He left his people in frustration, ended up in three darknesses, and one sentence brought him out.
لَّا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
His story
Yunus left his people in anger before he was told to 21:87. He boarded a ship, lots were drawn, and he was thrown into the sea, where a great fish swallowed him 37:139-142.
In the darkness of the night, the sea and the whale, he called out: "There is no god but You. Glory be to You. I have been among the wrongdoers" 21:87. Allah answered him and saved him from distress, "and so We save the believers" 21:88. Had he not been one who glorified Allah, he would have stayed there until the Day of Resurrection 37:143-144.
And his people, the people he had given up on, believed. They are the only people in the Quran who believed when they saw the punishment coming, and it was lifted from them 10:98.
The Prophet ﷺ said that no Muslim calls upon Allah with the supplication of Dhun-Nun for anything without Allah answering him Tirmidhi 3505. And he said no one should say he is better than Yunus son of Matta Bukhari 3395.
Moments
- 01
Leaving in frustration
Yunus called his people, and when they did not respond, he went off in anger, thinking Allah would not hold him to account. He boarded a laden ship, lots were drawn, and he was thrown into the sea. A good man who lost patience. Allah tells our Prophet ﷺ: "Be patient for the decision of your Lord, and do not be like the companion of the fish."
- 02
The darkness
Swallowed by a great fish, he was in darkness upon darkness: the night, the sea, and the belly of the whale. From there he called: "There is no god but You. Glory be to You. I have been among the wrongdoers." Allah answered him and saved him from distress, "and so We save the believers." Had he not been among those who glorify Allah, he would have stayed there until the Day they are raised.
- 03
His people believed
The people he walked out on believed. Of all the towns, the Quran says, the people of Yunus are the ones whose faith benefited them in time: "When they believed, We removed from them the punishment of disgrace." The people he gave up on did not give up.
What he did when…
In the darkest place a person has ever been, Yunus did not complain or bargain. He praised Allah and admitted his own fault: "There is no god but You. Glory be to You. I have been among the wrongdoers." The Prophet ﷺ said no Muslim calls upon Allah with this supplication for anything except that Allah answers him.
His mistake was walking out on his people in frustration. And they believed after he left. Our Prophet ﷺ was told not to be like him in that moment: "Be patient for the decision of your Lord." Do not give up on people too early.
He did not blame the sea, the sailors or his people. He named his own wrong, "I have been among the wrongdoers", and Allah answered him and saved him. Admitting a mistake was the way out of it.
His words, for you to keep
لَّا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
If your child carries this name
يونس Yunus
Yunus (and Younes, Jonah) is a name of hope from the darkest place. Teach the child his supplication before anything else.
Sources on this page
Quran 10:98Quran 21:87Quran 21:87-88Quran 37:139-148Quran 68:48Quran 68:48-50Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3505
Quran meanings are given in plain English, close to the Arabic. Hadith numbers follow sunnah.com.