11. The Story of Sayyidnā Yūnus عليه السالم
    11.1 Yūnus Leaves his People in Anger and Frustration
    11.2 Yūnus gets Cast off into the Sea and is Swallowed by the Whale
    11.3 Yūnus عليه السالم Turns to Allāh ﷻ in Sujūd and Makes Du’ā
    11.4 Angels Make Du’ā for the Ones who Gather to Remember Allāh ﷻ
    11.5 The Angels Intercede on Behalf of Sayyidnā Yūnus عليه السالم
    11.6 The Du’ā of Yūnus عليه السالم is Applicable to all Believers
    11.7 Allāh ﷻ Saves Yūnus, and he completes the Da’wah to his People
    11.8 Patience in Da’wah

11.1 Yūnus Leaves his People in Anger and Frustration

The next story is the story of Dhā An-Nūn, şāĥibi Al-Ĥūt – Sayyidnā Yūnus عليه السالم . Allāh ﷻ has called him Dhā An-Nūn. An-Nūn is the big fish, or whale. Şāĥibi Al-Ĥūt is the same thing. Allāh ﷻ says,

And, verily, Yūnus (Jonah) was one of the Messengers.(As-Sāffāt – 37:139)

Sayyidnā Yūnus عليه السالم  was sent to a town in ‘Irāq. He made Da’wah to his people calling them to Allāh ﷻ. As usual, they did not respond, and they were harsh on him. Sayyidnā Yūnus عليه السالم  was irritated by their response, and agitated. His people provoked him because of their persistence in animosity towards the religion of Allāh ﷻ. Sayyidnā Yūnus عليه السالم  said, “If this is the situation with these people, they don’t deserve this. I will leave and I’ll go somewhere else. I’ll go and make Da’wah in another part of the world. I’ll leave these people alone; they don’t deserve this.” Look at their response. Allāh ﷻ says,

And (remember) Dhan-Nūn (Jonah), when he went off in anger.(Al-Ambiyā – 21:87)

He left his people in a state of anger. They did not respond, ‘they do not want to listen, I’m going to leave and go somewhere else.’ So, he left them, and he wants to get as far as possible, so he went in the sea.

11.2 Yūnus gets Cast off into the Sea and is Swallowed by the Whale

And he took a boat to go in the sea, so it will take him as far as possible from these people who he despised. Wind picked up, waves were getting higher and higher; it was a storm. The people who were in that boat decided that in order for us to survive, we have to get rid of our luggage. They threw all of their luggage to make the boat lighter. That wasn’t enough, so now, they have to throw out one of the passengers, they have to sacrifice one of the men onboard. So, they cast lots, like what we say today, “Throw a dice”, so they cast a lot. It came on who? Yūnus عليه السالم . They said, ‘No, we’re not going to get rid of Yūnus. This is our Barakah; this is our blessing on the boat. He is the best man we have on board, and we’re not going to get rid of him. Let’s try again.’ They throw it another time; it came on who? Yūnus عليه السالم . They did it a third time. It came on Yūnus عليه السالم , and these people don’t want to get rid of Yūnus عليه السالم . They saw how righteous he was; they didn’t want to get rid of him. Sayyidnā Yūnus عليه السالم  knew that this is not random. These casting of the lots is not random, this is by the will of Allāh ﷻ, and Allāh is telling him something. So, he jumped in the sea. Allāh ﷻ commanded one of His creations, the whale, or the big fish, to swallow him. So, it swallowed Sayyidnā Yūnus عليه السالم . The Mufassirīn, some of the commentators on Qur’ān say, that Sayyidnā Yūnus عليه السالم  was unconscious, and then he woke up in the stomach of Al-Hūt – the whale, and he looked around him, and he thought that he is where? In the grave. He thought for a while, that he is dead, but that impression did not last long, because he started touching around him, and he found out that this is not a grave, this is the stomach of a whale. Now obviously, a stomach of a whale is not the five-star hotel, it is not a comfortable place to be. The Stomach of the whale is intended to do what? To digest food, and some of the most powerful enzymes and digesting fluids are in the stomachs of fish, because if you notice, fish do not chew their food, they swallow it whole. If you dissect the stomach of a fish, you will find a whole fish in there, and they have disintegrated and melted because of the power of the enzymes; it just breaks apart the flesh.

