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The Islamic Whale (view source)

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Insofar as the Leviathan is interpreted as being a whale, it is possible that this was the origin of the myth. The entirety of the myth itself though does not appear to be Jewish in origin, rather being an obvious Islam accretion.
Insofar as the Leviathan is interpreted as being a whale, it is possible that this was the origin of the myth. The entirety of the myth itself though does not appear to be Jewish in origin, rather being an obvious Islam accretion.


===Ibn Abbas narrated it from Jews, but didn't believe it===
===Ibn Abbas Receiving the Story from the Jews===


There is a hadith telling Muslims to tell the stories of the people of Israel:
Some modern believers and apologists as referenced above attribute this story to Jewish sources, basing this idea on the fact that ibn Abbas often took and retold Jewish stories. This practice though is actually attested to in sahih hadith:
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|4|55|667}}|Narrated `Abdullah bin `Amr:
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|4|55|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."}}


This hadith doesn't clearly say that Muslims should take the stories from the Jews. In the phrase "of Bani Israel" (عَنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ), the word عن could mean both "from" and "about". And the beginning of the hadith says literally "convey from me" (بلغوا عني), so it looks more likely that it should be stories about Jews, but from Islamic sources.
This hadith seem to allow taking stories from the Jews. In the phrase "of Bani Israel" (عَنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ), the word عن could mean both "from" and "about". And the beginning of the hadith says literally "convey from me" (بلغوا عني), so it looks more likely that it should be stories about Jews, but from Islamic sources.


We can read in a commentary on this hadith in Fath ul-Bari:
Fath ul-Bari says in his commentary:
{{Quote|Ibn Hajar Al Asqalani, Fathul Bari, Kitab: Ahaadeeth Al 'Anbiyaa', Bab: Ma Thakr 'an Bani Israel <ref>https://library.islamweb.net/newlibrary/display_book.php?bk_no=52&ID=2078&idfrom=6279&idto=6300&bookid=52&startno=8</ref>|
{{Quote|Ibn Hajar Al Asqalani, Fathul Bari, Kitab: Ahaadeeth Al 'Anbiyaa', Bab: Ma Thakr 'an Bani Israel <ref>https://library.islamweb.net/newlibrary/display_book.php?bk_no=52&ID=2078&idfrom=6279&idto=6300&bookid=52&startno=8</ref>|
وقيل المعنى حدثوا عنهم بمثل ما ورد في القرآن والحديث الصحيح  
وقيل المعنى حدثوا عنهم بمثل ما ورد في القرآن والحديث الصحيح  
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}}
}}


So the claim that Muslims should spread narrations from Jews is not supported by the hadith.
So from the traditional sources it would not appear that there is anything particularly wrong with taking Jewish stories and retelling them for Muslims. In fact, the majority of the material in the Qur'an deals with either Jewish or Christian stories when a narrative is present.


The hadith is often combined by apologists with another hadith from Sahih Al-Bukhari, from the chapter '''“Do not ask the people of the Scripture about anything.”''' (The name of the chapter says it clearly, but apologists still think that the hadiths in this chapter support telling false stories from Jews):
The hadith is often combined by apologists with another hadith from Sahih Al-Bukhari, from the chapter '''“Do not ask the people of the Scripture about anything.”''' (The name of the chapter says it clearly, but apologists still think that the hadiths in this chapter support telling false stories from Jews):
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}}
}}


And finally a quote from Ibn Abbas himself, also from the chapter '''“Do not ask the people of the Scripture about anything.”'''. Did he support taking interpretations of the Quran from the Jews? Let's see:
And finally a quote from Ibn Abbas himself, also from the chapter '''“Do not ask the people of the Scripture about anything.”'''. This seems to cast doubt on the idea that ibn Abbas was even in the habit of taking stories from the Jews:
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|9|92|460}}, book 96, chapter '''"Do not ask the people of the Scripture about anything"'''|
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|9|92|460}}, book 96, chapter '''"Do not ask the people of the Scripture about anything"'''|
Narrated Ubaidullah:
Narrated Ubaidullah:
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}}
}}


===Scholars can be wrong===
<br />
Everyone can be wrong. For example Muhammad could have been wrong when he assumed he is a prophet and Muslims can be wrong by believing in Islam. Since everyone can be wrong and this argument could be used against both sides, it is not a valid argument for any side.
 
This is also an act of [[w:Shooting the messenger|shooting the messenger]], an ad hominem fallacy. Muslims have traditionally regarded Islamic scholars as expert authorities on all religious matters. In fact, Islam split into many schools of law (madhhabs) over the centuries because each school considered specific scholars as the sole authorities. If Muslims now want to discredit their own scholars because of such embarrassing claims, they are putting the entire Islamic argument&mdash;that Islam is the only true religion, it is perfect and it is from God&mdash;on shaky ground. One may wonder, "What is the real history of Islam and what are the correct Islamic laws if the scholars are dismissed by their own followers? Were they all liars or fabricators? And why?"
 
===Allah is never wrong===
This doesn't mean that he didn't mean the whale which carries the Earth on its back. Maybe the Earth actually is attached to a big whale's back with mountains and all evidence against it is the work of Shaytan who tries to lead people to disbelief?
 
Also if the only one to be trusted is Allah, then we cannot trust the Qur'an, because it wasn't passed to us directly from him, but through many generations of fallible humans.
 
Belief in Islam has the prerequisite of belief in the people who passed its doctrine.


==Conclusion==
==Conclusion==


*Nun definitely means "whale", because Jonah (who was eaten by a whale) was called "man of the Nun".
*
*The ''turjuman ul-Qur'an'' Ibn Abbas, along with the most respected Islamic scholars, both sunni and shia, agree that Nun in the verse 68:1 refers to the whale which carries the Earth on its back.
*=
*The Earth is supossedly attached to the whale with mountains. The mountains function as pegs.
**So the Islamic whale also helps to explain the verse 78:7 about mountains being "pegs".
*The scholars who based their knowledge on reading the Arabic Qur'an and hadiths believed that the Earth is flat and it is attached with mountains (as pegs) to a big whale.


==See Also==
==See Also==
Asmith
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