Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

 

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

 

I saw in the internet that cows eat pork, so can we eat it?

 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

 

Answer:

 

Cows eat pork swine jallalah

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person,  no grave, no prophet,  no imam,  no dai,  nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

 

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 1.12

‘Jallalah’ refers to an animal that eats the waste or flesh of other animals. Ibn 'Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah (saws) forbade even the drinking of such animals' milk. (Related by Bukhari and Muslim)

The Messenger of Allah (saws) also said: "It is also prohibited to ride upon a ‘Jallalah.’ (Related by Abu Dawud.) 'Amr ibn Shu'aib related on the authority of his father, from his grandfather, that the Messenger of Allah (saws) prohibited the meat of domestic donkeys. As for the ‘Jallalah’, he (saws) prohibited riding or eating them." (Related by Ahmad, an-Nasa'i and Abu Dawud.)

If the ‘Jallalah’ animal is kept away and quarantined from the other animals for some time and is given clean food to eat, then it becomes pure and is no longer called ‘Jallalah’. If this is the case, it becomes permissible to eat, as the reason for its prohibition was the change it underwent due to eating filth, a state which would no longer be present.

 

The term used in Islamic Jurisprudence or Fiqh for a normally lawful animal which eats or consumes the ‘najis’ or impurities is ‘Jallalah’….and the Messenger of Allah (saws) forbade the believers to consume the flesh or milk of such an animal, or even to ride upon them.  

 

Thus the cow which has been fed with swine flesh would be a ‘Jallalah’, and it would not be lawful for a believer to consume the flesh of the ‘Jallalah’ animal; but if that ‘Jallalah’ animal is quarantined and fed good food for a period of time necessary to cleanse its system of the filth it has consumed, the flesh of that animal would be lawful for the believers to consume.

 

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

 

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

 

 

Burhan