Surah As-Saffat – Verses 142-144 فَالْتَقَمَهُ الْحُوتُ...

Surah As-Saffat – Verses 142-144 فَالْتَقَمَهُ الْحُوتُ وَهُوَ مُلِيمٌ فَلَوْلآ أَنَّهُ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُسَبّـِحِينَ لَلَبِثَ فِي بَطْنِهِ اِلَي يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ 142. “Then the fish swallowed him while he blamed himself;” 143. “So had he not been of those that glorify Allah,” 144. “He would have tarried in its belly until the Day of Resurrection. Sometimes animals are ordered from the side of Allah to do something. So, the great fish swallowed Jonah while he deserved to be blamed.

The verse says: “Then the fish swallowed him while he blamed himself;” The Arabic term /mulim/ originally is derived from /lawama/ in the sense of ‘blame’ and when it is conjugated in this Arabic form it means: to be deserved of blame. It is certain that this blame and scorn was not because of a lesser sin or a heinous sin but its cause was only the leaving the better which he committed. That he hastened in going out and emigrated from among his people.

But the Lord Who makes fire safe inside water and glass beside stone, ordered this great animal that it would not hurt his servant, Jonah, the least hurt. Jonah should pass an unprecedented term in prison in order to note his own ‘leaving the better’ and to try to recompense it.

An Islamic narration indicates that Allah inspired the fish not to break any bone and not to cease any join of him.[^1] In the second and third verses, the Qur’an implies that Jonah realized the situation very soon and thoroughly he turned to Allah and asked Him forgiveness for his ‘leaving the better’. So, in this verse, through a short sentence, it says: “So had he not been of those that glorify Allah,” “He would have tarried in its belly until the Day of Resurrection.

Thus, this temporary prison would be changed into a permanent prison, and that permanent prison would be changed into his grave. Or the fish might remain alive forever and Jonah would be kept prisoner in its belly until the Hereafter. Surah As-Saffat – Verses 145-147 فَنَبَذْنَاهُ بِالْعَرَآءِ وَهُوَ سَقِيمٌ وَأَنبَتْنَا عَلَيْهِ شَجَرَةً مِن يَقْطِينٍ وَأَرْسَلْنَاهُ إِلَي مِاْئَةِ أَلْفٍ أَوْ يَزِيدُونَ 145. “But We cast him forth on the naked shore while he was sick,” 146.

“And We caused to grow over him a plant of gourds.” 147. “And We sent him to a hundred thousand (people) or more.” Allah protected four prophets in relation with water in different forms: Jonah was protected under the water; Noah on the water; Moses and Yusuf beside the water.

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