JONAH THE WHALE

What is the Deen, System of Life, according to the Quran, and how and why is Islam a challenge to Religion?
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Dr. Shabbir
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JONAH THE WHALE

Post by Dr. Shabbir »

JONAH & THE WHALE
Whale is a mammal, not fish. Contrary to the Bible and our stealthy exponents, the Accurate Qur'an states that it was a Hoot (fish) that had grabbed Jonah (Younus a. s.) in her teeth. Whale, living on planktons, has a throat too narrow even to swallow a chick. How could she swallow Hazrat Younus?
YOUNUS A.S. AND THE AYAT-E-KARIMAH: Please see 37:139-145
Story goes that Prophet Jonah was swallowed by a huge fish and then he remained in its belly for 40 days. Had he not read Tasbeeh Ayat-e-Karimah, he would never have gotten out. La Ilaha Illa Anta Subhanaka wa Inni Kuntu Minazzalimin. He read it 125,000 times and the fish vomited him out after 40 days! Result: Even today Muslim women and men, when confronted with with a serious problem, sit down in groups and complete the count.
Now please see the above verses in QXP.

1. The fish, probably a shark, never swallowed him. It only grabbed him in its teeth (‘Talqamahu’). The whale is a mammal, not fish. It has a throat to small to swallow even a chick. It lives on the microscopic plants, planktons.
2. Musabbeh or Sabbah means a good swimmer, and not a tasbeeh-reading rosary-beader.
Wassalam,
SA
Shami
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JONAH THE WHALE

Post by Shami »

Correction please.

Although majority of whales are plankton eaters but some species do eat squids and other fish.

http://www.nmlc.org/how-do-whales-eat.html

http://whale.wheelock.edu/archives/ask02/0154.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/J002260F/WhalesFood.htm

Wasallam

Shami
Arnold Yasin Mol

JONAH THE WHALE

Post by Arnold Yasin Mol »

Salam Aleikum,

I agree with Shami dear Doctor. I also had the same ideas the first time I read this claim. Spermwhales can eat large fish and squids thus also humans. BUT no spermwhale would swallow you whole. It will always bite you several times before eating. It will not risk an alive creature in it's stomach that can damage its insides. I suggest dear Doctor, that you should point out that no large fish, be it a shark or a mammal whale, would swallow you in whole, it would first bite you several times.

Here is a quote from my book "Evolution of Thinking":

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 Biblical understanding was blindly followed. 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 root 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.

In 27:87 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, he would not have had time to observe it. The darkness refers to the distress of the situation.

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).
Dr. Shabbir
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JONAH THE WHALE

Post by Dr. Shabbir »

Are you mixing up the Whale-Shark (a fish that is really a shark) with the blue whale that is a mammal?
Wassalam,
SA
Arnold Yasin Mol

JONAH THE WHALE

Post by Arnold Yasin Mol »

[quote="Dr. Shabbir"]JONAH & THE WHALE
Whale, living on planktons, has a throat too narrow even to swallow a chick. How could she swallow Hazrat Younus?


I believe we got confused because of the above sentence my dear Doctor. With the above whale, you mean it is a whale-SHARK. We thought you described a mammal whale to have a small throat.
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