Fish or WHALE? (Jonah)

Bible compared to Quran

What Was It?

Words in the Quran
- 1446 years ago -
are they still relevant today?

📖 Surah As-Saffat 37:142

Translation (Sahih International):

“Then the fish swallowed him, while he was blameworthy.”

Let’s clarify: 🔍 Arabic Word Used in the Quran:

In Surah As-Saffat 37:142, the word is:

ٱلْحُوتُ (al ḥūt)

What does "ḥūt" (الحوت) mean in Arabic?
We'll get to this in a few minutes - but first ...

The “meat” of the story:

Jonah, peace be upon him, is a prophet in the Old Testament. There’s book named after him. The New Testament, mentions Jonah, and The Quran also.

Allah ordered Jonah, peace be upon him, to give a Message to his people: “No God, but Allah”.
The condition was: ALL of them accept God’s ““will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”” (borrowed it from Matthew - 6:10)

The people of Jonah, peace be upon him, were the worst in those days. He felt his people would not listen to him. So, he gets on a ship leaves.

Out at sea, a bad storm comes up. The boat is tosted around badly. The people on the boat think it is going to sink. They try to find the one who is the result of the storm. Jonah, peace be upon him, volunteers to go overboard, but the people on the boat think he’s a good guy, and stop him.

Jonah, peace be upon him,tries again and goes overboard - into the mouth of a huge “hoot” (Arabic).

The monstrous whale swallows Jonah, peace be upon him, and he remains in the whale (or fish) for days, but he lives in the whale (or fish). He knows he did wrong by leaving his people.

When he turns to Almighty God, to ask for forgiveness, God forgives him and the whale (or fish) spits him out on land.

But the more amazing thing happened when he got back to his people:

All of them - surrendered to Almighty God, in peace (Arabic: “Islam”).

OK . . enough preaching already!

I wanted to know if what the Quran said [IN ARABIC] about this animal in the sea and how Jonah, peace be upon him, could live inside it for days.

The first thing we find out is, the whale is not a “fish” at all. Whales are “mammals” — they breathe oxygen, not water. This “solved” some of the problem.

A Whole Human Being?

It had to be BIG (really big)

✅ Quran ~ Uses a word for the one who swallowed Jonah, confirming Allah caused a monster whale to swallow Jonah (Yunus, peace be upon him) — a direct and powerful moment in his story.

Is the word "fish" in Arabic? Because in English (as we all know) a whale is a mammal, not a "fish".

They just knew the whales were huge. But they didn't know they were mammals (animals).

📖 "ḥūt" (الحوت)
What does it mean in Arabic?

Here’s the report —

✅  Classical usage:

•     In Arabic, ḥūt (الحوت) refers to a large sea creature — most often understood as a whale or great monstrous fish.In Arabic, ḥūt (الحوت) refers to a large sea creature — most often understood as a whale or great monstrous fish.
•     Refering to both fish and whales, depending on context.

Just how “big” are these “sea monsters”, anyway? So, I asked — Know what I found out?

They are the biggest living mammals on the planet today!

🐋 BLUE  WHALE
Bigger Than Dinosaurs

• Length: Up to 100 feet long (30 meters)
• Weight: Up to 200 tons (400,000 pounds)
• The largest animal ever lived - (bigger than dinosaurs)
• Scientific name: Balaenoptera musculus
  (I put this in so people think I’m smart)

Compared to any other animals (Land or Sea):

🌊 Marine Mammals

1. Fin Whale – Second largest whale (85 ft, 80 tons)
2. Sperm Whale – Largest predator (60 ft, 50 tons)
3. Right Whale & Bowhead Whale –  (70 tons)

🌍 Now the Land Animals

1. African Elephant – Largest land mammal
   • Up to 13 feet tall (shorty), 24,000 pounds (light weight)
2. Asian Elephant – Slightly smaller than African
3. White Rhinoceros – Largest of the rhino species

Allah uses animals as signs in The Quran —

Al Ghashiyah (88:17)

“Do they not look at the camels, how they are created?”

🔁 Tafsir
(explanation)
Ibn Kathir & Al Qurtubi
800 Years ago:

They and others interpreted al-ḥūt in this verse as a whale (not a regular fish).

Even in Al Qalam 68:48, Allah refers to Yunus:

“So be patient for the decision of your Lord and do not be like the companion of the whale , , ,”

Again, ḥūt is “a whale-sized animal”.

✅ Summary:

• Arabic says: ḥūt (الحوت) = big sea creature
• English says: "whale" is a mammal, not a fish
• Quran: a huge sea creature swallowing up Yunus — (a giant whale), Again, no problem in Arabic

Modern science makes a distinction,
Arabic in Quran is accurate and appropriate
— Forever (or at least to the last days!)

= QUESTION =

Why would somebody pray to Jesus,

- if he can't get his prayers answered?

Want the full explination of Jonah's full story?
Check out  ReciteQuran.com/37:139 

You can challenge your Christian friends with this!