11.3 Yūnus عليه السالم  Turns to Allāh ﷻ in Sujūd and Makes Du’ā

So Sayyidnā Yūnus عليه السالم , his flesh and his skin were peeling off, and was falling out. The stomach did not know this was Sayyidnā Yūnus عليه السالم , a Nabī of Allāh ﷻ, it was digesting him just like any other meal. So, his skin was peeling out. Sayyidnā Yūnus عليه السالم , in this moment of difficulty, he ran to Allāh ﷻ and he made Sujūd, and he told Allāh ﷻ, “Oh Allāh! I am making Sujūd to you in a place where no one made Sujūd to you before, in a stomach of a whale.” And then he made his famous Du’ā which was recorded in Qur’ān, Allāh ﷻ says,

But he cried through the darkness (saying): Lā ilāha illā Anta, subhanka ini kuntu mina dhalimin [none has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allāh)], Glorified (and Exalted) are You [above all that (evil) they associate with You]. Truly, I have been of the wrong-doers.”(Al-Ambiyā – 21:87)

An admission of guilt, and a witness of the Oneness of Allāh ﷻ. Allāh ﷻ says, “Fanādá Fī Až-Žulumāti – he cried in the darkness.” This was the darkness of the stomach of the whale, in the darkness of the sea, in the darkness of the night; three darkness’s.

11.4 Angels Make Du’ā for the Ones who Gather to Remember Allāh ﷻ

Rasūlullāh ﷺ says, “The angels see hilaqah al-dhikr – the meetings of remembrance of Allāh ﷻ, like stars which you see in the sky.”(Sunan Ibn Mājah 3791, – Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3378)

We use the stars to navigate, the angels use these stars on Earth to know where Allāh ﷻ is being remembered. Whenever a group of Muslims come together, and we hope to be one of those, this appears to the creation of the heavens like a star. And they see it, and they come to it, so that they can witness the circles of remembering Allāh ﷻ and make Du’ā for the ones who are in it. So, we ask Allāh ﷻ to surround us with the angels of Allāh ﷻ, and to accept their Du’ā, and to make us of those who are forgiven – Amin.

11.5 The Angels Intercede on Behalf of Sayyidnā Yūnus عليه السالم

So even though this was in the depths of the ocean, in the middle of the stomach of the whale, in the darkness of the night, the weak voice of Sayyidnā Yūnus عليه السالم  was heard by the angels in the upmost heavens. These angels went to Allāh ﷻ and said, “O Allāh ﷻ! Alaysa hādhā sawt ‘abdika sālih fulān? – Isn’t this the sound of your righteous servant? Alladhī mā zāla yas’ad lahu al-‘amal as-sālih fī al-layli wa al-nahār? – Isn’t this the sound of your righteous servant, who used to do good, night and day?” Yas’ad lahu al-‘amal as-sālih – they used to say, “We would see his good deeds going up in the sky in the night and in the day.” So, this sound was familiar to them, they knew who he was, why? Because they would see pillars of light going up in the sky, because of his good deeds that he used to do every day and every night. They knew who he was, this sound was familiar to them. They knew him, because the good deeds are like pillars of light that travel in the sky and reach to Allāh ﷻ and pass by the angels. They said, “O Allāh ﷻ! Aren’t you going to have mercy on him?” Allāh ﷻ said, “Yes.”(Narrated by ibn Jarir at-Tabarri in his Tafsir, by Al-Bazzar in his Musnad and by Ibn Kathir in Qisas al-Anbiyā) And then Allāh ﷻ tells us in Qur’ān the reason why,

Had he not been of them who glorify Allāh, He would have indeed remained inside its belly (the fish) till the Day of Resurrection.(As-Sāffāt – 37:143-144)

Because he remembered Allāh ﷻ in moments of ease, Allāh ﷻ took care of him in moments of difficulty. Rasūlullāh ﷺ says, “Remember Allāh ﷻ in moments of ease, Allāh ﷻ will remember you in moments of difficulty.”(Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2516, 3603, – Sahih al-Bukhari 7405, – 40 Hadith an-Nawawi, Hadith 19) We need to remember Allāh ﷻ in our young age, so that Allāh ﷻ will remember us in our old age, remember Allāh ﷻ when you’re healthy, so Allāh ﷻ will remember you when you are ill, remember Allāh ﷻ when you have free time, so Allāh ﷻ will remember you when you become busy, remember Allāh ﷻ, when you are alive, so Allāh ﷻ will remember you when you’re dead. Allāh ﷻ took care of Sayyidnā Yūnus عليه السالم  in the depths of the darkness of the sea because of this Du’ā’, so Allāh ﷻ freed him. And Allāh ﷻ says,

