Prophet Yunus & the Whale

What Did Prophet Yunus Do?

Allah says in the Quran:

“And how many a prophet [fought and] with him fought many religious scholars. But they never lost assurance due to what afflicted them in the cause of Allah, nor did they weaken or submit. And Allah loves the steadfast.” (3:146)

There come many times in our lives when we feel overwhelmed and distressed. The obligations and problems of daily life may seem too much to face. But at such times, we must understand that faith in Allah allows us to succeed.

Although the world’s problems may seem too great to comprehend, we must never lose faith in Allah’s plan. All this, and more, is the story of Prophet Yunus (PBUH). His timeless story tells us there is a way out with Tawakkal on Allah.

Read on to learn more about Prophet Yunus and his journey.

Where was Prophet Yunus Born?

Yunus Ibn Matta was born in the 9th century. He was born in the city of Gath-Hepher, present-day Israel.

Prophet Yunus in the Quran

The Quran mentions Prophet Yunus five times in various places. He is also referred to as Zun-Nun once. This means ‘man of the fish’. A Surah in the Quran is also named after him.

Prophet Yunus’s Story

The Evil People of Nineveh

The thriving city of Nineveh had long forgotten the message of Allah and became a city filled with idol worship and sin. Allah sent Prophet Yunus as a Messenger to guide them to His path of light.

Prophet Yunus immediately set out to fulfill Allah’s command by inviting people to turn to Allah and shun idol worship. But the people of Nineveh rejected Yunus, just as many nations rejected the prophets and messengers before him. Yunus was not deterred; he continued to call them to worship Allah, reminding them of Allah’s terrible wrath directed at Ad, Thamud, and the people of Nuh.

Prophet Yunus Gives up on His People

He wanted to help the people of Nineveh. He was persistent and did not give up on his people; despite their harsh words, he continued to warn them of Allah’s punishment. But they laughed at him and mocked him. They continued to worship their idols.

Eventually, he gave up on his people. Even though he was a prophet, Yunus was still a man, and he became angry and lost hope of ever convincing his people to follow Allah’s path. In his anger and frustrations, he stormed out of the city.

“And remember Dhun-Noon [Yunus] when he went off in anger, and imagined that We shall not punish him. But he cried through the darkness [saying], ‘There is none worthy of worship except You. Glory be to You, truly I have been among the wrong doers.’ So We answered his call and delivered him from distress, and thus do We deliver the believers.” (21:87-88)

What Did Prophet Yunus Do?

He left Nineveh and boarded a small passenger ship with the intention of traveling as far away from his people as possible. As night approached, a storm raged and rocked the ship wildly. The crew and passengers began to fear for their lives as the sea water flooded the deck, slowly sinking the ship.

The Captain had no choice—he had to sacrifice one man’s life to save the lives of his crew and passengers. The Captain drew lots to choose the passengers to be sacrificed, as was common during those times.  They selected Prophet Yunus as a result. The men knew Yunus was young, righteous, honest, and blessed, so they refused to throw him out and drew lots again.

They drew Prophet Yunus’s name once again. The process was repeated, and his name was drawn a third time.

The men were confused, but Prophet Yunus knew this was Allah’s verdict because he had left his people without His consent. So Yunus jumped out of the ship into the dark, angry waves in the middle of the ocean.

Yunus and the Great Whale

Just as he hit the water, the largest whale in the ocean swallowed him. Prophet Yunus was unconscious. He awoke to find himself enveloped by sheer darkness.

He thought he was in his grave, but as he gained his senses, he realized that he was not in his grave but was in a whale’s stomach.

Deep in the whale’s stomach, Prophet Yunus prostrated to Allah and said,

“O Allah, I am prostrating to you in a place where no one has prostrated to you before, in the stomach of a fish.” 

Prophet Yunus’s Dua

Ayat-ul-Kareema

He realized his mistake and prayed to Allah, his famous prayer, also known as Ayat-ul-Kareema:

Transliteration: la ilaha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntu minaz-zalimin

Translation: “There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except You. Glory be to You! I have certainly done wrong.” (21:87)

Even the creatures of the deep sea heard Yunus’s prayer and gathered around the whale to join in Allah’s praises.

Allah is Pleased with Prophet Yunus

When Prophet Yunus realized his mistake of leaving his people without Allah’s consent and repented, Allah was pleased. He accepted Prophet Yunus’s apology, and just as He had ordered the whale to swallow Yunus, He ordered the whale to eject him.

So We responded to him and delivered him from the grief and thus do We deliver the believers. And Yunus was most surely of the messengers. (21:88) (37:139)

Just as Allah had used the whale to save Yunus from the storm and drowning in the sea, He also used it to bring him safely to land again. He lay on the sand in the scorching heat, not knowing what would become of him. Allah ensured his safety and caused a plant to grow near him to cover Prophet Yunus with its shade.

Prophet Yunus Returns to Ninevah

When Yunus (PBUH) recovered, he returned to his people. He was pleasantly surprised to see that his people had repented and returned to the correct path of Allah.

He learned that he had hardly left the city when the skies began to change color and looked like a fierce storm was approaching. The people of Ninevah were filled with fear by this sight. They recalled the destruction of the people of ‘Ad, Thamud, and Noah.

This fear slowly allowed faith to penetrate their hearts. They gathered on the mountain and prayed to Allah for His mercy and forgiveness. The mountains echoed with their cries.

Allah was pleased with their repentance, removed His wrath, and showered them with blessings.

Allah has made it clear in the Quran that there was never any town before Ninevah in which the entire population repented and Allah guided them to the right path:

“Was there any town that believed [after seeing the punishment] and its faith [at that moment] saved it [from the punishment].” (Qur’an 10:98)

Prophet Yunus was extremely happy to see his people on the path of Allah!

How did Prophet Yunus Die?

Prophet Yunus lived in Ninevah until his death in the 8th century BC. He is buried in Mosul, Iraq.

Conclusion

This amazing story teaches us many lessons.

It teaches us always to have faith in Allah and his plans. Tawakal is a cornerstone for belief in Allah. We must understand that Allah is always in control of every situation.

Muslims should never get downhearted or frustrated when our efforts seem to fail. Muslims trust in Allah. He will deal with those who do evil in His own time and in His own way, just as He will reward the righteous.

We can also learn the power of repentance from this story. Not only did Allah forgive and bless Prophet Yunus, He also forgave all the people of Ninevah. Allah is Al-Rahman and Al-Raheem!

We can all benefit from repenting for our sins. We should always remind ourselves to ask for Allah’s forgiveness and blessings so He will forgive us for our wrongdoings.