Introduction:
This blog is going to talk about the story of prophet Yunus. The story of prophet Yunus is very interesting. It includes a lot of lessons for a Muslim to learn. The story of prophet Yunus is in the Holy Quran. When prophet Mohammad went to al-Taif to call its people to embrace Islam, they met him in the worst way. They even encouraged their kids and idiots to attack him and throw stones at him. Prophet Mohammad’s feet were wounded and bled. He resorted to a vineyard. The keeper of the yard pitied prophet Mohammad and offered him a cluster of grapes. Prophet Mohammad began to eat the grapes saying: “In the name of Allah”.
The mention of Yunus ibn Matta in the Sera:
It astonished the vineyard keeper to hear prophet Mohammad saying in the name of Allah, the keeper. Therefore, Addas said that it was not the way the residents of the region spoke. Prophet Mohammad introduced himself to Addas saying that he was the prophet of Allah. Asking Addas about where he was from, Addas said that he was from Nineveh. Prophet Mohammad said that Nineveh was the town where prophet Yunus ibn Matta had lived. Addas assured prophet Mohammad that it was true. The yard keeper sympathized with prophet Mohammad and knew that Mohammad was a true prophet. Addas himself was a monotheist believer.
The story of yunus ibn matta:
The story of prophet Yunus is in the Holy Quran. Yusuns had a unique story which made him special among prophets and messengers. Moreover, people of Yunus were also special. while the previous folks of the previous prophet kept challenging their prophets till Allah tortured, the people of Yunus believed in Allah as soon as they saw the beginning of torture them. (aya).
فَلَوْلَا كَانَتْ قَرْيَةٌ ءَامَنَتْ فَنَفَعَهَآ إِيمَـٰنُهَآ إِلَّا قَوْمَ يُونُسَ لَمَّآ ءَامَنُوا۟
ءَامَنُوا۟ كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُمْ عَذَابَ ٱلْخِزْىِ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَمَتَّعْنَـٰهُمْ إِلَىٰ حِينٍۢ
Allah sent Yunus to the people of Nineveh in Iraq. The city had dense population. Between one hundred and twenty thousand and one hundred and seventy thousand people lived in Nineveh. Yunus began his call for the worship of Allah Alone. However, his people did not believe him. They insisted on their stubborn stand. Yunus grew inpatient and promised they would be tortured three nights later. He left the city for fear of the torture.
The people of Yunus changed:
When Yunus left his people, they changed and realized that the torture was nearby. They repented and made dua for Allah to forgive them. Eventually, Allah forgave them and had mercy upon them. Although they saw the torture of Allah with their eyes, their repenting caused the torture to end . However, Yunus did not see that great change. This was because he had left his people before the lifting of torture. Desperately, Yunus did not know where to go. He boarded a ship which was traveling down the river Euphrates. The ship was on its way into the sea. He wanted to go as far from his town as he could. This was to escape the torture.
Yunus on the ship:
As soon as Yunus boarded the ship which began to sail at sea, the sea grew rough. The sailors noticed that the sea was not calm as usual. A sailor called out asking passengers to get rid of the extra weights. They feared the ship would sink. (aya)
وَإِنَّ يُونُسَ لَمِنَ ٱلْمُرْسَلِينَ
إِذْ أَبَقَ إِلَى ٱلْفُلْكِ ٱلْمَشْحُونِ
فَسَاهَمَ فَكَانَ مِنَ ٱلْمُدْحَضِينَ
Consequently, the passengers threw away their valuables. However, the ship was still in great danger. Meanwhile, Yunus was busy thinking about his people and their imminent torture. he asked himself if the turmoil in which the ship was, was a part of the torture. The passengers were in fear and panic. The ship’s captain said that they had to get rid of some passengers too.
Yunus and the fatal toss:
To choose the passengers to throw into the sea, the captain had to draw the lots. The captain wanted to achieve justice. The toss chose Yunus as a victim. They repeated the draw a lot of times. The result was always the same. It was Yunus who was to be throw into the sea. As soon as they had thrown Yunus into the sea, the waves grew very calm and everything returned back to normal. Once, they threw Yunus into the brine, and a huge whale was waiting for him. The whale swallowed Yunus at once. Yunus had run away from his people. Yunus was now in the stomach of the whale. (aya)
(فَٱلْتَقَمَهُ ٱلْحُوتُ وَهُوَ مُلِيمٌۭ)
(فَلَوْلَآ أَنَّهُۥ كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْمُسَبِّحِينَ)
The escaped slave in punishment:
Although Yunus was a prophet, he should not have left his town without permission. Therefore, he was wrong somehow. Therefore, he deserved some reproach and blame. So the whale swallowed him. On the other hand, Allah commanded the whale not to kill or digest Yunus. This way, Yunus was fairly safe. Inside the stomach of the whale, Yunus felt that he was still alive. Therefore, Yunus kept glorifying, praising and mentioning Allah. In this was the salvation of Yunus. Prophet Yunus was in three layers of darkness. His soul was gloomy and dark. His despair was completely dark. The sea and the whale’s stomach was utterly dark for him. (aya)
وَذَا ٱلنُّونِ إِذ ذَّهَبَ مُغَـٰضِبًۭا فَظَنَّ أَن لَّن نَّقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ فَنَادَىٰ فِى ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ أَن لَّآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنتَ سُبْحَـٰنَكَ إِنِّى كُنتُ مِنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
Allah is there in the heart of darkness:
Yunus did not lose hope. He kept mentioning and praising Allah. Yunus knew his mistake, repented and asked Allah to forgive him. This is all that a Muslim should do for Allah to forgive him. The mercy of Allah is very close to the slaves of Allah. Consequently, the whale vomited Yunus at the seashore. It was a sandy beach. The skin of Yunus was partly damaged. He was too weak to move. Therefore, a huge pumpkin bush quickly grew over Yunus to protect his sensitive skin. Yunus was ill for some days. (aya)
۞ فَنَبَذْنَـٰهُ بِٱلْعَرَآءِ وَهُوَ سَقِيمٌۭ
وَأَنۢبَتْنَا عَلَيْهِ شَجَرَةًۭ مِّن يَقْطِينٍۢ
During that time, he began to recover slowly. The shade of leaves of the pumpkin protected Yunus from the heat of the sun as well as flies. For this reason, Allah gently cared for the vulnerable Yunus.
Lessons from the story of Yunus:
The story of Yunus was in the Holy Quran. Allah revealed it to prophet Mohammad. This was to give prophet Mohammad as well as Muslims an important lesson. They should call for the worship of Allah regardless of the hardships they face. Moreover, Allah is capable of everything. The stubborn and hostile people of Makkah can change in a blink of an eye. Therefore, muslims should be patient and sincere in their call for allah. Thirdly, they should never be desperate for the mercy of allah. The mercy of Allah is near to the faithful believers. Fourth, when you repent to Allah devotedly, Allah forgives and pardons you regardless of all your sins.
