This alongside all the other articles on the stories of the prophets has been taken from Ṣaḥīḥ Qiṣaṣ al Anbiyāʾ (Authentic Stories of the Prophets) by Salim ibn ʿId al Hilali who revised Ibn Kathir’s (Qiṣas al Anbiyāʾ) Stories of the Prophets by removing weak, fabricated, repeated reports and unreliable Isra’ili reports, he only kept the Quran verses, sound hadiths and reports from the Salaf.
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Yunus عليه السلام in the Qur’an
The Repentance of the People of Yunus عليه السلام
Yunus عليه السلام in the Belly of the Fish
Mention of the Virtue of Yunus عليه السلام
Summary
Yunus عليه السلام in the Qur’an
Yunus عليه السلام, also called Dhun Nun and the companion of the fish, is mentioned clearly among the messengers in the Qur’an. Allah tells how he left his people in anger when they persisted in disbelief, thinking his Lord would not tighten the affair upon him, and how he was swallowed by a great fish while he was blameworthy.
In different surahs Allah mentions his running to the laden ship, the casting of lots in which his name came up, his being swallowed, his famous supplication in the depths of darkness, his rescue from grief, his being cast upon a bare shore while sick, the gourd tree that grew over him, and his being sent to a people of a hundred thousand or more who then believed and were allowed enjoyment for a time.
Allah also addressed our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, commanding him to be patient and not to be like the companion of the fish when he called in distress, showing both the greatness of Yunus عليه السلام and that the believer must not hasten or leave his duty before permission from his Lord.
The Repentance of the People of Yunus عليه السلام
Allah sent Yunus عليه السلام to the people of Nineveh in the land of Mosul. He called them to Allah the Mighty and Majestic, but they denied him and remained in disbelief and stubborn defiance for a long time. When their opposition became very heavy upon him, he left them and informed them that punishment would come after three days.
After he left, and when they realised that the punishment was truly coming and already close to descending on them, Allah cast repentance into their hearts. They regretted what they had done to their Prophet and turned back.
They wore rough black clothes, separated every animal from its young, and all of them raised their voices to Allah: men, women, boys and girls, mothers and their children. The grazing animals, cattle and flocks cried out, the camels groaned with their young, the cows lowed with their calves, and the sheep bleated with their lambs.
It was an immense and terrifying hour of humility and fear. Then Allah, by His power, strength, gentleness and mercy, removed from them the punishment of disgrace in the life of this world which had already reached them and hovered over their heads like pieces of a dark night, and allowed them enjoyment for a time.
Allah makes clear that no town in the earlier generations believed all together so that its belief benefited it, except the people of Yunus, and that when they believed He lifted the punishment of disgrace from them and granted them enjoyment for a while.
The people of knowledge differed whether this repentance also saved them from the punishment of the Hereafter, but the clearer view from the flow of the verses is that their true belief benefited them in both worlds.
Allah also informs that Yunus عليه السلام was sent to a hundred thousand or more; they were without doubt at least that number, though the exact increase and whether this sending was before or after the fish, or to two separate nations, are matters the scholars differed over.
Yunus عليه السلام in the Belly of the Fish
When Yunus عليه السلام left his people in anger he boarded a ship at sea. The sea became turbulent, the waves rose, and the laden ship was close to sinking.
The people agreed to cast lots and to throw overboard whoever’s name came out so that the rest might be saved.
When they drew lots the name of the Prophet of Allah Yunus came up. They disliked throwing him, so they repeated it a second and then a third time, and each time his name was drawn, because Allah had decreed for him a great matter. He then threw himself into the sea.
Allah sent from the dark green sea a great fish that swallowed him without eating his flesh or breaking his bones. It swam with him through the seas, and some reports mention that an even greater fish swallowed that fish.
When Yunus settled in the belly of the fish he thought he had died, but when he moved his limbs and found himself alive he fell in prostration and said that Allah had given him a place of prayer where no one had worshipped Him before.
Carried through the roaring waves and the dark depths, he heard the creatures of the sea glorifying Allah, even the pebbles praising the Lord of the seven heavens and the seven earths and what is between them and beneath the soil.
In the darkness of the fish, the darkness of the sea and the darkness of the night, he called with the words Allah related: that there is no god except Allah, glory be to Him, and that he had indeed been one of the wrongdoers. Allah answered him, rescued him from grief, and made his story a pattern for how He rescues the believers.
