The Consumption of Blood in Islam, Christianity & Judaism

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

A common objection to the Catholic faith is the idea that the Bible forbids the drinking of blood, yet Catholics claim to drink the blood of Christ in the Eucharist.  It is true that the Old Testament forbids consuming blood, but what is the status of this requirement for Christians?  Christianity and Judaism both acknowledge the possibility of eating animals.  Biblical Judaism even mandates it with the requirement of consuming the Passover lamb.  Eating blood was forbidden in the Law of Moses (a.s.).  For example: 

Leviticus 17:10-13

¹⁰ Any Israelite, or alien dwelling among you, who consumes the blood when he eats, becomes My enemy; I will Sever him from my people.  ¹¹ It is the blood that animates all living things, and I have Destined it to make atonement for your souls upon the altar, blood for the purgation of your souls.  ¹² That is why I have Warned the sons of Israel that neither they nor the aliens who dwell among them must consume the blood when they eat.  ¹³ Any Israelite, or alien living among you, who hunts down a beast or snares a bird, such as you are allowed to eat, must drain its blood and cover it with earth. 

¹⁰ καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἄνθρωπος τῶν υἱῶν Ισραηλ ἢ τῶν προσηλύτων τῶν προσκειμένων ἐν ὑμῖν ὃς ἂν φάγῃ πᾶν αἷμα καὶ ἐπιστήσω τὸ πρόσωπόν μου ἐπὶ τὴν ψυχὴν τὴν ἔσθουσαν τὸ αἷμα καὶ ἀπολῶ αὐτὴν ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτῆς ¹¹ ἡ γὰρ ψυχὴ πάσης σαρκὸς αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἐστιν καὶ ἐγὼ δέδωκα αὐτὸ ὑμῖν ἐπὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου ἐξιλάσκεσθαι περὶ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν τὸ γὰρ αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἀντὶ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐξιλάσεται ¹² διὰ τοῦτο εἴρηκα τοῖς υἱοῖς Ισραηλ πᾶσα ψυχὴ ἐξ ὑμῶν οὐ φάγεται αἷμα καὶ ὁ προσήλυτος ὁ προσκείμενος ἐν ὑμῖν οὐ φάγεται αἷμα ¹³ καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἄνθρωπος τῶν υἱῶν Ισραηλ καὶ τῶν προσηλύτων τῶν προσκειμένων ἐν ὑμῖν ὃς ἂν θηρεύσῃ θήρευμα θηρίον ἢ πετεινόν ὃ ἔσθεται καὶ ἐκχεεῖ τὸ αἷμα καὶ καλύψει αὐτὸ τῇ γῇ 

¹⁰ Homo quilibet de domo Israël et de advenis qui peregrinantur inter eos, si comederit sanguinem, obfirmabo faciem meam contra animam illius, et disperdam eam de populo suo, ¹¹ quia anima carnis in sanguine est: et ego dedi illum vobis, ut super altare in eo expietis pro animabus vestris, et sanguis pro animæ piaculo sit.  ¹² Idcirco dixi filiis Israël: Omnis anima ex vobis non comedet sanguinem, nec ex advenis qui peregrinantur apud vos.  ¹³ Homo quicumque de filiis Israël, et de advenis qui peregrinantur apud vos, si venatione atque aucupio ceperit feram, vel avem, quibus vesci licitum est, fundat sanguinem ejus, et operiat illum terra. 

Deuteronomy 12:23, 24

²³ … only do not eat it with the blood, it is the blood that animates living things, and this life of theirs must not be eaten with the flesh, ²⁴ but poured out like water on the ground. 

²³ πρόσεχε ἰσχυρῶς τοῦ μὴ φαγεῖν αἷμα ὅτι τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ ψυχή οὐ βρωθήσεται ἡ ψυχὴ μετὰ τῶν κρεῶν ²⁴ οὐ φάγεσθε ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἐκχεεῖτε αὐτὸ ὡς ὕδωρ 

²³ Hoc solum cave, ne sanguinem comedas: sanguis enim eorum pro anima est, et idcirco non debes animam comedere cum carnibus: ²⁴ sed super terram fundes quasi aquam, 

Both of these passages cite the reason that blood is the life of the flesh.  The passage from Leviticus adds an extra note: 

Leviticus 17:11

¹¹ … I have Destined it to make atonement for your souls upon the altar, blood for the purgation of your souls. 

