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The Islamic Whale: Difference between revisions
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{{Quote|{{Quran|11|7}}|And it is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days - and '''His Throne had been upon water'''}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|11|7}}|And it is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days - and '''His Throne had been upon water'''}} | ||
==Tafsir | ==Tafsir Al-Tabari== | ||
At-Tabari mentions several interpretations. One of them is this: | At-Tabari mentions several interpretations. One of them is this: | ||
{{Quote|At-Tabari tafsir on 68:1 <ref>http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=1&tSoraNo=68&tAyahNo=1&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1</ref>|هو الحوت الذي عليه الأرَضُون | {{Quote|At-Tabari tafsir on 68:1 <ref>http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=1&tSoraNo=68&tAyahNo=1&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1</ref>|هو الحوت الذي عليه الأرَضُون | ||
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From his use of the word "tahat" or "under" it can be surmised that in Al-Qurtubi's cosmology the earth is seen as flat. | From his use of the word "tahat" or "under" it can be surmised that in Al-Qurtubi's cosmology the earth is seen as flat. | ||
==ِTafsir Al-Kabir (by | ==ِTafsir Al-Kabir (by Al-Razi)== | ||
{{Quote|Tafsir Al-Kabir on 68:1<ref>http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=4&tSoraNo=68&tAyahNo=1&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1</ref>| | {{Quote|Tafsir Al-Kabir on 68:1<ref>http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=4&tSoraNo=68&tAyahNo=1&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1</ref>| | ||
بالحوت الذي على ظهره الأرض وهو في بحر تحت الأرض السفلى | بالحوت الذي على ظهره الأرض وهو في بحر تحت الأرض السفلى | ||
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===Only the early scholars believed it=== | ===Only the early scholars believed it=== | ||
It's sometimes claimed that only early scholars believed this, a strange claim considering that antiquity usually validates rather than invalidates views and doctrines in Islamic theology and jurisprudence. This view is, incidentally, not entirely accurate so far as it goes, as the idea of the earth-bearing whale was mentioned even by Shawkani | It's sometimes claimed that only early scholars believed this, a strange claim considering that antiquity usually validates rather than invalidates views and doctrines in Islamic theology and jurisprudence. This view is, incidentally, not entirely accurate so far as it goes, as the idea of the earth-bearing whale was mentioned even by the prominent Yemeni Sunni Islamic scholar, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Shawkani Al-Shawkani] who died in the year 1834 CE who wrote about it in his commentary on this verse. | ||
===Jewish Origins=== | ===Jewish Origins=== | ||
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Some modern Islamic scholars attribute this story to Jewish sources, basing this idea on the fact that ibn Abbas often took and retold Jewish stories. Interestingly, there exist sahih hadiths which appear to permit exactly this sort of re-narration: | Some modern Islamic scholars attribute this story to Jewish sources, basing this idea on the fact that ibn Abbas often took and retold Jewish stories. Interestingly, there exist sahih hadiths which appear to permit exactly this sort of re-narration: | ||
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|4| | {{Quote|{{Bukhari|4|56|667}}|Narrated `Abdullah bin `Amr: | ||
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "'''Convey (my teachings)''' to the people even if it were a single sentence, and '''tell others the stories of Bani Israel (which have been taught to you)''', for it is not sinful to do so. And whoever tells a lie on me intentionally, will surely take his place in the (Hell) Fire."}} | The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "'''Convey (my teachings)''' to the people even if it were a single sentence, and '''tell others the stories of Bani Israel (which have been taught to you)''', for it is not sinful to do so. And whoever tells a lie on me intentionally, will surely take his place in the (Hell) Fire."}} | ||
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{{Quote|{{Quran-range|2|168|169}}| O mankind, eat from whatever is on earth [that is] lawful and good and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy. He only orders you to evil and immorality and to say about Allah what you do not know.}}A position that entails Ibn Abbas did both of the above things would appear to collide with the Islamic doctrine regarding the unerring reliability of Muhammad's [[companions]] as narrators. | {{Quote|{{Quran-range|2|168|169}}| O mankind, eat from whatever is on earth [that is] lawful and good and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy. He only orders you to evil and immorality and to say about Allah what you do not know.}}A position that entails Ibn Abbas did both of the above things would appear to collide with the Islamic doctrine regarding the unerring reliability of Muhammad's [[companions]] as narrators. | ||
== The Cosmic bull == | |||
As well as the Islamic whale, further cosmic animals supporting the Earth have appeared in Islamic folklore cosmography throughout the early and medieval periods, such as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kujata Kujata,] the Islamic Cosmic Bull (which some scholars believed was in-between the whale and Earth - as can be seen in this [https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/world/earth.html#obj104 Islamic World Map] by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakariya_al-Qazwini Zekeriya Kazvinî]). While these are not all necessarily linked to traditions or the Qur'an, they are somewhat problematic to those that propose the Qur'an contains [[:en:Scientific_Miracles_in_the_Quran|scientific foreknowledge]] of modern cosmology. | |||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
[[Cosmology of the Quran]] | |||
* [[Cosmology of the Quran]] | |||
==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||