First, the country of Hazrat Yunus, Jonah, was around Lebanon because still we have a very staunch Christian community in those areas which believes more in Jonah than any other prophet. And also there is a Muslim community there, halfway between Muslims and some others, perhaps it is the Druze sect, which are very strongly attached to Jonah. And the Assyrians, the Assyrian church, that also dates back its origin, or at least it is proud of its very deep affiliations with Jonah, the prophet.
And they also have a fast for three days and three nights in the memory of Jonah having been swallowed by fish. And that fast is supposed to be the most sacred rite in their Christian version. Although in other sects of Christianity you don’t hear of any such thing. And they take pride in this fact and they celebrate that fast so much that they believe that somebody who has kept that fast meticulously with all its conditions fulfilled, he is liberated from every sin and he should be considered as an emancipated man.
So this is the sort of attachment they have with Jonah. Once I met one of those Assyrians and I asked him about their particular contact and all that. So it was he who for the first time told me that Jonah lived in the regional region of Lebanon. And because again among the Muslims, or at least the so-called Muslims, which are Druze, Jonah occupies a very important position. So we believe that this report is correct. And the Druze, it is told, give preference to Jonah over all others. And they have very little attachment to Islamic rites and Islamic customs and traditions, but they are very devoutly attached to Jonah.
Now the next question which arises automatically, which we have not asked and which is relevant of course, is that whether whales are found in those regions or not. And which particular city it is called nowadays, which was called in the Bible, what is the name of the city? Nineveh. Is there a town nowadays in the name of Nineveh or not? I don’t know. I have not investigated. Would anybody throw light on this? No, but he died in Mursal. His grave is in Mursal. And Mursal, we say Mata. So it is in the northern of Iraq. Mursal. His Mazar is… Yes, but we don’t know whether he returned to his people or not. No, Mursal people say he lived here. After the migration maybe. We don’t know.
So it has to be investigated. That is not difficult for him to migrate from his original mainland to Mursal after he was… But the point is, is there a fish, a type of fish found in those waters which is big enough to swallow a man and also vomit it out again? So all this, this is to be further investigated. Thank you for pointing out, because this is a region which where we don’t know much. I mean, of which we are not very well versed. So I should like to have the matter investigated further. Who is going to do it for me? Both these things. Right, right. Okay. One of biblical encyclopedia may not tell you about the question of whether whales were found in those regions or not, or whether they are found in the region today or not.
So there are two aspects of this question. First, whether it’s an area known for the presence of whales or some other big fish, or historically, what changes have taken place in that a few thousand years, which might be responsible for the absence of whales today while in the earlier days it might be there. And the second part, you know already. The second part of your question, you know already. It was just superfluous.
