Islam and the Quran

Applying Lard on the Face

Question: I was told that lard is effective for treating scars. Is it permissible to apply lard to the scar on my son's face?

Allah the Almighty commands:

“(O Muhammad!) Say: ‘I cannot find in what has been revealed to me anything forbidden for anyone who wants to eat unless it is carrion, blood poured forth, pork -it is impure-, or that which is slaughtered in a name other than Allah as a deliberate sin.  (…)’” (The Quran 6:145)

When we pay heed to the verse above, we can see that the items listed in the verse are forbidden for a person “who wants to eat”. That means, it is only forbidden to eat those. So, eating pork is forbidden.  The flesh of an animal normally includes its fat too, and therefore lard is also forbidden to eat. However, the verse does not forbid using it for other purposes.
So, it is permissible to apply lard on the scar because you are not feeding it to your son but applying it externally as a treatment. Yet, a person should wash it off his body and clothes before he/she prays since lard is impure (najis) just like pork.

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