In the explanation of the words that he thought his Lord would not tighten the affair upon him, the scholars mentioned that it means he thought Allah would not restrict and constrain him or decree hardship for him.
They also explained that had he not been among those who glorify Allah he would have remained in the belly of the fish until the Day they are raised. Some said this refers to the tasbih he made there and then, and that without this repentance he would have stayed until the Day of Rising and then been raised from the belly of the fish.
Others said it means that if he had not already been from those who obey and glorify Allah, praying and remembering Him much in times of ease, he would not have been rescued. Many imams preferred this second understanding, and they supported it with the hadith in which the Prophet ﷺ said to Ibn Abbas that the servant should become acquainted with Allah in times of ease and Allah will know him in times of hardship.
There are reports that Allah commanded the fish not to scratch his flesh or break his bones, and that when the fish reached the lowest depth Yunus heard a sound which Allah informed him was the glorification of the creatures of the sea.
When the angels heard his weak familiar voice from a strange land, they asked about him and were told he was the righteous servant Yunus whose accepted actions and answered supplication used to rise to his Lord by night and day. They asked for mercy upon him because of what he used to do in times of ease, so Allah commanded the fish to cast him out.
Allah threw him onto a bare open ground while he was sick, his body weak like a featherless chick or a newborn with nothing on it. Allah then caused a gourd tree to grow over him with abundant soft leaves that shaded him and kept flies away, while its fruit could be eaten fresh or cooked and its peel and seeds used, bringing strength to his mind and body.
Allah also prepared a wild mountain goat that grazed in the open land and came morning and evening so that Yunus could drink its milk until he recovered his strength. After this Allah sent him to a people of a hundred thousand or more, and they believed, so He allowed them enjoyment for a time.
Mention of the Virtue of Yunus عليه السلام
Allah praised Yunus عليه السلام in the Qur’an, saying that he was indeed one of the messengers, mentioning him among the noble prophets in the chapters of an Nisa and al Anam, and describing him as a slave whom Allah found patient, an excellent slave who constantly turned back to his Lord. His story is a reminder for the believers, and his supplication is a door of relief for every distressed Muslim.
From the virtue of his supplication is what has been narrated from Sad ibn Abi Waqqas رضي الله عنه about his meeting with Uthman ibn Affan رضي الله عنه, where the Prophet ﷺ taught him the supplication of Dhun Nun in the belly of the fish and informed that no Muslim calls upon his Lord with it regarding anything except that Allah answers him.
It is also narrated that when Yunus عليه السلام called upon Allah with those words, his supplication circled the Throne, and the angels recognised it as the familiar weak voice of a servant whose deeds and supplications had always been accepted; Allah then had mercy on him because of his past actions and ordered the fish to release him.
The Prophet ﷺ repeatedly said that it is not right for any servant to say, “I am better than Yunus ibn Matta,” and he forbade people from putting themselves above Yunus, and in some reports he also forbade them from openly preferring himself over him, all of this out of humility and to protect the honour of that noble prophet.
Thus Yunus عليه السلام remains an honoured messenger of Allah, a model of how repentance, sincere glorification and constant remembrance in times of ease become a means for rescue in times of hardship, for him and for the believers who follow his path.
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Yunus عليه السلام in the Qur’an
قال الله تعالى في سورة يونس
فَلَوْلَا كَانَتْ قَرْيَةٌ آمَنَتْ فَنَفَعَهَا إِيمَانُهَا إِلَّا قَوْمَ يُونُسَ لَمَّا آمَنُوا كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُمْ عَذَابَ الْخِزْيِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَمَتَّعْنَاهُمْ إِلَى حِينٍ
Their Lord said in the Qur’an in the chapter of Yunus:
“If only there had been a town that believed and its belief benefited it, except the people of Yunus.
When they believed, We removed from them the punishment of disgrace in the life of this world and allowed them enjoyment for a time.”
(Yunus 10:98)
وقال تعالى في سورة الأنبياء
وَذَا النُّونِ إِذْ ذَهَبَ مُغَاضِبًا فَظَنَّ أَنْ لَنْ نَقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ فَنَادَى فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ فَاسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُ وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْغَمِّ وَكَذَلِكَ نُنْجِي الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
Their Lord said in the chapter of the Prophets:
“And Dhun Nun, when he went off in anger and thought that We would not tighten the matter upon him. Then he called out in the darknesses: There is no god except You, glory be to You, I was indeed one of the wrongdoers. So We answered him and rescued him from his distress, and in this way We rescue the believers.”
