SA. In reviewing YT130, for the preparation of the recent MQ Live, I was curious to explore the phrases وَلَحْمِ طَيْرٍ (laḥm ṭayr) and وَلَحْمَ الْخِنْزِيرِ (laḥm al-khinzīr) as they appear across several verses, traditionally understood in relation to food prohibitions (while being aware that we have not defined the word ‘haram’). Since the discussion on the MQ live does not touch much on YT130, perhaps I could ask them here.

The verses in question are 6:145, 16:115, 2:173, 5:3 and 5:60, compared to 56:21.

Initial Observation: 56:21 in YT130

56:21 – وَلَحْمِ طَيْرٍ مِّمَّا يَشْتَهُونَ
And (as the occupants of Jannah, they lean on) following of the ‘Ṭayr’ (angels and/or teachers), as they desire.

In this verse, laḥm ṭayr does not denote “meat of birds” in a literal sense as traditionally translated, but the leaning upon or following of the ṭayr, understood as beings of higher disposition, angels and/or teachers, whom the occupants of Jannah desire to be guided by.

If I could set this as a preliminary linguistic and conceptual baseline: laḥm here relates to what one leans on, follows, or draws from, not merely what one eats. (without evaluating all other occurrences of the word laḥm for now).

Mapping Occurrences of “Laḥm al-Khinzīr”

The quadriliteral root خ ن ز ر (kh-n-z-r) occurs five times in the Qur’an:

Verse - Form - Phrase - Description/Context/Notes

• 2:173:7 l-khinzīri وَلَحْمَ الْخِنزِيرِ Among prohibited items

• 5:3:6 l-khinzīri وَلَحْمَ الْخِنزِيرِ Among prohibited items

• 5:60:18 wal-khanāzīra وَالْخَنَازِيرَ No laḥm, as part of divine penalty and degradation 

• 6:145:21 khinzīrin لَحْمَ خِنزِيرٍ Listed among what is impure

• 16:115:7 l-khinzīri وَلَحْمَ الْخِنزِيرِ Similar prohibition context

Notably, four of these occurrences share the same form (al-khinzīr), while the fifth in 5:60 uses a distinct plural form ٱلْخَنَازِيرَ (al-khanāzīr).

5:60 – قُلْ هَلْ أُنَبِّئُكُم بِشَرٍّۢ مِّن ذَٰلِكَ مَثُوبَةً عِندَ ٱللَّـهِ مَن لَّعَنَهُ ٱللَّـهُ وَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ وَجَعَلَ مِنْهُمُ ٱلْقِرَدَةَ وَٱلْخَنَازِيرَ وَعَبَدَ ٱلطَّـٰغُوتَ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ شَرٌّ مَّكَانًا وَأَضَلُّ عَن سَوَآءِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ

Say, “Shall I inform you of (what is) worse than that as penalty from Allahh? (It is for) those whom Allahh has cursed and with whom He became angry and made of them parasitic (like) blood-sucking ticks, and harsh and lazy, and slaves of Ṭāghūt. Those are worse in position and further astray from the sound way.”

In this translation, ٱلْخَنَازِيرَ (al-khanāzīr) is understood as “the harsh and lazy.” This suggests that the word group around kh-n-z-r may carry behavioural and moral connotations, harshness and spiritual laziness, rather than merely an animal label.

If ٱلْخَنَازِيرَ in 5:60 signifies “the harsh and lazy,” then لَحْمَ خِنْزِيرٍ in 6:145, 2:173, 5:3, and 16:115 could be read as:

“(to lean on the) following of the harsh and lazy.”

In that sense, could the recurring phrase laḥm al-khinzīr then describe the act of drawing from, or being nourished by, corrupt and spiritually degraded sources.?

This brings to question whether these verses concern food prohibitions at all. Perhaps, they could be addressing spiritual or intellectual nourishment, warning us against following those whose traits mirror the khanāzīr of 5:60.

The contrast between ṭayr and khinzīr perhaps becomes more conceptually aligned:

• Laḥm ṭayr = leaning upon the elevated (angelic/teacherly).

• Laḥm khinzīr = leaning upon the harsh and lazy (spiritually degraded).

If laḥm ṭayr corresponds to following elevated guidance, and laḥm khinzīr to following the harsh and lazy, then the four verses conventionally read as dietary restrictions might actually serve a different purpose,  to alert us against spiritual consumption of distortion. If I follow this line of reasoning in this preliminary analysis, it leads to some more questions:

• Are these verses “camouflaged” warnings about spiritual/intellectual dependency instead of food prohibition?

• What is the reason behind the need for camouflage? To serve as a trap for the beliers or other reasons?

• Is it now possible to expand our dietary sources? (I am curious)

I appreciate any insights/comments or redirection from any of you.  SA