¹¹ ἡ γὰρ ψυχὴ πάσης σαρκὸς αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἐστιν καὶ ἐγὼ δέδωκα αὐτὸ ὑμῖν ἐπὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου ἐξιλάσκεσθαι περὶ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν τὸ γὰρ αἷμα αὐτοῦ ἀντὶ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐξιλάσεται 

¹¹ quia anima carnis in sanguine est: et ego dedi illum vobis, ut super altare in eo expietis pro animabus vestris, et sanguis pro animæ piaculo sit. 

This indicates the purpose for which the Children of Israel are permitted to use blood as an offering to God in sacrifice.  This offering of blood to God is similar to the way that fat was also reserved to God in the Torah. 

Leviticus 3:16, 17

¹⁶ … these are for the priest to burn on the altar, feeding the flame and giving out acceptable fragrance.  All that is fat shall belong to the Lord; ¹⁷ this rule you must observe continually, age after age, wherever you dwell; neither fat nor blood are for your eating. 

¹⁶ καὶ εἰσοίσει ὁ ἱερεὺς ὁ χριστὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ μόσχου εἰς τὴν σκηνὴν τοῦ μαρτυρίου ¹⁷ καὶ βάψει ὁ ἱερεὺς τὸν δάκτυλον ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ μόσχου καὶ ῥανεῖ ἑπτάκις ἔναντι κυρίου κατενώπιον τοῦ καταπετάσματος τοῦ ἁγίου 

¹⁶ inferet sacerdos, qui unctus est, de sanguine ejus in tabernaculum testimonii, ¹⁷ tincto digito aspergens septies contra velum. 

Both fat and blood were thus seen as reserved to God in sacrifice.  The question is, do the Christians believe this still applies?  To them, it is clear that the way God Wishes sacrifice has changed.  They no longer offer the blood and fat of bulls and goats because since Christ sacrificed himself on the Cross once for all, he perpetually offers himself in heaven and through the sacrifice of the Mass.  Thus, with the change in the manner of sacrifice, the requirements concerning blood and fat in the Old Testament have also been abrogated.  Blood is the symbol of life.  They believe it makes a good symbol for the life of the flesh but it does not automatically carry over into the dietary requirements of Christianity, any more than other Old Testament ritual practices do.  The Christian argument for leaving of the dietary laws comes from this passage: 

Mark 7:18, 19

¹⁸ And he said to them, “Are you still so slow of wit?  Do you not observe that all the uncleanness which goes into a man has no means of defiling him, ¹⁹ because it travels, not into his heart, but into the belly, and so finds its way into the sewer?  Thus he declared all meat to be clean, … 

¹⁸ καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς: οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀσύνετοί ἐστε; οὐ νοεῖτε ὅτι πᾶν τὸ ἔξωθεν εἰσπορευόμενον εἰς τὸν ἄνθρωπον οὐ δύναται αὐτὸν κοινῶσαι, ¹⁹ ὅτι οὐκ εἰσπορεύεται αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν καρδίαν ἀλλ' εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν, καὶ εἰς τὸν ἀφεδρῶνα ἐκπορεύεται, καθαρίζων πάντα τὰ βρώματα; 

¹⁸ Et ait illis: Sic et vos imprudentes estis?  Non intelligitis quia omne extrinsecus introiens in hominem, non potest eum communicare: ¹⁹ quia non intrat in cor ejus, sed in ventrum vadit, et in secessum exit, purgans omnes escas? 

The portion where Jesus (a.s.) declared all meat clean is a later addition to the text.  Jesus (a.s.) is articulating a general principle that what comes into the body from outside does not defile us morally.  Instead, the evil thoughts that come from within us do.  This applies both to dirt on our hands, which is what Jesus (a.s.) was talking about in the original context and extended by the Christians to foods, an implication of the author of the Gospel according to Mark.  This was later further extended from meat to all food.  The dispute about what foods could be eaten continued for some time in the early Church, with different Christians taking different positions.  To help keep peace between Jewish and Gentile converts to Christianity, the Council of Jerusalem issued a pastoral directive: 

Acts 15:29

²⁹ … you are to abstain from what is sacrificed to idols, from blood-meat and meat which has been strangled, and from fornication.  If you keep away from such things, you will have done your part.  Farewell. 

