam al-Nawawi (13th century) and Ibn Qudama treated the pig prohibition as among the most settled (qat'i) rulings in Islamic jurisprudence, with no dissenting school of thought permitting pork. The prohibition extends beyond just eating — many scholars hold that selling, handling, or using pig-derived products (like lard in food processing) is also impermissible, though there's some scholarly disagreement about highly processed derivatives where the original substance is considered transformed (istihalah).

Hadith literature reinforces this. While the specific hadiths retrieved here address other dietary matters — such as the prohibition on fanged predatory animals Sahih Muslim 4992 and the rules for sacrificial slaughter Sahih Muslim 5072 — they reflect the broader Islamic framework of regulated, intentional eating as an act of worship. The pig prohibition sits at the core of that framework.

Not applicable. Concerns Islamic scripture/practice; no direct counterpart.

Not applicable. Concerns Islamic scripture/practice; no direct counterpart.

The Qur’an directly prohibits “the flesh of swine” as food for Muslims, listing it among other forbidden items. Quran 5:3 It also articulates a narrow exception: if someone is compelled by severe hunger, without desire to sin, God is Forgiving and Merciful—so life-saving necessity can suspend the ban. Quran 5:3 Prophetic hadiths meanwhile forbid other categories (e.g., “all fanged beasts of prey”), but that’s a separate restriction; the specific ruling on pork comes from the Qur’an. Sahih Muslim 4992