(al Anbiya 21:87–88)
وقال تعالى في سورة الصافات
وَإِنَّ يُونُسَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ إِذْ أَبَقَ إِلَى الْفُلْكِ الْمَشْحُونِ فَسَاهَمَ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُدْحَضِينَ فَالْتَقَمَهُ الْحُوتُ وَهُوَ مُلِيمٌ فَلَوْلَا أَنَّهُ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُسَبِّحِينَ لَلَبِثَ فِي بَطْنِهِ إِلَى يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ فَنَبَذْنَاهُ بِالْعَرَاءِ وَهُوَ سَقِيمٌ وَأَنْبَتْنَا عَلَيْهِ شَجَرَةً مِنْ يَقْطِينٍ وَأَرْسَلْنَاهُ إِلَى مِائَةِ أَلْفٍ أَوْ يَزِيدُونَ فَآمَنُوا فَمَتَّعْنَاهُمْ إِلَى حِينٍ
Their Lord said in the chapter of As Saffat:
“Yunus was indeed one of the messengers, when he ran away to the laden ship, and he drew lots and was among the losers.
Then the fish swallowed him while he was blameworthy. If he had not been among those who glorify Allah, he would have remained in its belly until the day they are raised up.
Then We cast him upon the bare shore while he was sick, and We caused a gourd tree to grow over him, and We sent him to a hundred thousand or more. Then they believed, so We allowed them enjoyment for a time.”
(As Saffat 37:139–148)
وقال تعالى في سورة نون
فَاصْبِرْ لِحُكْمِ رَبِّكَ وَلَا تَكُنْ كَصَاحِبِ الْحُوتِ إِذْ نَادَى وَهُوَ مَكْظُومٌ لَوْلَا أَنْ تَدَارَكَهُ نِعْمَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِ لَنُبِذَ بِالْعَرَاءِ وَهُوَ مَذْمُومٌ فَاجْتَبَاهُ رَبُّهُ فَجَعَلَهُ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ
Their Lord said in the chapter of Nun:
“So be patient for the judgement of your Lord and do not be like the companion of the fish when he called out and his heart was filled with distress. If a favour from his Lord had not reached him, he would have been cast upon the bare shore while he was blamed. Then his Lord chose him and made him among the righteous.”
(al Qalam 68:48–50)
The Repentance of the People of Yunus عليه السلام
The people of explanation said: Allah sent Yunus عليه السلام to the people of Nineveh from the land of Mosul. He called them to Allah the Mighty and Majestic, but they denied him and persisted in their disbelief and stubborn defiance.
When that went on for a long time and their affair became heavy upon him, he left from among them and told them that the punishment would come upon them after three days.
When he left their midst and they realised that the punishment would certainly descend on them, Allah cast into their hearts repentance and turning back. They regretted what they had done to their Prophet.
They put on rough black garments and separated between every animal and its young, then they raised their voices to Allah the Mighty and Majestic and cried out to Him and humbled themselves before Him.
Men, women, boys, girls and mothers wept, and the grazing animals, cattle and flocks cried out; the camels groaned and their young ones, the cows lowed and their calves, and the sheep bleated and their lambs. It was an immense and terrifying hour.
So Allah the Great, by His power and strength and gentleness and mercy, lifted from them the punishment whose cause had already reached them and which had hovered above their heads like pieces of a dark night.
He the Exalted said:
فَلَوْلَا كَانَتْ قَرْيَةٌ آمَنَتْ فَنَفَعَهَا إِيمَانُهَا إِلَّا قَوْمَ يُونُسَ لَمَّا آمَنُوا كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُمْ عَذَابَ الْخِزْيِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَمَتَّعْنَاهُمْ إِلَى حِينٍ
“If only there had been a town that believed and its belief benefited it, except the people of Yunus. When they believed, We removed from them the punishment of disgrace in the life of this world and allowed them enjoyment for a time.”
(Yunus 10:98)
That is, if only there had been, among the past generations, a town that all believed together so that its belief benefited it. This shows that such a thing did not happen, but rather, as He the Exalted said:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا فِي قَرْيَةٍ مِنْ نَبِيٍّ إِلَّا قَالَ مُتْرَفُوهَا إِنَّا بِمَا أُرْسِلْتُمْ بِهِ كَافِرُونَ
“We did not send to any town a Prophet but its affluent ones said: We are disbelievers in what you have been sent with.”
