Was Jonah cast on the desert shore or was he not?
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Surah 37 ("as-Saaffaat") reads in verse 145:
"fa-nabadhnaahu bil-`araai wa-huwa saqeemun"
A verbatim translation is:
"Then We cast him on the desert plain and he was sick"
The well known Muslim translators render this verse:
| Pickthall: | "Then We cast him on a desert shore while he was sick" |
| Yusufali: | "But We cast him forth on the naked shore in a state of sickness" |
| Shakir: | "Then We cast him on to the vacant surface of the earth while he was sick" |
Contrary to that, surah 68 ("al-Qalam") has in verse 49:
"law laa an tadaarakahu ni`matun min rabbihi la-nubidha bil-`araai wa huwa madhmoomun"
Translated verbatim this means:
"If not had reached him a favour from his Lord, he surely would have been cast on the desert plain and he would have been reprobate."
or according to
| Pickthall: | "Had it not been that favour from his Lord had reached him he surely had been cast into the wilderness while he was reprobate." |
| Yusufali: | "Had not Grace from his Lord reached him, he would indeed have been cast off on the naked shore, in disgrace." |
| Shakir: | "Were it not that favor from his Lord had overtaken him, he would certainly have been cast down upon the naked Found while he was blamed." |
Though the translations differ in style and in some minor points, all duly agree that in verse 37:145 Jonah (Yunus) is reported to have actually been cast on the desert shore. In contradiction to this, they again duly agree that in verse 68:49 Jonah is reported not to have been cast on the desert shore, because this fate only would have hit him if the divine grace hadn't pardoned him.
Contradictions in the Qur'an
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