The Islamic Whale

The Islamic whale (in Arabic الحوت الإسلامية, al-hoot al-islamiyya), is a big whale, that supposedly carries the Earth on it's back. It is also called Nun (نون), which is the name of the Arabic letter ن. The name of the whale is also said to be Liwash or Lutiaya^[1]. This article analyzes the sources of this Islamic whale hypothesis.

Nun in the Qur'an

Nun is mentioned in the verse 68:1. The biggest scholars of Islam (Ibn Kathir, At-Tabari..) agree that Nun refers to the whale, which carries the Earth on its back:

نٓ وَٱلْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ
Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe,

Quran 68:1

Word-by-word translation:

نٓ - noon - the name of the whale
وَٱلْقَلَمِ - wal-qalam - by the pen (wa- prefix means "and" or "by")
وَمَا - wa-ma - and what
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, about mountains being like pegs).

There is also a verse, where Jonah is called "man of the Nun", because he was eaten by a whale^[2]:

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."

Quran 21:87

Nun refers to a whale (الحوت, al-hoot), according to Al-Jalalayn. ^[3].

Tafsir At-Tabari

The most respected sunni tafsir is probably that of At-Tabari. Unfortunately, it was not translated into English yet. Here is just his interpretation of the Nun in the verse 68:1.

هو الحوت الذي عليه الأرَضُون

It is (هو) a whale (الحوت), which (الذي) on it (عليه) the Earths (الأرَضُون).

At-Tabari tafsir on 68:1 ^[4]

In Islam there are seven (flat) Earths, just like seven heavens:

Allah is He Who created seven heavens, and of the earth the like of them

Quran 65:12

They are placed on the whale like pancakes.

ِTafsir Al-Qurtubi

Another very respected tafsir of Al-Qurtubi is of the same opinion:

نۤ> الحوت الذي تحت الأرض السابعة>
<Nun> - the whale (الحوت), which is (الذي) under (تحت) Earth (الأرض) seventh (السابعة).

Tafsir Al-Qurtubi on 68:1 ^[5]

Al-Kafi (Shia hadith)

We can also read about the Islamic whale from the Shia hadiths. This narration explains the connection between the whale and earthquakes:

H 14813 – From him, from Salih, from one of his companions, from Abdul Samad Bin Basheer, who has reported the following: Abu Abdullah (asws) has said that: ‘The whale which is carrying the earth secretly said to itself that it is carrying the earth by its own strength. So Allah (azwj) the High Sent to it a fish smaller than a palm’s length, and larger than a finger. So it entered in its gills and shocked it. It remained like that for forty days. Then Allah (azwj) Raised it and was Merciful to it, and Took it out. So whenever Allah (azwj) Intends the earth to be in a quake, He (azwj) Sends that (small) fish to that (big) fish. So when it sees it, it becomes restless, so the earth gets engulfed by the earthquake’.

Al-Kafi, vol. 8, part 6 ^[6]

Evidence

There is no scientific evidence suggesting that there is a big whale carrying the Earth on its back.

Conclusion

The biggest Islamic scholars like At-Tabari and Ibn Kathir agree that Nun in the verse 68:1 refers to the whale which carries the Earth on its back, so there should be no doubt among Muslims, that the Islamic whale exists.

References

↑ 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
↑ http://biblehub.com/library/marshall/the_wonder_book_of_bible_stories/the_story_of_jonah_and.htm
↑
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
↑ http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=1&tSoraNo=68&tAyahNo=1&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1
↑ http://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=5&tSoraNo=68&tAyahNo=1&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1
↑ Page 45. https://shiapdfresources.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/alkafi_vol8_part-6.pdf

[1] 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

[2] ttp://biblehub.com/library/marshall/the_wonder_book_of_bible_stories/the_story_of_jonah_and.htm

[3] 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

[4] ذَا ٱلنُّونِ } صاحب الحوت}

[5] {Man of the fish} companion of the whale (الحوت, al-hoot)

[4] ttp://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=1&tSoraNo=68&tAyahNo=1&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1

[5] ttp://altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=5&tSoraNo=68&tAyahNo=1&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1

[6] Page 45. https://shiapdfresources.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/alkafi_vol8_part-6.pdf

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]