Jonah---Never swallowed by a whale

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Arnold Yasin Mol

Jonah---Never swallowed by a whale

Post by Arnold Yasin Mol »

Jonah

37:139 And, behold, Jonah was indeed among the Messengers.
37:140 When he fled like a runaway slave onto a laden ship. (‘Abaqa’ = Fled like a runaway slave. He migrated before Allah’s Command. 21:87).
37:141 He had cast an arrow and missed the mark. (Untimely action.)[Here, most translations are influenced by Biblical and other accounts. It isstated that the boat was overloaded and in order to save it, one man had to be cast into the sea. When the lots were thrown, it was Jonah who lost. But neither the verse means that nor do Prophets throw lots since it is a form of gambling.]

37:142 Then the Fish grabbed him while he was blaming himself. (Again, usually a whale is mentioned here. But the whale is a mammal and not a fish, and the Qur’an
which is never inaccurate, speaks of ‘Al-Hut’ = The Fish. ‘Fa-altaqamahu’ = Grabbed him in its teeth, not ‘swallowed’. The fiction of Jonah staying 40 days in the belly of a whale is demolished right thus).
37:143 And had he not been a valiant swimmer,(tasbihun)
37:144 (The fish would have eaten him up and) he would have remained in her belly disintegrated there and further until the Day of Rising.
37:145Then We cast him on the shore, while he was exhausted. (68:49).


Jonah was never swallowed by a fish, as EVERY fish known on earth will have to bite you in pieces before he can swallow you. Whales are not fish, but mammals. In the time of Muhammed this was unknown and through believing the Bible was a authority, the understanding became distorted. Even a spermwhale will not swallow you in whole but bite you several times. In the stomach you will also have oxygen shortage and the acid will be to strong to endure. The Laws of Nature do not allow the believe that Jonah survived the swallowing. Next to this is that the Arabic doesn’t even allow it.

The word iltaqama doesn't mean to swallow, it comes from the same root as laqm which means a small bite or little piece, iltiqama means he took him in his mouth/grabbed him in his teeth, as for example iltaqama fa-ha-fi-l-taqbil means he took her lips in his mouth during kissing. These verses are totally distorted by the Biblical account as the Bible was seen as an authority by the early commentators. Tasbih means one swims, gliding along smoothly, who go forth in their quest, and does not refer to 'praising or gloryfying' as is traditionally understood.

In 21:87 zoeloemat al-bahr means calamities or distress at sea. That it also refers to darkness is because the human is not able to find his way out of the distress and harm, and by thus is wandering in darkness. It is important to know the whole background of Arabic words to understand these verses. So by no means at all does the darkness refers to being inside a belly of a fish, which is also impossible as any belly contains acid. The darkness refers to the distress of the situation.

Al-Hoot/hut means Fish and not Whale. See for example the story of Moses:

37:142 Failtaqamahu al-hootu wahuwamuleemun
Then the Fish grabbed him while he was blaming himself.


18:61 But when Moses with his young friend reached the junction of the two streams, they forgot all about the fish/al-hoot, and it took its way into the sea and disappeared from sight. (Moses found himself caring little for the delicacies of life from then on).


Sources:

1. Lane's Lexicon Arabic-Englsih dictionary
2. Dictionary of the Holy Quran by Abdul Amman Omar
3. The Message, Quran translation by Muhammed Asad
4. QXP, Quran translation by Dr.Shabbir Ahmad
5. The Holy Quran, commentary by Muhammed Ali
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