Assalaamu 'alaykum!" Seagull greeted. "I was just passing by and heard your conversation. May I join?" said Seagull. Parrot said, "Please, come forward brother!" Seagull then said, "I want to tell a story about Dhu al-Nun or Sahib al-Hut." The birds said, "Please tell us about it!" Seagull said, "According to Ibnu Jarir at-Tabari, in the period of the regional princes belongs the story of Jonah, son of Amittai. He is said to have been from a town in the region of Mosul, called Nineveh. His people worshiped idols, so Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala sent Jonah to them with an injunction against this worship and a command to repent, to turn to Allah from their unbelief, and to believe in Allah Alone.
Jonah was one of two Prophets who was named after his mother, the other being, Isa, son of Maryam. He was sent to his people as a Messenger to call them to the worship of Allah alone, to call them to abandon their sinful ways. He spent thirty three years of his life in pursuit of this mission and in all of this time, only a handful of people believed; finally, in despair, Jonah supplicated to his Lord that His punishment descend upon his nation. He was commanded to preach to his people for a further forty days, when three days remained, he proclaimed amongst his people that punishment would afflict them in three days and fled.
His people gathered together and agreed amongst themselves that Jonah was a person who was not known to lie, and when they saw that he had indeed fled, they became certain of the imminent punishment and repented, so Allah forgave them and showed them mercy.
In the meantime, Jonah awaited news of what had happened to his people, and rlnally a traveler passed by him informing him that his people had become believers and the punishment had averted them. Fearing disgrace and being called a liar he determined not to return, and embarked upon a heavily laden ship destined for Tarshish, but it was not very long before they were overcome with bad weather. The travelers agreed that they must lighten their load by throwing some passengers overboard, they drew lots and the name of Jonah came up, they were however reluctant to throw him overboard, seeing him to be a pious man and repeated the drawing of lots three times. His name came up each time.
Upon being thrown into the sea, he was swallowed by a huge whale and by the decree of Allah allowed to live in its belly. According to Shahr bin Hawshab, The whale (al-hut) came wagging its tail. It was divinely announced, "Whale,O Whale! We shall not make Jonah into your sustenance! Rather We make you a retreat for him, a sanctuary." The whale swallowed Jonah, and proceeded with him from that spot to Ubullah. From there it proceeded up the Tigris, until it deposited Jonah at Nineveh.[Part 2]
According to al-Rabi': I heard from a man who knew the Quran by heart in the days of 'Umar bin al-Khattab. He was telling about the people of Jonah and how Jonah warned his people and was not believed, (According to him) Jonah told them chastisement would strike them, and (then he) left them. When they saw this and (understood) that chastisement enveloped them, they left their dwellings and ascended to an elevated spot. They prayed fervently to the Lord, calling out to him in sincere supplication, so that he might defer chastisement from them and return unto them their messenger. That is why it says, "Why was there never a city that believed, and profited from its belief, except the people of Jonah, when they believed? We removed from them the chastisement of degradation in this present life, and We gave unto them enjoyment for a time." In no city overcome by chastisement was the chastisement revoked, except in the case of the people of Jonah. But Jonah did not see it that way; he bore a grudge and left angrily. Jonah embarked on a ship. The people of the ship were struck by a wind-swept storm and said, "It is on account of the transgression of one of you." Jonah, recognizing that it was his fault, said, "It is my transgression,-throw me into the sea." They refused, until after they cast lots, and Jonah "cast lots and was of the condemned." He told them, "I informed you that this was my fault." But they refused to throw him into the sea until they cast lots for the third time. He was condemned again. When he saw that, he threw himself into the sea, at night.
The whale swallowed him, "then he called out in the darkness [recognizing his sin): 'There is no God but Thou, Glory be to Thee! I have done evil.'" He had done righteous work previously and Allah revealed about him, "Now, had he not been of those who glorify Allah, he would have tarried in its belly until the day they shall be raised." The point is that the righteous deed raises man when he stumbles. (As it is written:) "And We cast him upon the wilderness and he was sick ." Jonah was cast on the seashore, and Allah caused a tree of gourds to grow. It is said the tree of gourds was a pumpkin which dripped milk until his strength returned unto him. Then one day he returned to the tree, and found it had dried up. He grieved and wept over it. But he was reproved and told, "You have grieved and wept over a tree, but you have not grieved over a hundred thousand or more whose death you have sought."
