Exploration of Food Sources in the Quran (iQ-Carta PAI™): A Visual Study on the Frequency of Foods Based on Quranic Sources

Abstract

This study was conducted to bridge the gap between modern dietary guidelines and revelation-based dietary principles through the development of a faith-based dietary model grounded in Quranic teachings. The main objective was to identify food items mentioned in the Quran, analyse their frequency, and integrate these findings with contemporary nutrition knowledge to develop the Islamic Quranic Pie Chart (iQ-Carta PAI™). A two-phase approach was applied, where selected Quranic verses were analysed using classical tafsir and digital corpus tools, resulting in the identification of 188 food references across 53 surahs. These food items were grouped into key nutritional categories, including fruits, protein sources, cereals, water, and healthy fats, and further classified according to plant or animal origin. The frequency of food mentions was used to inform the proportional visual weighting of each category in the Pie Chart, serving both descriptive and structural purposes in the model design. The developed model highlights key Islamic dietary principles such as halalan tayyiban (lawful and wholesome food), moderation (wasatiyyah), and avoidance of excess and waste. When compared with the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines (2020), the findings showed clear alignment, particularly in the emphasis on plant-based foods, balanced intake, and moderation. Overall, iQ-Carta PAI™ provides a simple and spiritually relevant dietary guideline model that integrates Quranic values with modern nutrition principles and may support nutrition education, public health programmes, and faith-based health promotion among Muslim communities.