²⁹ ἀπέχεσθαι εἰδωλοθύτων καὶ αἵματος καὶ πνικτῶν καὶ πορνείας: ἐξ ὧν διατηροῦντες ἑαυτοὺς εὖ πράξετε. ἔρρωσθε. 

²⁹ ut abstineatis vos ab immolatis simulacrorum, et sanguine, et suffocato, et fornicatione: a quibus custodientes vos, bene agetis. Valete. 

The reason for this is explained by James (r.a.): 

Acts 15:21

²¹ As for Moses, ever since the earliest times he has been read, sabbath after sabbath, in the synagogues, and has preachers in every city to expound him. 

²¹ Μωϋσῆς γὰρ ἐκ γενεῶν ἀρχαίων κατὰ πόλιν τοὺς κηρύσσοντας αὐτὸν ἔχει ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς κατὰ πᾶν σάββατον ἀναγινωσκόμενος. 

²¹ Moyses enim a temporibus antiquis habet in singulis civitatibus qui eum prædicent in synagogis, ubi per omne sabbatum legitur. 

The early Church believed it would help Jewish converts to Christianity if Gentile converts refrained from certain things thought to violate the Mosaic Law.  Others, like food sacrificed to idols, were not considered forbidden by Christianity even though it remained so in Judaism. Paul of Tarsus did recommend refraining from them when it would cause another to violate his conscience but not because of the offence against God by violating His Sovereignty. 

1 Corinthians 8:4-13

⁴ About meat, then, used in idolatrous worship, we can be sure of this, that a false god has no existence in the order of things; there is one God, and there can be no other.  ⁵ Whatever gods may be spoken of as existing in heaven or on earth (and there are many such gods, many such lords), ⁶ for us there is only one God, the Father Who is the Origin of all things, and the end of our being; only one Lord, Jesus Christ, the creator of all things, who is our way to him.  ⁷ But it is not everybody who has this knowledge; there are those who still think of such meat, while they eat it, as something belonging to idolatrous worship, with the thought of the false god in their minds; their conscience is not easy, and so incurs guilt.  ⁸ And it is not what we eat that gives us our standing in God’s sight; we gain nothing by eating, lose nothing by abstaining; ⁹ it is for you to see that the liberty you allow yourselves does not prove a snare to doubtful consciences.  ¹⁰ If any of them sees one who is better instructed sitting down to eat in the temple of a false god, will not his conscience, all uneasy as it is, be emboldened to approve of eating idolatrously?  ¹¹ And thus, through thy enlightenment, the doubting soul will be lost; thy brother, for whose sake Christ died.  ¹² When you thus sin against your brethren, by injuring their doubtful consciences, you sin against Christ.  ¹³ Why then, if a mouthful of food is an occasion of sin to my brother, I will abstain from flesh meat perpetually, rather than be the occasion of my brother’s sin. 

⁴ περὶ τῆς βρώσεως οὖν τῶν εἰδωλοθύτων οἴδαμεν ὅτι οὐδὲν εἴδωλον ἐν κόσμῳ, καὶ ὅτι οὐδεὶς θεὸς εἰ μὴ εἷς.  ⁵ καὶ γὰρ εἴπερ εἰσὶν λεγόμενοι θεοὶ εἴτε ἐν οὐρανῷ εἴτε ἐπὶ γῆς, ὥσπερ εἰσὶν θεοὶ πολλοὶ καὶ κύριοι πολλοί, ⁶ ἀλλ' ἡμῖν εἷς θεὸς ὁ πατήρ, ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς αὐτόν, καὶ εἷς κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἡμεῖς δι' αὐτοῦ.  ⁷ ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐν πᾶσιν ἡ γνῶσις: τινὲς δὲ τῇ συνηθείᾳ ἕως ἄρτι τοῦ εἰδώλου ὡς εἰδωλόθυτον ἐσθίουσιν, καὶ ἡ συνείδησις αὐτῶν ἀσθενὴς οὖσα μολύνεται.  ⁸ βρῶμα δὲ ἡμᾶς οὐ παραστήσει τῷ θεῷ: οὔτε ἐὰν μὴ φάγωμεν ὑστερούμεθα οὔτε ἐὰν φάγωμεν περισσεύομεν ⁹ βλέπετε δὲ μή ¹⁰ ἐὰν γάρ τις ἴδῃ σὲ τὸν ἔχοντα γνῶσιν ἐν εἰδωλείῳ κατακείμενον, οὐχὶ ἡ συνείδησις αὐτοῦ ἀσθενοῦς ὄντος οἰκοδομηθήσεται εἰς τὸ τὰ εἰδωλόθυτα ἐσθίειν; ¹¹ ἀπόλλυται γὰρ ὁ ἀσθενῶν ἐν τῇ σῇ γνώσει, ὁ ἀδελφὸς δι' ὃν Χριστὸς ἀπέθανεν.  ¹² οὕτως δὲ ἁμαρτάνοντες εἰς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τύπτοντες αὐτῶν τὴν συνείδησιν ἀσθενοῦσαν εἰς Χριστὸν ἁμαρτάνετε.  ¹³ διόπερ εἰ βρῶμα σκανδαλίζει τὸν ἀδελφόν μου, οὐ μὴ φάγω κρέα εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ἵνα μὴ τὸν ἀδελφόν μου σκανδαλίσω. 