Then Allah extricated him from error, and made him one of the righteous. Jonah was commanded to go to his people and announce that Allah had forgiven them. Setting out for them, he encountered a shepherd whom he asked about his people, their situation and how they were. The shepherd told him they were well, and hoped that their prophet would return unto them. Jonah then said to him, "Say to them, 'I have met Jonah.'" The shepherd responded, "I cannot do so without a witness," whereupon Jonah pointed to a goat of the shepherd's flock, and said, "This one will witness for thee that thou hast met Jonah." At this, the shepherd asked, "What else?" Jonah responded, "And this spot where thou art will witness for thee that thou hast met Jonah." The shepherd asked again, "What else?" Jonah now replied, "And this tree will witness for thee that thou hast met Jonah, and that the shepherd has returned to his people."
The shepherd announced to the people that he had met Jonah, but they did not believe him and plotted evil against him. He exclaimed, "Do not assault me until morning." When he awoke the next day, he led them to the spot where he had encountered Jonah. The shepherd appealed to the earth, and it announced to them that the shepherd had met Jonah. He asked the goat, and it told them that the shepherd had met Jonah. They appealed to the tree, and it told them that the shepherd had met Jonah. Later on, Jonah came to them. It says, "Then We sent him unto a hundred thousand or more, and they believed; so We gave them enjoyment for a while."
According to Ibn Mas'ud, Jonah had threatened his people with chastisement, and told them it would come upon them within three days. They separated every mother from her progeny, and then left. The people came to Allah and asked for His forgiveness, whereupon Allah withheld chastisement from them. Jonah went out early expecting chastisement but saw nothing. A liar without clear proof used to be put to death. Jonah therefore left in anger "and shouted in the darkness." This refers to the darkness of the belly of the whale, the darkness of the night, and the darkness of the sea.
According to Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When Allah wanted Jonah to be detained in the whale's belly, Allah urged (awha ) the whale, 'Take him, but do not scratch his flesh and do not break his bones.' The whale picked up Jonah and plunged to its dwelling in the sea. When it reached the bottom of the sea, Jonah heard a sound. He said to himself, 'What is that?' Then while Jonah was in the whale's belly, Allah revealed to him, 'This is the sea fauna glorifying Allah.'"
Then Jonah, in the whale's belly, glorified Allah. The angels heard his glorification, and exclaimed, "Oh, Lord, we hear a faint voice in a strange land." Allah said, "That is my servant Jonah. He disobeyed Me, so I detained him in the whale's belly at sea." They exclaimed, "The righteous servant from whom every day and night a righteous deed rose to Thee?" Allah replied, "Yes." At this, they interceded for Jonah. The whale was thus ordered to cast him upon the shore. As Allah said, "And he was sick." His sickness, which is described in the Qur’an, was like that of a newborn child. When the whale cast him upon the shore, his flesh and bones were bare.
According to Ibn 'Abbas: Out it went, that is, the whale (with Jonah), until it ejected Jonah onto the shore, and cast him up as if he were a newborn child fully preserved.
According to Abu Hurayrah: He was ejected naked, and Allah made a vegetable cover (yaqtinah) to grow upon him. The vegetable cover was the gourd tree. Allah prepared for it female antelopes and other animals that eat the grass of the earth or the soft sod. They would stray over it and quench its thirst with their milk every evening and morning until it grew.
According to Ibn Kathiir, gradually, Jonah regained his strength and found his way to his hometown, Nineveh. He was pleasantly surprised to notice the change that had taken place there. The entire population turned out to welcome him. They informed him that they had turned to believe in Allah. Together they led a prayer of thanksgiving to their Merciful Lord. Ibn Abbas narrated, "The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'One should not say I am better than Jonah, son of Amittai.'"
References :
- The History of at-Tabari, Volume IV, The Ancient Kingdoms, translated and annotated by Moshe Perlmann, State University of New York Press.
- Ibn Kathiir, Stories of The Prophets, Darussalam
