Verse 147 of the chapter of as-Saaffat: "And We sent him (on a mission) to a hundred thousand (men) or more." What does the word "or" mean here? How should we understand it, 100.000 or more?

Verse 147 of the chapter of as-Saaffat: "And We sent him (on a mission) to a hundred thousand (men) or more." What does the word "or" mean here? How should we understand it, 100.000 or more?

Dear Brother / Sister,

"And We sent him to a hundred thousand, rather they exceeded." (as-Saaffat, 37/147)

It is possible to translate this verse as follows too: “And We sent him (on a mission) to a hundred thousand (men) or more.” If Allah had wished, He would have mentioned the exact number of those people. The purpose is this: "If somebody had entered that place, he would have guessed that there were a hundred thousand or more people.”

The people of Nineveh are mentioned by «a hundred thousand or more». God Almighty says, «We sent him to a hundred thousand or more ». What is meant by sending is the first one. That is, sending Hz. Yunus to them before he entered the stomach of the fish.

«And they believed»; that is, they believed after Hz. Yunus left them, not just after he was sent to them.  

According to the narration from Ibn Abbas, the conjunction «aw» (or) in the verse means «bal» (no). Some scholars say the conjunction «aw» means «wa» (and). Besides, Jafar bin Muhammad al-Baqır recited it like that (with waw).

According to some scholars, the word «aw» here aims to cause the addressee not to know the exact number. Mubarrid and the majority of Basra scholars said, «The word aw expresses doubt here.» This doubt is in question for a person who sees them. That is, somebody who sees them has a doubt about their number and says, «They are a hundred thousand or more.» According to a narration from Ibn Abbas, the part that is more than a hundred thousand is thirty thousand. In another narration of him, it is a bit more than 30.000 and in yet another narration, it is a bit more than 40.000.

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