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The Islamic whale (in Arabic الحوت الإسلامي, ''al-hoot al-islami''), is a | {{QualityScore|Lead=3|Structure=3|Content=4|Language=2|References=3}} | ||
'''The Islamic whale''' (in Arabic الحوت الإسلامي, ''al-hoot al-islami''), is a mythological creature described in Islamic texts that carries the Earth on its back. It is also called Nun (نون), which is also the name of the Arabic letter ن. Two alternative names of the whale are Liwash and Lutiaya.<ref> | |||
Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs: "And from his narration on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas that he said regarding the interpretation of Allah's saying (Nun): '(Nun) He says: Allah swears by the Nun, which is the whale that carries the earths on its back while in Water, and beneath which is the Bull and under the Bull is the Rock and under the Rock is the Dust and none knows what is under the Dust save Allah. '''The name of the whale is Liwash, and it is said its name is Lutiaya''''; the name of the bull is Bahamut, and some say its name is Talhut or Liyona. The whale is in a sea called 'Adwad, and it is like a small bull in a huge sea. The sea is in a hollowed rock whereby there is 4,000 cracks, and from each crack water springs out to the earth. It is also said that Nun is one of the names of the Lord; it stands for the letter Nun in Allah's name al-Rahman (the Beneficent); and it is also said that a Nun is an inkwell. (By the pen) Allah swore by the pen. This pen is made of light and its height is equal to the distance between Heaven and earth. It is with this pen that the Wise Remembrance, i.e. the Guarded Tablet, was written. It is also said that the pen is one of the angels by whom Allah has sworn, (and that which they write (therewith)) and Allah also swore by what the angels write down of the works of the children of Adam" | Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs: "And from his narration on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas that he said regarding the interpretation of Allah's saying (Nun): '(Nun) He says: Allah swears by the Nun, which is the whale that carries the earths on its back while in Water, and beneath which is the Bull and under the Bull is the Rock and under the Rock is the Dust and none knows what is under the Dust save Allah. '''The name of the whale is Liwash, and it is said its name is Lutiaya''''; the name of the bull is Bahamut, and some say its name is Talhut or Liyona. The whale is in a sea called 'Adwad, and it is like a small bull in a huge sea. The sea is in a hollowed rock whereby there is 4,000 cracks, and from each crack water springs out to the earth. It is also said that Nun is one of the names of the Lord; it stands for the letter Nun in Allah's name al-Rahman (the Beneficent); and it is also said that a Nun is an inkwell. (By the pen) Allah swore by the pen. This pen is made of light and its height is equal to the distance between Heaven and earth. It is with this pen that the Wise Remembrance, i.e. the Guarded Tablet, was written. It is also said that the pen is one of the angels by whom Allah has sworn, (and that which they write (therewith)) and Allah also swore by what the angels write down of the works of the children of Adam" | ||
http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=73&tSoraNo=68&tAyahNo=1&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2</ref> | http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=73&tSoraNo=68&tAyahNo=1&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2</ref> The details behind the mentioning of this creature is a unclear topic. There is little mention of Nun in the Quran, however there is further mention of it in other Islamic scriptures such has [[Hadith]] and [[Tafseer|Tafsir]] along with context verses. | ||
==Nun in the Qur'an== | ==Nun in the Qur'an== | ||
Nun is mentioned in the verse 68:1. | Nun is mentioned in the verse 68:1.<ref>نٓ وَٱلْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ | ||
{ | |||
Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe, | |||
{{Quran|68|1}}</ref> Most respected scholars of Islam (Ibn Kathir, At-Tabari, Al-Qurtubi and others including Al-Jalalayn) agree that Nun refers to a whale that carries the Earth on its back:<ref>Al-Jalalayn on 21:87 | |||
*ذَا ٱلنُّونِ } صاحب الحوت} | |||
*{Man of the fish} companion of the whale (الحوت, ''al-hoot'') | |||
http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=8&tSoraNo=21&tAyahNo=87&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 | |||
</ref> | |||
Word-by-word translation: | Word-by-word translation: | ||
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*يَسْطُرُونَ - ''yasturoona'' - they write | *يَسْطُرُونَ - ''yasturoona'' - they write | ||
There is not much information in the Qur'an, but as we'll see, it is necessary to understand the existence of the Islamic whale for understanding other verses of the Qur'an. For example, | There is not much information in the Qur'an, but as we'll see, it is necessary to understand the existence of the Islamic whale for understanding other verses of the Qur'an. For example, in verse 21:87 Jonah is called "man of the Nun", because he was eaten by a whale<ref>And [mention] the man of <nowiki>'''</nowiki>the fish<nowiki>'''</nowiki> (ٱلنُّونِ, <nowiki>''</nowiki>al-noon<nowiki>''</nowiki>), when he went off in anger and thought that We would not decree [anything] upon him. And he called out within the darknesses, "There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers." | ||
{{Quran|21|87}}</ref><ref>http://biblehub.com/library/marshall/the_wonder_book_of_bible_stories/the_story_of_jonah_and.htm</ref>: | |||
