The Messengers of God
the story of prophet jonah

The Exemplary Story of the Prophet Jonah as . He was a noble Prophet who was the name of Jonah the son of Mata.

The Prophet Muhammad said: "Do not compare me to Jonah the son of Mata."  They named him Jonah, Dzun Nun, and Yunan. He was a noble Prophet sent by Allah SWT to his people. He counseled them and guided them to the path of truth and goodness; he reminded them of the awesomeness of the day of doomsday and frightened them with hell and lured them to heaven; he commanded them with kindness and invited them to worship only Allah SWT.

The prophet Jonah was always exhorting his people, but no one believed among them. One day came to the prophet Jonah where he felt the despair of his people. His heart was filled with angry feelings towards them but they did not believe. Then he came out in a state of anger and set out to leave them. Allah SWT said this in His Word:

"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 (difficult it) so he called in a very dark state: 'That there is no God (who has the right to be worshipped) but You. Most Holy of You, I am among the wicked.'" (QS. al-Anbiya': 87)

No one knows the turmoil of feeling in the Prophet Jonah other than Allah SWT. The prophet Jonah looked beaten and angry at his people. In such a situation, he left his people. He went to the waterfront and boarded a boat that could move him to another place. Allah SWT has not yet made His decision to leave his people or to be desperate from his people. Jonah thought that Allah SWT could not bring down punishment on him because he left his people. At that time the Prophet Jonah seemed to forget that a prophet was ordered only to preach in the way of Allah SWT. But success or not the success of da'wah is not his responsibility. So, his duty is only to preach in the way of Allah SWT and give up entirely the problem of success or failure to Allah SWT alone.

There was a boat docked at a small harbor. At that time the sun seemed to be drowning. The waves hit the shore and broke the rocks. The prophet Jonah saw a small fish trying to fight the waves but he did not know what to do. Suddenly there came a big wave that hit the fish and caused the fish to collide with the rock. Seeing this, the prophet Jonah felt sorrow. The prophet Jonah said in himself: "If the fish were with the great fish, it might be safe. Then the prophet Jonah recalled his situation and how he had left his people. Eventually, his anger and sadness increased.

The prophet Jonah boarded the boat in a state of shock to his soul. He did not know that he had fled from the provisions of Allah SWT to the other provisions of Allah SWT; he did not bring food and also bags containing luggage or supplies, he said, and none of his friends accompanied him; he was completely alone; he put his feet on the surface of the boat.

The captain of the boat asked him: "What do you want?" Hearing the question, the Prophet Jonah rose: "I want to travel by your boats. Are we sailing for a long time?" The prophet Jonah showed a voice full of anger, fear, and anxiety.

The Nahkoda said as he lifted his head: "We will sail even though the water seems to be rising."

The prophet Jonah said patiently and hid his anxiety: "Didn't you go ahead so that it may not happen, my lord?"

The captain said: "Our sea is usually exposed to the tide, and it will soon subside when it sees a noble traveler."

Jonah asked: "I will go with you and how much will the journey cost?"

The captain replied: "We receive no fare other than gold."

Jonah said: "No problem."

The Nahkoda looked at the prophet Jonah. He was an experienced man in which he often paced from one port to another. Often he visited somewhere to another place making him a man who is able to capture human feelings. The Nahkoda felt and knew that the prophet Jonah was running away from something. The Nahkoda imagined that the Prophet Jonah made a mistake but he did not dare to reveal the wrongdoing to the culprit unless the culprit was a bankrupt person. He asked the Prophet Jonah to pay a fee of three times the amount of the usual fee paid by the traveler. The prophet Jonah felt a constriction in his chest and was overcome with a fierce anger and a strong desire to leave his country so that he gave what was asked by the master.

The Nahkoda looked at the gold pieces in his hand and bit him partly with his teeth. Perhaps he will find a fake piece of gold but he will not find it. The prophet Jonah just stood watching all that while his chest seemed to be swaying: sometimes it went up and sometimes it went down like a swing. The prophet Jonah said: "My master has appointed for me my room. I look tired and want to rest for a while." The captain said: "That looks on your face. That's your room," as he pointed with his hand. Then the prophet Jonah laid himself on the bed and he tried to sleep but his efforts were in vain. Is a picture of a small fish that was crushed to collide with a rock causing him to be unable to sleep peacefully. The prophet Jonah felt that the roof of the room would fall on him. Finally, the Prophet Jonah slept on his bed where his eyes were twirling on the roof of the room but his agitated views found no refuge. His living quarters in that room and his roof and sides seemed all about to collapse. The prophet Jonah began to complain and said: "So does my heart hang in my soul."