(Saba 34:34)
Then He said:
إِلَّا قَوْمَ يُونُسَ لَمَّا آمَنُوا كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُمْ عَذَابَ الْخِزْيِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَمَتَّعْنَاهُمْ إِلَى حِينٍ
“Except the people of Yunus. When they believed, We removed from them the punishment of disgrace in the life of this world and allowed them enjoyment for a time.”
(Yunus 10:98)
That is, they believed, all of them together. The people of explanation differed over whether that belief would benefit them in the next life so that it saved them from the punishment of the hereafter just as it saved them from the punishment of this life.
There are two sayings. The clearer from the flow of the verse is that it did benefit them, and Allah knows best, just as He the Exalted said: “When they believed.” And He the Exalted said:
وَأَرْسَلْنَاهُ إِلَى مِائَةِ أَلْفٍ أَوْ يَزِيدُونَ فَآمَنُوا فَمَتَّعْنَاهُمْ إِلَى حِينٍ
“And We sent him to a hundred thousand or more. Then they believed, so We allowed them enjoyment for a time.”
(As Saffat 37:147–148)
This enjoyment for a time does not prevent that other than it is also with it, namely the lifting of the punishment of the hereafter, and Allah knows best.
They were, without doubt, one hundred thousand, but they differed over the additional number.
They also differed as to whether his being sent to them was before the incident with the fish or after it, or that there were two separate nations. There are three sayings, which are expanded in the book of explanation.
Yunus عليه السلام in the Belly of the Fish
What is intended here is that when he عليه السلام went away in anger because of his people, he boarded a ship at sea.
The sea became turbulent, the waves troubled them and the ship rocked and was heavy with what was in it, and they were close to drowning, as the people of explanation mention.
They said that they consulted each other and agreed that they would cast lots, and whoever the lot fell upon they would throw him from the ship so that they could be relieved of his weight.
When they cast lots, the lot fell upon the Prophet of Allah Yunus, and they were not content to throw him, so they repeated it a second time and it fell upon him again.
He then stood up, ready to remove his clothes and throw himself, but they refused to allow that. They repeated the casting a third time, and it again fell upon him, because Allah wished for him a matter of great importance.
Allah the Exalted said:
وَإِنَّ يُونُسَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ إِذْ أَبَقَ إِلَى الْفُلْكِ الْمَشْحُونِ فَسَاهَمَ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُدْحَضِينَ فَالْتَقَمَهُ الْحُوتُ وَهُوَ مُلِيمٌ
“Yunus was indeed one of the messengers, when he ran away to the laden ship, and he drew lots and was among the losers. Then the fish swallowed him while he was blameworthy.”
(As Saffat 37:139–142)
That is because when the lot fell upon him, he was thrown into the sea. Allah the Mighty and Majestic sent from the dark green sea a great fish which swallowed him.
Allah the Exalted commanded it not to eat any of his flesh nor crush any of his bones, saying, you have not been given him as food. It took hold of him and swam with him through all the seas.
It is said that another fish, greater than it, then swallowed that fish. When Yunus settled in the belly of the fish, he thought that he had died. He moved his limbs and they moved, and he found that he was alive.
So he fell in prostration to Allah and said: My Lord, You have given me a place of prayer in a place where no one has ever worshipped You before.
They differed about how long he remained in its belly, and Allah knows best how long he stayed.
What matters is that when the fish began to travel with him in the depths of the dark seas and carried him through the roaring salty waves, he heard the glorification of the fish in praise of the Most Merciful, and he even heard the glorification of the pebbles for the One who splits the grain and the date stone, the Lord of the seven heavens and the seven earths and what is between them and what is beneath the soil.
At that point he said what he said with the tongue of his state and his speech, as the Possessor of might and majesty informed about him, the One who knows secrets and inward thoughts, who lifts distress and trial, who hears voices however weak and knows hidden matters however fine, who answers calls however great, where He said in His clear Book which He sent down to His trustworthy messenger, and He is the truest of those who speak and the Lord of all created beings and the God of the messengers:
وَذَا النُّونِ إِذْ ذَهَبَ مُغَاضِبًا فَظَنَّ أَنْ لَنْ نَقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ فَنَادَى فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ فَاسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُ وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْغَمِّ وَكَذَلِكَ نُنْجِي الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
“And Dhun Nun, when he went off in anger and thought that We would not tighten the matter upon him.
Then he called out in the darknesses: There is no god except You, glory be to You, I was indeed one of the wrongdoers. So We answered him and rescued him from his distress, and in this way We rescue the believers.”
(al Anbiya 21:87–88)
His saying: “and thought that We would not tighten the matter upon him” means that We would not restrict and constrain him. It is also said that it means that We would not decree hardship for him, and this is a known mode of speech, qadara and qadara, just as the poet said:
فَلَا عَائِدٌ ذَاكَ الزَّمَانُ الَّذِي مَضَى
تَبَارَكْتَ مَا تَقْدِرْ يَكُنْ فَلَكَ الْأَمْرُ
“There is no returning to that time which has passed.
Blessed are You, whatever You decree will be, for the command belongs to You.”
(Al Qurtubi mentioned this verse in his book Al Jami li Ahkam al Qur’an 11/332 and said that Thalab recited it.)
His saying: “Then he called out in the darknesses” was explained by Ibn Masud, Ibn Abbas, Amr ibn Maymun, Said ibn Jubayr, Muhammad ibn Kab, al Hasan, Qatada and al Duhhak as meaning the darkness of the fish, the darkness of the sea and the darkness of the night.
Allah the Exalted said:
فَلَوْلَا أَنَّهُ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُسَبِّحِينَ لَلَبِثَ فِي بَطْنِهِ إِلَى يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ
“If he had not been among those who glorify Allah, he would have remained in its belly until the day they are raised up.”
(As Saffat 37:143–144)
It is said that the meaning is: if he had not glorified Allah there and then, saying what he said of tawhid and glorification and humble confession and repentance and return to Him, he would have remained there until the Day of Rising and would then have been raised up from the belly of that fish. This is the meaning of what has been transmitted from Said ibn Jubayr in one of the two reports from him.
It is also said that the meaning is: “If he had not been among those who glorify” from before the fish took him, that is, among those who obey, pray and remember Allah much.
This was said by al Duhhak ibn Qays, Ibn Abbas, Abu al Aliyah, Wahb ibn Munabbih, Said ibn Jubayr, al Duhhak, al Suddi, Ata ibn as Saib, al Hasan al Basri, Qatada and others, and Ibn Jarir preferred this. (This is mentioned in his book Jami al Bayan 23/64.)
What supports this is what Imam Ahmad and some of the people of Sunan have related from Ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him: “Young man, I am going to teach you some words. Guard Allah and He will guard you.
Guard Allah and you will find Him before you. Become acquainted with Allah in times of ease and He will know you in times of hardship.” (This hadith was transmitted by Ahmad 1/293–303–307, al Tirmidhi 2516, Ibn Abi Asim in As Sunnah 316–318, al Hakim 3/541–542 and others, and it is sound. Al Tirmidhi, Ibn Rajab and Albani declared it hasan.)
From Abd Allah ibn Rafi, the client of Umm Salamah, who said: I heard Abu Hurayrah say that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“When Allah wished to confine Yunus in the belly of the fish, He revealed to the fish:
Take him but do not scratch his flesh nor break his bones. When it reached the lowest depths of the sea with him, Yunus heard a sound.
He said to himself: What is this? Allah revealed to him while he was in the belly of the fish: This is the glorification of the creatures of the sea. So he glorified Allah while in the belly of the fish, and the angels heard his glorification.
They said: Our Lord, we hear a weak familiar voice in a strange land. He said: That is My servant Yunus. He disobeyed Me, so I confined him in the belly of the fish in the sea.
They said: Is he the righteous servant whose accepted deeds and answered supplication used to rise up to You day and night? He said: Yes.
They said: Our Lord, will You not have mercy on what he used to do in times of ease and so save him from suffering? He said: Indeed. Then He commanded the fish and it cast him out onto the shore, as Allah said: ‘while he was sick.’” (This report was related by Ibn Jarir, al Bazzar and others with a weak chain, as the author and al Haythami stated. It is supported by what comes after it.)
What supports it is what comes after from Yazid ar Raqashi, who said: I heard Anas ibn Malik, and I do not know anyone except that Anas raised the hadith to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, say: “When it occurred to Yunus the Prophet عليه السلام to call upon Allah with these words while he was in the belly of the fish, he said: O Allah, there is no god except You, glory be to You, I was indeed one of the wrongdoers.
This supplication came and circled around the Throne. The angels said: Our Lord, this is a weak familiar voice from a strange land. He said: Do you not recognise him? They said: No, our Lord, who is he? He said: My servant Yunus. They said: Your servant Yunus, the one whose accepted action and answered supplication were always rising up to You? They said: Our Lord, will You not have mercy on what he used to do in times of ease and so save him from suffering?
