حوت

Core meaning

The fish: three accounts use it, always for the animal itself, without specifying the species.

Uses

1. حُوت → "the fish" : the animal in the account of Moussa and in that of Younes.

   • «نَسِيَا حُوتَهُمَا» — "they forgot their fish" (18:61)
   • «فَٱلْتَقَمَهُ ٱلْحُوتُ وَهُوَ مُلِيمٌۭ» — "then the fish swallowed him while he was censurable" (37:142)

2. حِيتَان → "the fish" (plural) : the fish of the city near the sea.

   • «إِذْ تَأْتِيهِمْ حِيتَانُهُمْ يَوْمَ سَبْتِهِمْ شُرَّعًۭا» — "their fish came to them on the day of their Rest, in the open" (7:163)

3. صَاحِبُ ٱلْحُوت → "the companion of the fish" : Younes, named by the animal that swallowed him.

   • «وَلَا تَكُن كَصَاحِبِ ٱلْحُوتِ» — "and do not be like the companion of the fish" (68:48)

Evidence from the text

In 7:163 the fish come in the open on the day of the Rest and do not come on the other days: the city's trial passes through them. In 18:61-63, the forgotten fish that takes its way into the sea marks the place Moussa was seeking. In 37:142 the fish swallows Younes, and 68:48 names him by it: the companion of the fish.

See also

بحر (the sea)