So We answered his call, and delivered him from the distress.(Al-Ambiyā – 21:88)

11.6 The Du’ā of Yūnus عليه السالم  is Applicable to all Believers

One of the companions came to Rasūlullāh ﷺ and said, “Is this Du’ā only applicable to Sayyidnā Yūnus عليه السالم , or would it apply to any one of us?” Meaning, can we make the same Du’ā, and it will be accepted? Rasūlullāh ﷺ said, “Yes, didn’t you see Allāh ﷻ say,

And thus We do deliver the believers (who believe in the Oneness of Allāh, abstain from evil and work righteousness).(Al-Ambiyā – 21:88) Because Allāh ﷻ says, “We saved Yūnus and thus we save the believers. Therefore, Rasūlullāh ﷺ says, “Hādhā du’ā al-karb – this is the Du’ā of the distressed.”(An-Nasā’ī in Sunan al-Kubrā) If you ask Allāh ﷻ using this Du’ā, Allāh ﷻ will deliver you from your distress. The Du’ā again is, Lā ‘Ilāha ‘Illā ‘Anta Subĥānaka ‘Innī Kuntu Mina Až-Žālimīn.

11.7 Allāh ﷻ Saves Yūnus, and he completes the Da’wah to his People

Yūnus عليه السالم  was delivered out of the stomach of the whale, and he was delivered to safety on the shore. But he did not have skin to protect him from the sunrays, he did not have skin to protect him from wind. So Allāh ﷻ delivered him to the shore, and then Allāh ﷻ commanded a tree to go grow over Sayyidnā Yūnus عليه السالم , so that it would provide cover and shade for him, and it will also provide him with food. Allāh ﷻ says,

And We caused a plant of gourd to grow over him.(As-Sāffāt – 37:146)

But now, Yūnus عليه السالم  has to finish his job. So Allāh ﷻ sent him back to his town. “Go back.” So, he went back to his people.

And We sent him to a hundred thousand (people) or even more. And they believed; so We gave them enjoyment for a while.(As-Sāffāt – 37:147)

What happened? Fa’āmanū – they believed in him. All of them accepted Islam. Allāh ﷻ, says that the people of Yūnus عليه السالم  are an exception, because before, the other nations of the Ambiyā were being destroyed, but with the people of Yūnus عليه السالم  Allāh ﷻ says,

Was there any town (community) that believed (after seeing the punishment), and its Faith (at that moment) saved it (from the punishment)? (The answer is none,) – except the people of Yūnus (Jonah); when they believed, We removed from them the torment of disgrace in the life of the (present) world, and permitted them to enjoy for a while.(Yūnus – 10:98) It is said that when Yūnus عليه السالم  left, the punishment was hovering over them. That’s it, I mean the punishment was about to strike, but because Yūnus left immaturely, Allāh ﷻ held away that punishment. And then when Yūnus عليه السالم  came, they responded. And Allāh ﷻ saved them from a punishment that was already hovering over their heads.

11.8 Patience in Da’wah

Allāh ﷻ tells Rasūlullāh ﷺ in Sūrah Al-Qalam about this story, and this was revealed in the period in Makkah when Rasūlullāh ﷺ was receiving the same response of the people of Yūnus, rejection. So, to keep Rasūlullāh ﷺ from doing the same thing that Yūnus عليه السالم  did, Allāh ﷻ told Muhammad ﷺ about the story of Yūnus عليه السالم . And the first word that was used before the narration of this story is, Fasbir – have patience.

Allāh ﷻ says, So wait with patience for the Decision of your Lord, and be not like the Companion of the Fish, when he cried out (to Us) while he was in deep sorrow. Had not a Grace from his Lord reached him, he would indeed have been (left in the stomach of the fish, but We forgave him), so he was cast off on the naked shore, while he was to be blamed. But his Lord chose him and made him of the righteous.(Al-Qalam – 68:48-50)

So Allāh ﷻ chose him and made him of the righteous.