Noah and the Lion that Sneezed out Cats

 

One of the stories that the Bible and Quran both share is Noah’s Ark.  Compared to Biblical account of the story in Genesis 6-8, the Quran's version is much abbreviated, only 13 verses.  Noah takes a pair of each species on board the Ark to prepare for a largescale flood.  The Quran writes:

(So it was) till when Our Command came and the oven gushed forth (water like fountains from the earth). We said: "Embark therein, of each kind two (male and female), and your family - except him against whom the Word has already gone forth - and those who believe. And none believed with him, except a few." 

Quran 11:40, Hilali-Khan

In volume 1 of Muhammad Baqir Majlisi's Hayat Al-Qulub, an Islamic book devoted to the stories of the prophet, is a story about Noah’s Ark.  In the story, Allah helps out with a rat problem that developed on the Ark:

In the ship, there were a lot of rats. Allah revealed to Nuh to pat the lion. The lion sneezed and two cats, a male and a female emerged from its nasal openings. They attacked the rats and reduced their number.

(In Arabic works, Noah is called Nuh.)  In a story resembling a fairy tale, Noah pats a lion.  The lion, as it turns out, is sick and sneezes out a pair of cats.  These cats then go to clean up the Ark's rat problem. 

This story didn’t make it to the Bible, but surprisingly was embraced by major scholars in Islam.  It is affirmed by one of Islam's great commentary, Ibn Kathir.  Ibn Kathir was renown for his expertise in Quranic interpretation, the Hadith, and Islamic theology. 

The Arabic version of Ibn Kathir's commentary on Quran 11:40 retells the story.  On Noah's ark, Allah does a world first.  He creates the first ever fever or flu-like sickness.  Allah gives the lion a fever to pacify him.   This makes the cattle then feel safe around the lion.  Cattle no longer fear being eaten.  Quoting Ibn Kathir:

تَطْمَئِنّ الْمَوَاشِي وَمَعَهَا الْأَسَد ؟ فَسَلَّطَ اللَّه عَلَيْهِ الْحُمَّى فَكَانَتْ أَوَّل حُمَّى نَزَلَتْ فِي الْأَرْض ثُمَّ

Are the cattle calm and the lion with them? Then God placed a fever on him [the lion], and it was the first fever that occurred on the earth.

(The Arabic-to-English translations shown here are from Google Translate.)   Next, Ibn Kathir says that the rats in the ark were eating all the food:

شَكَوْا الْفَأْرَة فَقَالُوا الْفُوَيْسِقَة تُفْسِد عَلَيْنَا طَعَامنَا

They complained about the mouse, and they said that the foisika spoils our food. 

So Allah has the lion sneeze out the cats to go after the rodents:

وَ مَتَاعنَا فَأَوْحَى اللَّه إِلَى الْأَسَد فَعَطَسَ فَخَرَجَتْ الْهِرَّ

And our enjoyment, then God revealed to the lion, so he sneezed, and the cat went out. 

The story in Hayat Al-Qulub is obviously folktale.  Yet, Ibn Kathir affirms it.  

Back in Hayat Al-Qulub, the folktale dramatization on the Ark continues.  Noah pats an elephant.  The elephant sneezes and two pigs comes out of its nostrils:

“Then Nuh patted that elephant with his blessed hand. It sneezed and at these two pigs, a male and a female came out of the two nasal openings because of which the facial matter was eliminated.”

Is it not obvious from these examples that early Islamic scholar were not able to distinguish truth from folktale?  If you are Muslim, how you trust your so-called scholars?  Discard such Islamic fiction.  Start reading the Bible.  

In the flood, God wiped out mankind because they had become greatly wicked.  The first thing Noah did when he reached dry land was offer a sacrifice of thankfulness to the Lord.  God promised never to destroy humankind in this way again, in spite of man's tendency for evil:

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.  Genesis 8:20-21

Discover God's plan for the salvation of humanity, a plan to radically transform our evil hearts.  Read the Gospel of John.

Allah Teaches Infanticide

 

The Quran speaks of several characters that never made it to the Bible.  One of these is Al Khidr.   In the Quran Al Khidr is a respected servant of Allah and he has some lessons to teach us.  But one of his lessons is quite disconcerting. 

Al Khidr means “Mr. Green”.  Apparently, according to the stories, he is called Mr. Green, because every time he sits on dry grass, the grass becomes green.  He was said to have existed in the time of Noah, attended the funerals of Aaron and Moses, and, if you can believe it, also the funeral of Muhammad!  The same guy apparently lived over a thousand years, because he is said to have drunk from the “fountain of youth”.  In Islam, Moses thought al Khidr was the most knowledgeable person of his time.

Al Khidr was apparently a good servant who had been taught knowledge of Allah.  Though not explicitly named in the Quran, some Qurans identify him in parentheses:

"And they found a servant from among Our servants [i.e., al-Khiḍr] to whom We had given mercy from Us and had taught him from Us a [certain] knowledge." Quran 18:65, Saheeh Intl

Now Al Khidr did a very evil thing:

"Then they both proceeded, till they met a boy, and he (Khidr) killed him. Mûsâ (Moses) said: "Have you killed an innocent person who had killed none? Verily, you have committed a thing Nukr (a great Munkar - prohibited, evil, dreadful thing)!" " Quran 18:74, Hilali-Khan

Moses rightfully reacts. “You have killed an innocent person!”  Al Khidr responds:

              (Khidr) said: "Did I not tell you that you can have no patience with me?" Quran 18:75

Al Khidr eventually explains.  It was a lesson for Moses.  The parents were believers, and that he feared that the boy would lead the parents into sin and disbelief:

"And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared lest he should oppress them by rebellion and disbelief." Quran 18:80

However, the boy had committed no sin!  He was the son of a family of believers.  By the Islamic principle of Fitrah, he would have been a Muslim too.  But al Khidr feared future sin from the boy.  He thought the boy would be a troublemaker, so he killed him.  They boy was punished for a crime before committing any crime.  Many Muslims believe in fate and that you cannot change your fated destiny.  But to the rest of us, Allah slaughtered an innocent child.

Muslims might claim otherwise.  They might try reframing it as Allah killing someone who wanted to be evil.  But in Quran 18:80, it clearly says the reason for killing the boy, which was fear.  We see this in many of the English translations:

              "We feared that he would pressure them into defiance and disbelief." The Clear Quran

              "We feared he would overwhelm them with transgression and denial." Soliman Bridges

              "fearing he would trouble them through wickedness and disbelief,"  Abdul Hareem

"So I feared that if he grew up, he would cause them to disbelieve in Allah" Abridged Explanation of the Quran

Also, every single time the Arabic word is used in the Quran, it is rendered fear (see Corpus Quran here).  Al Khidr murdered the son out of fear.

Finishing the story, Allah plans to provide the parents a replacement son:

"So we desired that their Lord would give them in exchange (a son) better in purity (of conduct) and closer in affection. Quran 18:81, Yusuf Ali

The slaying by Al Khidr was very brutal.  From Tafsiral-Jalalayn on Q.18:74:

So they set off after leaving the ship making their way on foot until when they met a boy who had not yet reached puberty playing with other boys among whom his face was the fairest — and he al-Khidr slew him by slitting his throat with a knife while he lay down or by tearing his head off with his hand or by smashing his head against a wall all of which are different opinions the coordinating fā’ of fa-qatalahu ‘and he slew him’ is used here because it indicates that the slaying took place after the encounter; the response to idhā ‘when’ is the following statement qāla … — he Moses said to him ‘Have you slain an innocent soul that is a pure one that had not reached the age of legal responsibility a variant reading for zākiya has zakiyya one slain not in retaliation for another soul? in other words one that has not slain any soul. Verily you have committed an dreadful thing’ read nukran or nukuran that is to say an abomination.

This Tafsir here testifies that the boy was under the age of legal responsibility. 

By contrast, the Bible entrusts parents to raise their children up in righteousness:

 "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6, NIV

The Bible does not instruct us to "kill the child if you fear rebellion".  Instead, parents are taught to train a child and help steer the path they take in life.  Good parenting helps mold a child and can save them from a lifetime of wrong decisions.

The al Khidr story only makes sense in a fatalistic world where free will does not exist.  In this world, there is nothing the parents could have done to instruct the boy to be good, for his fate had been pre-determined by Allah.  Islam presents a depressing world view.  

The truth is, God presents us with choices.  God calls us, and those he calls he provides the choice to either follow him or turn away from him:

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12, ESV

Jesus is calling you to follow him today.  Won't you open the Bible and learn more?