Question 174: How do you explain
Qur’an Surat Aş-Şāffāt (Those who of Resurrection by the works of the
the stay of the Prophet Yunus
set the Ranks): 142 – 146}.
oppressors.
(Jonas) (pbuh) in the belly of the
whale in a scientific way, with the
Verily,Yunus (pbuh) died in the
And the Almighty said: {And when
stomach of the whale, and his
Paradise is brought near,} {The
absence of food, air, and the sun?
(pbuh) soul looked towards the
And how did he worship? And what
darkness of Hell, and looked
is the Praising/Glorification which,
Holy Qur’an Surat At-Takwīr (The
Overthrowing): 12}, meaning: [when]
towards its lower levels.
it reaches to its complete
And the plant (i.e. 'Gourd-plant') is:
perfection by the works of the
Righteous children of Adam, and this
by its preference, caused his exit
from the stomach of the whale?
the Religion.
So after the whale swallowed Yunus
Answer: In the Name of Allah, the
(pbuh) his soul was seized, and it
Merciful, the Intensely Merciful,
was taken down to Hell in order
that he see it, until he saw Hell and
shore while he was censured.} {The
Holy Qur’an Surat Al-Qalam (The
Pen): 48 & 49}.
just as Paradise is built by the
And the Almighty said: {Then the
(preferred ones of Allah), and the
meaning has been narrated by the
Messenger of Allah (pbuh & his
family), so whomever says:
‘SubhanAllah (Glory be to Allah)’
And Praise be to Allah, Lord of the
and ‘Alhamdullillah (All Praise be to
its darkness {darknesses, some of
Worlds. O Allah! Send Blessings
Allah)’ and ‘La Illaha Illa Allah
upon Muhammad and the Family of them upon others * When one puts
(There is No God save Allah)’ and
out his hand [therein], he can
Muhammad, the Imams and the
‘Allahu Akbar (Allah is Greater)’
hardly see it.} {The Holy Qur’an
Mahdis.
there is planted for him a tree in
The Almighty said: {Then be patient Surat An-Nūr (The Light): 40}. And
Paradise, so they said: ‘Therefore, we
for the decision of your Lord and be he saw Qaroun (May Allah curse
have a lot of [trees] planted O
him) and he spoke with him. And
not like the companion of the fish
Messenger of Allah!’ He (pbuh &
this Hell, which he saw, is the Hell
when he called out while he was
his family) said: ‘Yes, however,
developing by the works [sins] of
distressed. * If not that a favor from
beware lest you send upon them
the oppressors until its blaze is
his Lord overtook him, he would
completed, and its blaze is fueled by fire so you burn them (i.e. destroyed
have been thrown onto the naked
the works [sins] of the oppressors, from bad deeds).’ [1]
righteous works [deeds] of the
Prophets, and the Guardians
Therefore, the people are whom
build Paradise and Hell, and each
has its own inhabitants. And this
Hell is the real whale which
fish swallowed him, while he was
Messengers, and the Righteous.
blameworthy. * And had he not
been of those who exalt Allah , *
He would have remained inside its
belly until the Day they are
resurrected. * But We threw him
The Almighty said regarding the Hell prison which he was imprisoned in,
built upon the works of the
and the tomb which he was
onto the nakedness while he was
sick. * And We caused to grow over
him a gourd vine.} {The Holy
swallowed Yunus (pbuh), and the
oppressive children of Adam: {And
subjected to and confined to, and
when Hellfire is set ablaze} {The
therefore, the Almighty said these
Holy Qur’an Surat At-Takwīr (The
two sayings, and the apparent – for
Overthrowing): 12}, meaning: [when] whomever is ignorant of the reality/
it reaches to the peak of its blaze
and completes its blaze on the Day
truth – is that they are
contradictory, and they are: