Islam is Beautiful

chapter thirteen: the prophet jonah

The Prophet Jonah the prophet Jonah was one of the prophets sent by Allah SWT to invite the people of Nineveh to believe. Nineveh was an area of Mosul, Iraq where the population turned away from the path of Allah and still worshiped idols.

Once upon a time, the prophet Jonah met the people of Nineveh who were performing pagan rituals. The coming of Jonah was rejected by the inhabitants, even making fun of him and insulting him. This caused the prophet Jonah to get angry and leave them.

Then Allah asked the Prophet Jonah to tell his people that Allah will give a punishment. When leaving the village of Nineveh, the Prophet Yunus was not expecting the faith of the inhabitants. He left with a feeling of anger and disappointment with his people.

When the people knew that Jonah had gone away, the punishment was revealed by Allah. The people realized that this punishment came from Allah SWT, so they decided to repent to Allah SWT.

When the torment came, God saw the honesty of repentance by women, men and children who prayed for the name of God. They prayed to Allah out of fear of the punishment that had befallen them. So that Allah stops the punishment, as stated in one of the following Quranic surah:

“And why is there not (population) a city of faith, and then his faith is beneficial to him besides the people of Jonah? When they (of Jonah) believed, We removed from them a humiliating punishment in the life of the world, and We gave them pleasure until a certain time.” (QS. Jonah: 98)

Seeing the torment that befell the people of Nineveh, the Prophet Jonah still left the village. Allah has not permitted him to leave his people. But the prophet Jonah was already angry with his people.

Then Jonah went to the sea and boarded a ship. Suddenly the boat he was riding was tossed udders because of the enormity of the waves. To cope with the ship, the passengers decided to reduce the luggage and throw it into the sea.

Goods thrown into the sea are not enough to hold a load. So the passengers made a deal so that the number of people hitchhiking was also reduced and one had to throw themselves into the sea.

Then the passengers of the ship decided to make a raffle. It is agreed that anyone who goes out of his name, then must be willing to throw themselves into the sea. After the raffle, the name of Jonah came out.

The passengers were not happy when they had to see the Prophet Jonah who had to throw himself into the sea. Finally they voted again, but the name of Jonah came out again three times in a row.

With a feeling of resignation, Jonah finally threw his body into the sea. After the body sank in the depths of the sea, God sent a whale and inspired the fish to swallow the prophet Jonah without tearing and wounding him. Finally the whale completely swallowed the Prophet Jonah without tearing his flesh and breaking his bones.

While in the belly of the fish, the prophet Jonah saw only darkness and no food to eat. The prophet Jonah finally realized that this was the fruit of impatience in the face of his people. So he prayed and asked for forgiveness from Allah AWT. This is as stated in one of the following Quranic suras.

“And (remember the story) Dzun Nun (Yunus), when he left in a state of anger, then he thought that We would not narrow it down (difficulty it), so he called in a very dark state, so he said, “That there is no god but You. Most Holy of You, I am among the unjust.”–Then We have permitted his prayer and saved him from sorrow. Thus do We save those who believe.” (QS. Al Anbiyaa’: 87-88)

Reporting from NU Online, the scholars are at odds about how long the Prophet Jonah stayed in the belly of the fish. According to Qatadah, three days. According to Abu Ja’far ash-Shaadiq, seven days, while according to Abu Malik, forty days. Mujahid said from asy-Sya’bi, “Ia was swallowed in the duha time and spewed in the afternoon."

Allah SWT has permitted the prayer of the Prophet Jonah and removed him from the belly of the fish. The prophet Jonah was cast on the barren sea in sickness. Then God grew a tree from a type of pumpkin for his consumption. As in one of the Quranic suras, Allah SWT said:

“Then We threw him into a barren area, while he was in a state of pain.– And We grew for him a tree of the type of pumpkin.” (QS. Ash-Shaaffaat: 145-146).

After that the Prophet Jonah was ordered by Allah SWT to return to meet his people. This is done to tell that Allah SWT has accepted the repentance of the inhabitants. In addition, God will also give them the pleasure of living up to a certain time. As in one of the following Quranic suras.

“And We sent him to a hundred thousand people or more.–Then they believed, therefore We bestowed the pleasures of life upon them up to a certain time.” (QS. Ash-Shaaffaat: 147-148).

One of God's messengers on earth, the Prophet Jonah the US was once swallowed into the belly of a whale. The story of the Prophet Jonah was enshrined by Allah SWT in the Quran letter of Jonah and the letter of Al Anbiyaa.

At that time the Prophet Jonah was sent by Allah SWT to convey revelation in a region. The prophet Jonah asked the people of the city to believe and leave behind idols.

However, the inhabitants of the city rejected Jonah's invitation and instead chose to worship idols and heresies in disbelief. In fact, they made fun of the prophet Jonah.

The prophet Jonah was angry with his people for not receiving guidance from Allah. Thus, Allah sent down a revelation to Jonah to tell them that Allah will give them punishment.

After delivering the revelation, the prophet Jonah rushed away from the area. Knowing the departure of the Prophet Jonah, his people also believed that Jonah was a messenger of Allah. They also repent and regret their actions.

Seeing this, Allah took away the punishment from them and gave them pleasure. Allah says in the Qur'an of Jonah verse 98

Arabic: ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇

Latin: falau la kanat qaryatun amanat fa nafa'aha ima luma yuknus, lamma a kasyafna 'an-hum 'azbal-khizyi fil-sidayatid-dun-ya wa matta'nhum ila ita

What it means: Why then does not any (resident) of a country believe, and his faith is beneficial to him besides the people of Jonah? When they (of Jonah) believed, We removed from them a humiliating punishment in the life of the world, and We gave them pleasure until a certain time.

However, the prophet Jonah left the village because he was angry with his people. But Allah SWT has not allowed him to leave.

The story of Jonah begins when he went to the seaside and boarded a ship. Unfortunately, the weather at that time was not friendly so it made the boat sail so it almost made all on board the ship sink.

Thus, by mutual decision all heavy goods were thrown into the sea to lighten the ship. However, it still takes one person who was thrown into the sea then made a lottery and it turns out the lottery fell to the Prophet Jonah.

Everyone did not want the prophet Jonah to be thrown into the sea. The draw was repeated, but the result was the same, so that Jonah threw himself into the sea.

At the same time, Allah SWT sent a whale to swallow itself without tearing the flesh or breaking its bones. In the belly of the whale Jonah prayed for forgiveness from Allah.

The story of the Prophet Jonah is told by Allah SWT in the Quran letter Al Anbiya verse 87. Allah granted the prayer of the Prophet Jonah, who was in the belly of the pope because of anger.

Arab: ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ ULTIPHigh

Latin: wa izhen-necai vizhaha mugadian fa ⁇ na al lan naqdira 'alaihi fa nada fi- ⁇ ta al laha ilha ilha anta sub-parataka inni kuntu mina-alimin

It means: And (remember the story) Zun Nun (Yunus), when he went away angry, and he thought that We would not trouble him, so he prayed in a very dark state, "There is no god but You, Most Holy. Truly, I am among the unjust."

Well, the story of the prophet Jonah above may be a lesson for us to be more patient facing the test.