Start the waves sweeping the surface of the boat so that the crew began to be exposed to water. And behind the boat was a large whale that began to lurk. He opened his mouth. Then there is an order for the whale to move towards sea level. The whale obeyed the command of Allah SWT and he immediately headed to sea level. He began to follow the boat as he had commanded. The hard wind kept blowing then the head of the boat hinted with his hand to reduce the boat's load. And the wind is blowing harder. Meanwhile, the prophet Jonah felt fear. In his sleep he saw everything shaking in his room. He tried to stand up straight, but was unable to. Then the head of the boat shouted and said: "What a strong wind blowing is not as usual. With us someone is the wrong man so that this wind blows hard. We're gonna do a raffle on all you. Whoever's name comes out we'll throw him into the ocean."

The prophet Jonah knew that this was a tradition of the usual traditions of boat crews if they faced harsh winds. At that time, he had to follow her. The episode of the suffering of Jonah will begin. He was a noble Prophet but had to submit to an idolatrous law that held that the sea had a god. With that belief, they believe that a strong wind blows due to the wrath of God. Therefore, efforts must be made to appease and satisfy the gods they believe in. The prophet Jonah was forced to take part in the election. His name was entered along with the names of other passengers, and a raffle was conducted. Which came out was his name. A second lottery was held, and this time the name of Jonah came out. Finally, a third draw was held. Again the name of Jonah came out. It was later determined that the prophet Jonah should be banished to the sea. At that time the passengers were watching the prophet Jonah. The prophet Jonah knew that he made a mistake when he left his people in a state of anger. The prophet Jonah thought that Allah SWT would not lower his punishment on him. But he was wrong to leave his people without His permission. Allah SWT taught him a lesson.

The prophet Jonah stood beside the boat and looked at the ocean filled with terrible waves. The world was dark and there was no moonlight. The stars hide behind the darkness. The color of the water looked dark and the cold pierced through the bones. As a result, the water covered everything. Then the captain of the boat shouted: "Jump, mysterious traveler." The wind is getting stronger. The prophet Jonah tried to keep his balance, and he showed his courage when he wanted to plunge into the sea. The prophet Jonah plunged and was on the surface of the ocean like a floating sampang. The whale was in front of him. The fish began to smile because Allah SWT had sent him dinner. Then the fish caught Jonah in the midst of the waves. Then the fish returned to the bottom of the ocean. The fish returned to a satisfied state after filling its stomach.

The prophet Jonah was shocked to find himself in the belly of a fish. The fish carried him to the bottom of the ocean and the ocean brought him into the darkness of the night. Three darkness: darkness in the belly of the fish, darkness at the bottom of the sea, and darkness of the night. The prophet Jonah felt that he was dead. He tried to move his five senses and his limbs were still moving. Well, then, he's alive. He was imprisoned in three dark places.

Jonah began to weep and glorify God. He began to travel to God as he was imprisoned in three dark places. His heart began to move to glorify God, and his tongue began to follow him. He said: "There is no God but You, O God. O Holy One. Verily I am of those who persecute themselves." (QS. Hud: 87)

When imprisoned in the belly of the fish, he remained glorified to Allah SWT. The fish itself looked exhausted when it had to swim far enough away. Then the fish fell asleep at the bottom of the ocean. Meanwhile, the prophet Jonah still preached to Allah SWT. He was incessantly crying and incessantly crying. He did not eat, did not drink, and did not move. He fasted and opened with prayer beads. The other fish and plants and all the creatures that live at the bottom of the ocean hear the prayer beads of Jonah. The tasbih comes from the belly of this whale. Then all the creatures gathered around the whale and they also glorified to Allah SWT. Each of them is embellished in his own way and language.

