Al-Baqarah 173: Allah has forbidden (eating) the dead (that has not been slaughtered), flowing blood, pork meat and that which has been sacrificed for others beside Allah. But those who fall into extreme scarcity (to the level of extinguishment) can eat from them without embracing them as permissible and without transgressing; there is no sin for them. Verily, Allah is Ghafoor (Forgiving) and Raheem (the One who very generously accepts repentance).

Allah, for you, that which has died without being slaughtered, flowing blood, pork, and what is slaughtered for other than Allah He has strictly forbidden.

Pork and what is slaughtered for other than Allah He has made strictly forbidden, but whoever falls into straits to the point of perishing, not taking it as halal and not exceeding the limit – the limit, what is it? He liked it, (?) eats. Only as much as to have the strength to stay on his feet, that is, with disgust, enough to get from it to where he is going, or enough for the time until he can secure his earnings, (?) he may eat a little of them. He may eat of these forbidden things. There is no sin on him. Indeed, Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful. We said that Allah Almighty, in His verse, by stating which of the beings He created are forbidden because they do not suit the human body and harm it, decrees that people protect their health.

Their health. What a predator has killed is full of germs. The saliva from the animal's mouth, or the bacteria in it, have passed into that meat. Because its body, that animal's body, is used to those bacteria. Those bacteria kill some disease germs in that animal, but do no harm to that animal. But when a person eats those bacteria, that animal's bacteria, with the bacteria that passed into the meat, the body becomes ill. It may even end in death.

So Allah Almighty – animals that died without being slaughtered, which died diseased, well, flowing blood – blood is filth anyway, I mean germs are found in the blood. Today we sometimes see in documentaries that they slaughter an animal and drink its blood. They drink blood. One truly feels disgust seeing them. So they cannot be rid of filth, diseases, germs.

Well, pork has trichina in it anyway. When it is cooked in food, that trichina does not die. When it passes into the human body, the person gets sick.

To protect the human body from such diseases, Allah Almighty informs us of the state of His creatures that are not to be eaten.

As we said in the previous verses, these things counted as forbidden have been proven in medicine to be harmful to the human body. When pork is eaten, the trichina in its meat, once it passes into the human body, causes many diseases. The meat of an animal that died without being slaughtered, without its blood flowing, is also filth. Germs are found in the blood. As the germs eat the white blood cells in the blood, the human body's resistance falls and the person gets sick.

Even if the animal that died without its blood flowing was healthy, this dead animal's meat, after a while, germs – it becomes germ-ridden, it starts to rot. When an animal dies, some cells in its body are still alive. So, because these cells feed on the dead animal's blood, they draw the blood in the veins, and with it the germs in the blood also pass into the animal's meat. A person who eats this will of course get sick. That is carrion. So the meat of animals that died without being slaughtered is also not eaten. Also, if dead animals died in a field and the dead animal's meat has started to rot, that too is carrion; meat rotting means that meat becoming germ-ridden.

As we mentioned above, blood is filth, all germs are found in blood, and drinking blood is also haram. Eating what is slaughtered for other than Allah is also haram. It harms people's faith, that is, their belief. As if there were a god other than Allah, and these animals slaughtered and sacrificed were created by that god, slaughtered in his name, sacrificed and offered to you, or slaughtered out of respect for him and (?) in his name – and that is associating partners with Allah. So since the meat of animals slaughtered in the name of other than Allah and of those sacrificed is haram, these are not eaten either.

If animals slaughtered in the name of other than Allah were eaten, this would damage the tawhid of "la ilaha illallah". It would mean there is another god and our Lord accepted this too. Yes, that is why our Lord strictly forbids these.

These, these things counted as forbidden, are definitely not to be eaten, He says, because Allah Almighty has strictly forbidden them. But for people who are wronged and come to the point of dying of hunger, there is no harm in eating them without considering them halal. As I said a moment ago, human life is precious, a human soul is precious, if he has that life – that is, until the place he is going; he is in a desert, for example, until he crosses it, or until he secures his provision: today he has no provision, but tomorrow he does, the day after he does. So until he reaches a state where he can work and earn his provision, there is no harm in his eating of these meats for a while, eating without considering them halal.

Because we came to this world to be tested. To be tested; we are being tested.

These have already come to the point of perishing from hunger. I mean, who is this? Those who eat without considering it halal. For protecting the body Allah Almighty gave us in trust, and not considering these forbidden things halal: it has been made halal for you only – not eating with appetite, but eating enough to keep yourself on your feet until the moment you are saved – for those left in a state where it will relieve their distress. There is no harm in these people eating these forbidden things, and Allah Almighty decrees that there is no sin for people in this state in eating them. Indeed, Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Allah Almighty is the Possessor of mercy. And because He accepts repentance, when people turn to Him, He forgives the mistakes they made through the person's repentance. Why? Allah Almighty forgives repentances abundantly. He is At-Tawwab, He says. Allah Almighty created human reason deficient. People, unknowingly, thinking they are doing right, can do wrong things, and they do. We do, we say. So when he sees he has done wrong and realizes he was mistaken, when he repents and turns to his Lord, surely we will find our Lord as Most Forgiving, as the One who (?) repentance. Why? Because it fits the purpose of creation.

What? I mean, does a mistake fit the purpose of creation? Yes. He created us fallible in that way, so that when one falls short he knows his helplessness – but not knowingly, of course. These mistakes are not knowing ones. Let him know his helplessness and turn to his Lord. "Well, does He not forgive what is done knowingly?" You followed your nafs, you also realized it was a mistake, but you could not give up your nafs. And your heart is in sorrow. Whenever, from it, from those mistakes you made, you repent and seek forgiveness and turn to your Lord, you will still find Allah Almighty forgiving.

Because the human nafs has got used to something, has made it a habit, it keeps wanting to eat, wanting to drink. For example, he is used to alcohol; he knows it is haram, forbidden, and at the same time "O Allah, forgive me," he says. On the other hand there are the others; I witness this. "I – forgive, O Allah. Well, I shouldn't do it, I (?)." That's what he says.

If they give it up, with that will, surely they will find Allah Almighty Most Forgiving. Otherwise, as long as he continues it, as long as he continues that alcohol, those disliked things, as long as he continues those forbidden things, well, now, if you turned to your Lord while still doing it, without repenting, that is, turned without giving it up – even though Allah Almighty has the attribute At-Tawwab, wouldn't the other one say, "O Allah, I feared You, I didn't drink this, and You forgave this one too; what difference is left between me and him?" Allah Almighty's attribute of justice would also be impaired.

So however much our Lord is At-Tawwab, however much He loves those people, to remain worthy of that love we will give it up. If we said, "Do you love your Lord?" At once he would say, "I love Him very much."

What is the proof? The proof: can you give up that alcohol?

Then, if you give up your alcohol for Allah, you loved your Lord very much. Well, those who say "I love my Lord very much" – our ladies – can you cover your heads? Then you'd know that you love Allah very much – I would know. If you uncover your head, now, did you love your Lord more, or your nafs more? Your nafs more, of course. So you will compare these and, accordingly, the shortcomings in your own nafs you will see. And act accordingly and strive to attain Allah's mercy.