The story of Prophet Yunus

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He is Yunus bin Matta, whose lineage goes back to our master Solomon (peace be upon him), and his lineage is connected to the lineage of Benjamin, the brother of our master Joseph (peace be upon him). Ibn al-Atheer mentioned that (Matthew) is the name of his mother, and that none of the prophets was attributed to his mother except our master Yunus and our master Jesus (peace be upon them)

Message of the Prophet of God, Yunus

The story of Prophet Yunus began when God Almighty chose him to be a prophet calling people to worship God. God sent Yunus (peace be upon him) to the people of Nineveh - known as the land of Mosul in Iraq - and they are a people among whom polytheism has spread, and they used to worship idols and pray to them and deny the existence of the One and Only God.

The Prophet of God Yunus (peace be upon him) called on the people of Nineveh to worship the one God and to abandon the worship of idols that do not benefit or harm, but they refused and rebelled and insisted on their disbelief and did not abandon the worship of idols. Yunus (peace be upon him) continued to call the people of Nineveh, and they continued to deny him and harm him. Yunus was patient with this abuse and never stopped calling them. He called them for a long time, and he found nothing from them except stubbornness and insistence on disbelief, and he found in them deaf ears and uncircumcised hearts.

It was said that the Prophet of God, Yunus, remained in his people for thirty-three years, calling them and trying with them, and only two men believed from them. As for the rest of his people, they stood against him, denying all that he brought in his call. And when the attitude of his people did not change towards his call, and they only increased in persistence, obstinacy, and adherence to their disbelief, Yunus (peace be upon him) fell into despair. God Almighty will not hold him accountable for his surrender and abandonment to the people of the village before God, Blessed and Exalted be He, orders him to leave.

Yunus left and his people left him

Yunus, peace be upon him, promised his people that he would be tormented after three days if they did not believe and abandon the worship of idols, then he left among them angry and desperate because of their disbelief and their persistence in their misguidance.

Yunus (peace be upon him) left his people behind him, heading to the seashore. He found people on a ship ready to sail, so he asked these people to take him with them on the deck of the ship on their journey. These people called him righteous and agreed to take him with them on the deck of their ship, and they began to Sailing. And when they reached the middle of the sea, the strong winds came and the sea was agitated and the waves rose, and those on the ship said: There is a sinner among us. So they took shares and cast lots among themselves that whoever the arrow falls on will throw him into the sea. When they cast ballots, the arrow fell on the Prophet of God, Yunus (peace be upon him), so they decided that he would be good. They refused to throw him into the sea, and they decided to repeat the ballot and throw the arrow again to find who would point to this time. They repeated the lottery three times, and each time the arrow pointed to Yunus, and they refused to throw it, until Yunus (peace be upon him) decided to jump into the sea with certainty. God Almighty will save him from drowning and destruction.

What happened to Yunus's people after he left and while he was boarding the ship?

Meanwhile, on the morning of the departure of Yunus (peace be upon him), despairing of his people and angering them, signs of the torment that Yunus had promised his people appeared, and black clouds multiplied in the sky, and thick smoke increased and erupted, and the clouds descended with their smoke until they covered their city and blackened their roofs. Of destruction and torment, it is a reality, not an attempt. They were afraid and terrified and searched for Yunus (peace be upon him), but of course they did not find him because he went out and left them when he lost hope in them and in their return from misguidance.

The people of Nineveh came to an old man. To ask him what they should do, so he guided them to the path of repentance to God Almighty. So they gathered their elders, their young, their males, their females, and their animals, all of them, and they all left the village and put on sackcloth - which is thick hair clothing - and covered their heads with ashes out of humility to God, then they turned to God Almighty in a majestic scene, praying for Him to avert the torment from them and repent to them, so God Almighty accepted them and turned to them in repentance. Their faith was accepted after their disbelief and stubbornness, but Yunus (peace be upon him) did not witness this state of theirs.

