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- ʿAbd Allāh narrated to us—my father narrated to us—Sufyān ibn Wakīʿ narrated to us—Jamīʿ ibn ʿUmayr narrated to us—from Mujālid, from al-Shaʿbī, who said:
A man in his presence remarked, “Jonah, peace be upon him, stayed inside the belly of the fish for forty days.”
Al-Shaʿbī replied, “He stayed no more than part of a single day. The fish swallowed him in the forenoon, and when it was after ʿAṣr and the sun was nearing sunset, the fish yawned. Jonah, peace be upon him, saw the light of the sun and exclaimed, ‘There is no god but You. Glory be to You! Indeed, I was among the wrongdoers’ (Qurʾān 21:87).” He went on: “The fish then threw him out, and he had become like a featherless chick.”
A man said to al-Shaʿbī, “Are you denying the power of Allah?”
He answered, “I do not deny Allah’s power; if Allah had willed to place an entire marketplace inside its belly, He could have done so.”
١٨٦ - حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ بْنُ وَكِيعٍ، حَدَّثَنَا جُمَيْعُ بْنُ عُمَيْرٍ، عَنْ مُجَالِدٍ، عَنِ الشَّعْبِيِّ قَالَ: قَالَ رَجُلٌ عِنْدَهُ: " مَكَثَ (عليه السلام) فِي بَطْنِ الْحُوتِ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا فَقَالَ الشَّعْبِيُّ: " مَا مَكَثَ إِلَّا أَقَلَّ مِنْ يَوْمٍ؛ الْتَقَمَهُ ضُحًى، فَلَمَّا كَانَ بَعْدَ الْعَصْرِ، وَقَارَبَتِ الشَّمْسُ الْغُرُوبَ، تَثَاوَبَ الْحُوتُ، فَرَأَى يُونُسُ (عليه السلام) ضَوْءَ الشَّمْسِ، فَقَالَ: ﴿لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ﴾ [الأنبياء: ٨٧] " قَالَ: «فَنَبَذَهُ وَقَدْ صَارَ كَأَنَّهُ فَرْخٌ» فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ لِلشَّعْبِيِّ: أَتُنْكِرُ قُدْرَةَ اللَّهِ – Exalté soit-Il –؟ قَالَ: «مَا أُنْكِرُ قُدْرَةَ اللَّهِ – Exalté soit-Il –، وَلَوْ أَرَادَ اللَّهُ – Exalté soit-Il – أَنْ يَجْعَلَ فِي بَطْنِهَا سُوقًا لَفَعَلَ»