How does a diabetic Muslim use insulin made from dog or pig pancreas and how does he or she fast all day during Ramadan?

Answer 1

When Insulin was first discovered in 1922, it was as you say -- made from pancreatic exudate from dogs and pigs, but this process changed a long time ago. Nowadays, Insulin is synthesized using recombinant DNA. This is known as synthetic insulin -- it's real though -- just not from an animal. If you do run into "natural" insulin, it can be produced from cows as well. All that has to happen is you need to explain this to your doctor when he writes the prescription. As to fasting, while I'm not muslim, my understanding is that the Quran uses the word "fast" to mean taking in nothing nutritious. For instance, you can brush your teeth during Ramadan, and perhaps small amounts of toothpaste will be consumed, but as it's not a nutrient, you're still fasting. Insulin has no nutritional component. It has no calorie load that I am aware of. I do not think that taking medicine you may need to live, and that has no nutritional value is forbidden under Islamic law. Were I more of a scholar, I would perhaps ask how does the Quran speak of treating the injured during Ramadan?