⁴ De escis autem quæ idolis immolantur, scimus quia nihil est idolum in mundo, et quod nullus est Deus, nisi unus.  ⁵ Nam etsi sunt qui dicantur dii sive in cælo, sive in terra (siquidem sunt dii multi, et domini multi): ⁶ nobis tamen unus est Deus, Pater, ex quo omnia, et nos in illum: et unus Dominus Jesus Christus, per quem omnia, et nos per ipsum.  ⁷ Sed non in omnibus est scientia.  Quidam autem cum conscientia usque nunc idoli, quasi idolothytum manducant: et conscientia ipsorum cum sit infirma, polluitur.  ⁸ Esca autem nos non commendat Deo.  Neque enim si manducaverimus, abundabimus: neque si non manducaverimus, deficiemus.  ⁹ Videte autem ne forte hæc licentia vestra offendiculum fiat infirmis.  ¹⁰ Si enim quis viderit eum, qui habet scientiam, in idolio recumbentem: nonne conscientia ejus, cum sit infirma, ædificabitur ad manducandum idolothyta?  ¹¹ Et peribit infirmus in tua scientia, frater, propter quem Christus mortuus est?  ¹² Sic autem peccantes in fratres, et percutientes conscientiam eorum infirmam, in Christum peccatis.  ¹³ Quapropter si esca scandalizat fratrem meum, non manducabo carnem in æternum, ne fratrem meum scandalizem. 

With regards blood itself then, the Church has come to the conclusion that the basis of the blood prohibition involved symbolism and is linked to Jewish sacrificial ritual that has passed away.  They concluded that Jesus (a.s.) articulated a principle that would result in all foods being clean, apparently including the ancient ones made with blood.  Then there is the practice of the Church down through the centuries.  After the apostolic era the Church did not feel obliged to make these verses above a basis for formulating precise rules for the butcher and the kitchen. 

What does Islam have to say about the permissibility of blood and various categories of meat in general? 

سُوۡرَةُ المَائدة

حُرِّمَتۡ عَلَيۡكُمُ ٱلۡمَيۡتَةُ وَٱلدَّمُ وَلَحۡمُ ٱلۡخِنزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيۡرِ ٱللَّهِ بِهِۦ وَٱلۡمُنۡخَنِقَةُ وَٱلۡمَوۡقُوذَةُ وَٱلۡمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَٱلنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَآ أَكَلَ ٱلسَّبُعُ إِلَّا مَا ذَكَّيۡتُمۡ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى ٱلنُّصُبِ وَأَن تَسۡتَقۡسِمُواْ بِٱلۡأَزۡلَـٰمِ‌ۚ ذَٲلِكُمۡ فِسۡقٌ‌... (٣) 

Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood the flesh of swine, and that on which has been invoked the name of other than Allah, that which has been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death; that which has been (partly) eaten by a wild animal; unless ye are able to slaughter it (in due form); that which is sacrificed on stone (altars); (forbidden) also is the division (of meat) by raffling with arrows: that is impiety … (Surah al-Ma’idah:3) 

The Qur’an is very much in line with the Mosaic Law with regards the consumption of blood.  It is haram.  And it is very much in agreement that any meat sanctified in the name of anything other than Allah (s.w.t.) is forbidden for consumption.