The whale that ate the prophet Jonah woke up and heard the sounds of prayer beads so boisterous and rumbling. He saw at the bottom of the ocean a great celebration attended by fish and other animals, even the rocks and sand are all glorified to Allah SWT and he does not miss participating with them on the glorification of Allah SWT. And he began to realize that he was swallowing a Prophet. The whale felt fear but it said in him why am I afraid? Is not Allah SWT commanding me to eat it. The prophet Jonah remained in the belly of the fish for some time which we do not know his limits. During that time he always filled his heart with glorification to Allah SWT and always showed remorse and wept: "There is no God but You, O Allah the Most Holy. Verily I am of those who persecute themselves." Allah SWT saw the sincerity of the Prophet Jonah's repentance. Allah SWT heard his prayer beads in the belly of the fish. Then Allah SWT sent down the command to the fish to bring Jonah out to the surface of the sea and throw him on an island determined by Allah SWT.

The fish obeyed the divine commandment. The body of the prophet Jonah felt the heat in the belly of the fish. He looked sick, then the sun shone and touched his hot body. He shouted because he could not bear the pain but he was able to hold back and return to berasbih. Then Allah SWT grew the Yaqthin tree, a tree whose leaves are wide that can protect from the sun. Allah has healed him and forgiven him. Allah SWT told him that if it were not for the prayer beads he spoke, he would have remained in the belly of the fish until the day of the apocalypse.

Allah SWT said:

"Jonah was truly one of the apostles. (Remember) when he ran to a loaded ship, then he entered the draw and he was among the losers in the draw. So he was swallowed up by the great Rihan in a despicable state. If it were not among those who remember Allah a great deal, it would remain in the belly of the fish until the day it rose. Then We threw him into a barren area, and he was sick. And we grew for him a tree of the kind of pumpkin. And We sent him to a hundred or more. Then they believed, and We gave them the pleasure of life for a certain time." (QS. ash-Shaffat: 139-148)

"And (remember the story) Dzunnun (Yunus), when he went away angry, and they thought that We would not narrow it down (have it difficult), so he called in a very dark state: 'That there is no God (who has the right to be worshipped) but You. Most Holy of You, I am a wicked man.' So We permitted his prayer and saved him from sorrow. And thus do We save those who believe." (QS. al-Anbiya': 87-88)

We now want to discuss the issue which the scholars refer to as the sin of the Prophet Jonah. Did Jonah commit a sin in the essential sense, and did the prophets sin? The answer is: Prophets are the maximal people but this maximization does not mean that they do not do something that Allah SWT believes deserves reproach (punishment). So the problem is somewhat relative. According to those who are close to Allah SWT: The good people are considered to be a disgrace to al-Muqarrabin (those who are close to Allah SWT). This is true. Now, let us look at the case of the prophet Jonah. He left his village which was filled with people who were opposed. If this was done by an ordinary person or by a godly person other than the prophet Jonah, it would be a good thing and therefore a reward. For he seeks to save his religion from the disobedient. But the Prophet Jonah was a Prophet whom Allah sent to them. He should have preached in the way of Allah SWT and he did not care about the results of his proselytization. His job is to convey religion. His exit from the village— in the eyes of the prophets— is the thing that requires the coming of lessons from Allah SWT and His punishment to him.

Allah SWT gave a lesson to Jonah in his preaching. Allah SWT sent him just to preach. This is the limit of his preaching and he does not need to care about his people who do not follow him and therefore he should not be sad and angry. The prophet Luth remained in his people even though he had not found anyone of faith for many years. Despite this, the Prophet Luth did not abandon them. He did not run away from his family and from his village. He continues to preach in the way of Allah SWT until the commandment of Allah SWT comes through His angels who allow him to go. That's when he left. Had he gone before, he would have had the torment of Jonah. So, the prophet Jonah came out without permission. Then watch what happens to his people. They believed after the death of Jonah. Allah SWT said:

"And why did not the people of a city believe, and his faith benefited 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)

Thus, the village of the prophet Jonah believed. Had he stayed with them, he would have known it and his heart would have calmed down and his anger would have disappeared. It seems that he is in a hurry and of course this hasty attitude departs from his desire for man to believe. The Prophet Jonah's attempt to abandon them was an expression of his hatred for them for their disbelief. So Allah sentencing him and teaching him that the duty of a prophet is only to convey religion. A prophet is not burdened with the affairs of the faith of men; a prophet is not responsible for the denial of men; and a prophet cannot guide (instruction) them.