He said: Indeed.
Then He commanded the fish and it cast him out on the bare ground.” Ibn Abi Hatim added: Abu Sakhr Humayd ibn Ziyad said: Ibn Qusayt told me, while I was narrating this report to him, that he heard Abu Hurayrah say: He was cast upon the bare ground and Allah caused a gourd to grow over him. We said: Abu Hurayrah, what is the gourd?
He said: The pumpkin tree. Abu Hurayrah said: Allah also made ready for him a wild mountain goat that would eat from the small plants of the earth.
It would come and stand over him, and he would drink its milk every morning and evening until his body became strong. Umayya ibn Abi as Salt said about that in a verse of his poetry:
فَأَنْبَتَ يَقْطِينًا عَلَيْهِ بِرَحْمَةٍ
مِنَ اللَّهِ لَوْلَا اللَّهُ أَصْبَحَ ضَاوِيَا
“He caused a gourd to grow over him in mercy,
from Allah. Without Allah he would have become thin and withered.”
This chain is also strange from this path, and Yazid ar Raqashi is weak, but it is strengthened by the preceding hadith of Abu Hurayrah, just as that one is strengthened by this, and Allah knows best.
Allah the Exalted said:
فَنَبَذْنَاهُ بِالْعَرَاءِ وَهُوَ سَقِيمٌ
“So We cast him upon the bare shore while he was sick.”
(As Saffat 37:145)
That is, We threw him out onto a bare open ground, a place empty of trees and bare of plants. (The author said that this land is stripped of trees, and that is correct. Rather, it is bare of them.)
He said: “while he was sick”, meaning weak in body. Ibn Masud said: He was like a featherless chick. Ibn Abbas, al Suddi and Ibn Zayd said: He was like a newborn baby, without anything upon him.
Then He said:
وَأَنْبَتْنَا عَلَيْهِ شَجَرَةً مِنْ يَقْطِينٍ
“And We caused a gourd tree to grow over him.”
(As Saffat 37:146)
Ibn Masud, Ibn Abbas, Ikrimah, Mujahid, Said ibn Jubayr, Wahb ibn Munabbih, Hilal ibn Yasaf, Abd Allah ibn Tawus, al Suddi, Qatada, al Duhhak, Ata al Khurasani and others said that it was the pumpkin. Some people of knowledge stated that in making the pumpkin grow over him there were many benefits, such as its very soft leaves, their abundance and shade, and that flies do not come near it, and that its fruit can be eaten from the moment it appears until it finishes, whether raw or cooked, and that its peel and seeds can also be used. It has much benefit and strengthens the mind and other advantages.
The words of Abu Hurayrah have already been mentioned about Allah the Exalted providing for him that wild goat which would suckle him with its milk while it grazed in the open land, and came to him morning and evening. This is from Allah’s mercy towards him, His favour and His kindness to him.
For that reason He said:
فَاسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُ وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْغَمِّ وَكَذَلِكَ نُنْجِي الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
“So We answered him and rescued him from his distress, and in this way We rescue the believers.”
(al Anbiya 21:88)
That is, this is Our way with everyone who calls upon Us and seeks refuge with Us.
He said: “Yes, it is the supplication of Dhun Nun when he was in the belly of the fish:
لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
There is no god except You, glory be to You, I was indeed one of the wrongdoers.
Mention of the Virtue of Yunus عليه السلام
Allah the Exalted said:
وَإِنَّ يُونُسَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ
“Yunus was indeed one of the messengers.”
(As Saffat 37:139)
He also mentioned him among the noble Prophets in the two chapters of an Nisa and al Anam. Upon them all be the best of prayers and peace from Allah.
This wording supports one of the two understandings of the meaning of the statement “It is not right for a servant to say: I am better than Yunus ibn Matta”, that is, that no one has the right to prefer himself over Yunus.
The other understanding is that no one should prefer the Prophet ﷺ over Yunus ibn Matta explicitly, as has come in some reports: “Do not give me superiority over the Prophets, and do not give me superiority over Yunus ibn Matta.”
This is from the Prophet ﷺ in his humility and his lowering of himself, and his modesty, peace and blessings be upon him and upon all the Prophets and messengers. (This meaning was mentioned by Qadi Iyad in ash Shifa 1/170.)
