Now yaqtin can be applicable not only to qaddur, as you have said, but some other similar vegetables which grow on creepers. And the fact is that he was, when the whale vomited him out, Prophet Yunus, at that time he was suffering from many things. Number one, because of the acids and other ingredients or wherever he was kept within the belly, he was suffering externally as well. Secondly, he was suffering from lack of water dehydration and lack of food too. And he wanted, if he was to be saved, he should have been saved in a soft place where he could have some cover as well, and where the fruits were not very far from him, where he could not have walked and picked them up.
This is the general state of affairs as we can imagine. He must have found himself in when he was ejected or thrown out. Obviously for remaining three nights and three days within the belly or some internal cavity of the fish was a very grave trial. If Allah had not specifically decided to save him, normally no man could have come out alive. So in that state, if he’s thrown out in the open, he could not survive. If he’s thrown out under a fruit tree, the shadows come and go along the sun’s path. And at times he’s left out in the open sun and at times he’s covered with shadow, but it can’t give him a constant permanent shadow. At night he would have nothing to cover. He would have to reach out for the fruit if it is fallen somewhere else.
All these questions are answered by a creeper. If he’s thrown out among a thick creeper, if you have seen such creepers as Kaddu ki Bel etc., you’ll be surprised to find how thick a shadow they can provide from the sun and how they can cover you and give you good effective cover from the cold as well. You creep under a creeper and you’ll find a very warm place during the night. And during the day it’s a cool place. Then you have so much of gourds around you that even if you eat all that are available within your reach, they grow very fast. Within a matter of a day or so, the small ones, big ones, become big and ripe so quickly that one is surprised. And then they do not have concentrated food to upset. And they are neither dry nor just watery. They have enough water content. And some gourds have healing qualities as well.
So something like that is described in such a short verse by the Holy Quran that all the requirements which were necessary for saving the life of Jonah were provided by us when we had the fish throw him out in some gourd creeper, among some gourd creepers. And there he remained for a while, covering himself sometimes, removing the cover sometimes as a necessity arose, and feeding himself with that gourd which had some healing qualities as well. So this is the significance as I understand.
