# Food "implicitly prohibited"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-implicitly-prohibited/340091>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [January 15, 2006, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-implicitly-prohibited/340091 "2006-01-15T15:43:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\
**Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-implicitly-prohibited/340091/1 "2006-01-15T15:43:01Z")

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In [Do Jewish and Islamic dietary laws have anything in common?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mjewishislamdiet.html), **Dex** notes several foods that Islamic laws prohibit implicitly but not explicitly, such as animals with claws and fangs, birds of prey, carrion-eaters, rodents and reptiles. I assume the Quran is the source here; what does it say? How was the conclusion reached that these foods are forbidden, if they’re not explicitly prohibited?

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**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\
**Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-implicitly-prohibited/340091/2 "2006-01-16T00:42:29Z")

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I did that one a long time ago, so I don’t remember details, but my guess is that it was interpretation and inference. I am familiar with Jewish tradition, where the Torah says “Not to boil a kid in its mother’s milk” three times; from which, learned rabbis argued that means not to eat any meat and milk products together, and to use separate plates and pots for meat and for dairy meals. So, that’s taken as implied rather than explicit. IIRC, similarly, different Muslim groups follow interpretations by various sages over the centuries. I do not remember (and I won’t have time to look it up) the precise statements that led to such interpretations.

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**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-implicitly-prohibited/340091/3 "2006-01-18T15:27:46Z")

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> [@C K Dexter Haven](#):
>
> . I am familiar with Jewish tradition, where the Torah says “Not to boil a kid in its mother’s milk” three times; from which, learned rabbis argued that means not to eat any meat and milk products together, and to use separate plates and pots for meat and for dairy meals. .

Right- I always thought it was “funny” that the rabbinical prohibition included not mixing fowl and cheese. 😃😕

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**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-implicitly-prohibited/340091/4 "2006-01-18T22:10:50Z")

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By “funny” I mean “odd, strange, interesting” not “ha-ha”. :smack:

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**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-implicitly-prohibited/340091/5 "2006-01-19T15:30:09Z")

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There are several ahadith that state that Muhammad prohibited eating carnivores, bird of prey, etc.