Jonah (peace be upon him) swallowed by a whale

When Yunus (peace be upon him) decided to throw himself into the sea; When the storm calmed down, he was certain that God Almighty would not let him drown, and that He, Glory be to Him, would save him from destruction. Yunus found a great whale in front of him, so he swallowed it and swallowed it as a test for him to leave his people and leave them to them without waiting for God Almighty’s command to him. When the whale swallowed him, Yunus (peace be upon him) settled in his stomach under the protection of God Almighty in the darkness, which is the darkness of the sea and the darkness of the belly of the whale in addition to the dark darkness of the night. .

Contrary to what was expected in this case, Yunus was not scratched, nor did he break a bone, nor was he injured at all. Because he was under God’s care, mercy, and discipline, and this was one of the miracles of the story of our Master Yunus (peace be upon him).

The whale walked with the Prophet of God, Yunus, in its belly in the depths of the sea. Yunus was hearing voices whose source or meaning he did not know, so God Almighty inspired him that they were the sounds of praising sea animals. Yunus, peace be upon him, continued to praise, supplicate, and seek forgiveness, saying what was mentioned about him in the Almighty’s saying in Surat Al-Anbiya:

In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful

“And Dhul-Nun, when he departed in anger and thought that We would not have power over him, then he called out in the darkness: There is no god but You, Glory be to You. right.”

Great truth of God.

Jonah's exit from the belly of the whale, and the manifestations of God's mercy toward him

God Almighty responded to his Prophet Yunus and ordered the whale to throw him onto the seashore. Yunus was tired and exhausted from the time he spent inside the belly of the whale. The whale had thrown him out into the open where there were no trees to take shelter under from the scorching rays of the sun. He was sick and weak and needed treatment, care, and food. He stayed in the belly of the whale for three days, and it was said that seven days, and it was said that it was not. That is, had it not been for his glorification and seeking forgiveness of God Almighty, he would have remained in it until the Hour of Judgment.

God Almighty says in Surat Al-Saffat:

In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful

“And Yunus was one of the Messengers, when he departed for the loaded ark and participated, and he was among those who were rejected. Then the whale ate him while he was afflicted. Had he not been among those who glorified, he would have remained in its belly until the day they were resurrected, so we rejected him.” In the open air while he was sick, and We caused a pumpkin tree to grow over him, and We sent him to a hundred thousand or more, and they believed, so We gave them enjoyment for a while.”

Great truth of God.

The miracle of the tree growing over the place of Yunus (peace be upon him) on the beach

When the whale threw Yunus onto the seashore, he was weak and emaciated in his body and skin, which made his exposure to sunlight, high heat, and insects dangerous to his health and life. Then God Almighty made a pumpkin tree grow over his place. So that he could find shade and eat from it until he recovered and regained his health and well-being, and this was one of the miracles of the story of our master Yunus (peace be upon him).

Do you know why the pumpkin tree?

Because the pumpkin tree is distinguished by the ability of its leaves to repel flies and prevent them from approaching anything covered with pumpkin leaves, and because of the large size of its leaves, it is a suitable means of providing shade with it. Also, the fruits of this tree are eaten raw from the beginning, cooked and with the peel as well. It has been proven that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) May God bless him and grant him peace. He also ate from it.

God Almighty subjected his Prophet Yunus, peace be upon him, to Arwiyah (the female heifer) so that he could benefit from her milk. She was grazing in the wilderness and would come to him in the morning and evening so that he could feed on her milk. God Almighty showered him with His mercy and compassion until he was saved from what was in him.

The return of Yunus (peace be upon him) to his people

When Yunus recovered by the grace, care and mercy of his Lord, he returned to his people in Nineveh and found them to be believers who were humbled by God and their situation had changed, which he had left them with before he decided to leave and leave them.

The people of Nineveh were waiting for Yunus. In order for him to teach them the matters of their religion and for them to obey his command and follow him.