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The question

Is the whale that swallowed Yunus (peace be upon him) still alive, based on Allah's saying: "He would have remained in its belly until the Day they are resurrected"?

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Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

The statement that the whale which swallowed Jonah (peace be upon him) is still alive, based on the Almighty's saying: (And had he not been of those who remember Allah much, He would have remained inside its belly till the Day they are resurrected) [As-Saffat: 143-144], is incorrect and has no evidence. The word "had not" (لولا) here is a particle indicating an impediment for an occurrence, meaning: had it not been for his glorification, he would have remained in the whale's belly until the Day of Resurrection. And since he was among those who glorified Allah, he did not remain in it. In addition, staying in the whale's belly until the Day of Resurrection does not necessitate the whale remaining alive; it is possible for the whale and what is inside it to die, and then they both remain in its belly until the Day of Resurrection.

Summary from Ftawy's records · added here

Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.

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Where this answer came from
Source platform
Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
905
Added here
. This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
Text
Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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Read the full answer on Ftawy