== Relevant Quotations == | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|68|1}}|نٓ وَٱلْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ<br>Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe,}} | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|21|87}}|And [mention] the man of '''the fish''' (ٱلنُّونِ, ''al-noon''), when he went off in anger and thought that We would not decree [anything] upon him. And he called out within the darknesses, "There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers."}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|21|87}}|And [mention] the man of '''the fish''' (ٱلنُّونِ, ''al-noon''), when he went off in anger and thought that We would not decree [anything] upon him. And he called out within the darknesses, "There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers."}} | ||
Fish/Whale is mentioned in the same chapter as the letter nun: | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|68|48}}|Then be patient for the decision of your Lord, [O Muhammad], and be not like the companion of '''the fish''' (الحوت) when he called out while he was distressed. | |||
}} | |||
<br /> | |||
</ | |||
==Tafsir Ibn Kathir== | ==Tafsir Ibn Kathir== | ||
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===The hadith is ''mawqoof''=== | ===The hadith is ''mawqoof''=== | ||
When a hadith (narration) is called ''mawqoof'', it means that it is not a quote originally from Muhammad himself, but it is from someone from the Sahaba (his companions). In this case Ibn Abbas. | When a hadith (narration) is called ''mawqoof'', it means that it is not a quote originally from Muhammad himself, but it is from someone from the Sahaba (his companions). In this case Ibn Abbas. But Muhammad asked Allah to teach Ibn Abbas the correct interpretation of the Quran, so why would Ibn Abbas need to trace his interpretation to Muhammad, when he was taught by Allah himself? | ||
Besides that, there is a fatwa which says that a ''mawqoof'' hadith can be used as evidence if nobody protested against it: | |||
{{Quote|Fatwa 217021 <ref>http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/index.php?page=showfatwa&Option=FatwaId&Id=217021</ref>|As for taking it as evidence, it means that we have to act according to it and consider it a source of evidence of the Islamic religion. Scholars have ten different opinions regarding that issue. The nearest of them to correctness is that '''if the opinion of the companion spread widely and no one went against it, then it is a source of evidence and a consensus by silence'''. However, if it did not spread or some other companions went against it, then it is not a source of evidence, but can be used as secondary evidence. | {{Quote|Fatwa 217021 <ref>http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/index.php?page=showfatwa&Option=FatwaId&Id=217021</ref>|As for taking it as evidence, it means that we have to act according to it and consider it a source of evidence of the Islamic religion. Scholars have ten different opinions regarding that issue. The nearest of them to correctness is that '''if the opinion of the companion spread widely and no one went against it, then it is a source of evidence and a consensus by silence'''. However, if it did not spread or some other companions went against it, then it is not a source of evidence, but can be used as secondary evidence. | ||
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Allaah Knows best | Allaah Knows best | ||
}} | }} | ||
Ibn `Abbas said, "Why do you ask the people of the scripture about anything while your Book (Qur'an) which has been revealed to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) is newer and the latest? You read it pure, undistorted and unchanged, and Allah has told you that the people of the scripture (Jews and Christians) changed their scripture and distorted it, and wrote the scripture with their own hands and said, 'It is from Allah,' to sell it for a little gain. Does not the knowledge which has come to you prevent you from asking them about anything? No, by Allah, we have never seen any man from them asking you regarding what has been revealed to you!"'' {{Bukhari|9|92|460}}, book 96, chapter '''"Do not ask the people of the Scripture about anything"'''</ref> | *The whale interpretation spread widely among the scholars and none of them discredited this story in any way. | ||
* Muhammad asked Allah to teach Ibn Abbas the correct interpretation of the Quran, so the interpretation should be from Allah himself. | *The whale story is not a matter of the unseen. It should be observable if you look for it beneath the Islamic [[flat earth]]. | ||
*Ibn Abbas was against taking information from People of the book <ref>''Narrated Ubaidullah:'' | |||
Ibn `Abbas said, "Why do you ask the people of the scripture about anything while your Book (Qur'an) which has been revealed to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) is newer and the latest? You read it pure, undistorted and unchanged, and Allah has told you that the people of the scripture (Jews and Christians) changed their scripture and distorted it, and wrote the scripture with their own hands and said, 'It is from Allah,' to sell it for a little gain. Does not the knowledge which has come to you prevent you from asking them about anything? No, by Allah, we have never seen any man from them asking you regarding what has been revealed to you!"'' {{Bukhari|9|92|460}}, book 96, chapter '''"Do not ask the people of the Scripture about anything"'''''</ref> | |||
*Muhammad asked Allah to teach Ibn Abbas the correct interpretation of the Quran, so the interpretation should be from Allah himself. | |||
===Only the early scholars believed it=== | ===Only the early scholars believed it=== | ||
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==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
* | *The Masked Arab - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVhsVjXJzKM Islam & the whale that carries the Earth on its back] (video) | ||
*The Islam Issue - [https://theislamissue.wordpress.com/2019/04/02/the-nun-whale-and-the-calamity-of-ibn-abbas/ The Nun Whale and the calamity of Ibn Abbas] (blog) | |||
*[[Scientific Errors in the Quran]] | *[[Scientific Errors in the Quran]] | ||