Yunus (Jonah)

Prophet Yunus, also known as Jonah in Biblical narrative, is mentioned in three surahs (10, 21 and 37) of the Quran. God sent him to a place called Nineveh to preach among the people who led unscrupulous lives, did not believe in one God and worshipped only idols. When Yunus started his preaching there, he faced stiff opposition from the natives. Unable to face their hostility and growing animosity, he left Nineveh in exasperation although he feared that God would be angry with him for relinquishing the task assigned to him. When he left Nineveh, nature showed its anger on the people. The sky turned red like embers and the storm raged. The people immediately realised that they had done a grievous wrong. They repented for what they had done to Yunus. So, they gathered and prayed to God for forgiveness. They also prayed that Yunus may be sent back to lead them to the right path. God did not want to punish them anymore; instead he wanted Yunus to come back and resume his preaching among them.

After leaving Nineveh, Yunus went far away and boarded a ship. The day passed peacefully but when the night came, the weather turned too harsh. The ship started getting severe tremors. It was feared that it would be wrecked soon. The passengers got very nervous. The captain announced that the ship was much too loaded and it needed to be made lighter. He ordered the passengers to throw their extra loads of luggage into the sea. This was done but it did not help. It was then announced that one of the passengers would have to jump into the sea. This put all of them in a difficult situation. It was a hard to decide as to who would jump into the sea. So, it was decided to write names on chits of paper out of which one paper would be picked up and the person whose name it would bear would have to jump into the sea. This was done and the chit of paper that was picked up had the name of Yunus on it. Since he was a Prophet, people did not want him to jump into the sea and sacrifice his life. So, this process was repeated again, and again the same name appeared. The passengers were still not ready that Yunus should sacrifice himself by jumping into the sea. So, this process was repeated for the third but the result remained the same. It was realised then that this is what God actually willed. As a result, it was decided that Yunus would jump into the sea. In the meanwhile, God had sent a big whale in the sea and wanted it to swim alongside the ship and gulp Yunus as soon as he jumped into the sea.

As soon as Yunus jumped, the whale gulped him and he reached its belly. He survived there but remained in pain. He realised that he had gone against the will of God by leaving Nineveh. He repented, wept and prayed for God’s forgiveness. After some time, the whale spewed him out of its belly. Now, he found himself on a dry and sunny plain. He felt the heat and looked unwell. God made a tree appear there and sent fruits for him. He lay under the tree, ate the fruit and felt good. From there, Yunus found his way to Nineveh. On arriving there, he met the people of Nineveh and started his preaching among them. He lived there in peace with his people until his death.

Reference: Bargaah-e haq mein haazir ho ke main ki dua/Pet se machhli ke Yunus ko kya tu ne diya (Syed Mohammad Jafri).

Prophet Yunus, also known as Jonah in Biblical narrative, is mentioned in three surahs (10, 21 and 37) of the Quran. God sent him to a place called Nineveh to preach among the people who led unscrupulous lives, did not believe in one God and worshipped only idols. When Yunus started his preaching there, he faced stiff opposition from the natives. Unable to face their hostility and growing animosity, he left Nineveh in exasperation although he feared that God would be angry with him for relinquishing the task assigned to him. When he left Nineveh, nature showed its anger on the people. The sky turned red like embers and the storm raged. The people immediately realised that they had done a grievous wrong. They repented for what they had done to Yunus. So, they gathered and prayed to God for forgiveness. They also prayed that Yunus may be sent back to lead them to the right path. God did not want to punish them anymore; instead he wanted Yunus to come back and resume his preaching among them.

After leaving Nineveh, Yunus went far away and boarded a ship. The day passed peacefully but when the night came, the weather turned too harsh. The ship started getting severe tremors. It was feared that it would be wrecked soon. The passengers got very nervous. The captain announced that the ship was much too loaded and it needed to be made lighter. He ordered the passengers to throw their extra loads of luggage into the sea. This was done but it did not help. It was then announced that one of the passengers would have to jump into the sea. This put all of them in a difficult situation. It was a hard to decide as to who would jump into the sea. So, it was decided to write names on chits of paper out of which one paper would be picked up and the person whose name it would bear would have to jump into the sea. This was done and the chit of paper that was picked up had the name of Yunus on it. Since he was a Prophet, people did not want him to jump into the sea and sacrifice his life. So, this process was repeated again, and again the same name appeared. The passengers were still not ready that Yunus should sacrifice himself by jumping into the sea. So, this process was repeated for the third but the result remained the same. It was realised then that this is what God actually willed. As a result, it was decided that Yunus would jump into the sea. In the meanwhile, God had sent a big whale in the sea and wanted it to swim alongside the ship and gulp Yunus as soon as he jumped into the sea.

As soon as Yunus jumped, the whale gulped him and he reached its belly. He survived there but remained in pain. He realised that he had gone against the will of God by leaving Nineveh. He repented, wept and prayed for God’s forgiveness. After some time, the whale spewed him out of its belly. Now, he found himself on a dry and sunny plain. He felt the heat and looked unwell. God made a tree appear there and sent fruits for him. He lay under the tree, ate the fruit and felt good. From there, Yunus found his way to Nineveh. On arriving there, he met the people of Nineveh and started his preaching among them. He lived there in peace with his people until his death.

Reference: Bargaah-e haq mein haazir ho ke main ki dua/Pet se machhli ke Yunus ko kya tu ne diya (Syed Mohammad Jafri).