Life Of Hazrat Younas-Story of hazrat yunas

STORY OF HAZRAT YUNAS

Yunus Ibn Matta (referred to as Jonah in English) was a messenger of Allah sent to Nineveh, a city in northern Iraq with a population of more than one hundred thousand. Prophet Yunus was apparently an ordinary man who was born and raised among the people of Nineveh. The prosperous city of Nineveh has long since forgotten the message of Allah and has become a city full of idolatry and sin. Allah decided to send Prophet Yunus, a man born among them, as a Messenger to guide them to His path - the path of light. Prophet Yunus immediately set out to fulfill his Lord's wish and called his people to turn to God and refrain from idolatry. But the people of Nineveh rejected Yunus, just as many nations rejected the prophets and messengers before him. Yunus was not afraid; he further called them to worship Allah, reminding them of Allah's terrible wrath against the people of Ad, Thamud and Nuh. But they rejected it, and said: We and our ancestors have been worshiping these gods for many years, and no harm has been done to us. Prophet Yunus wanted to help them and was persistent, he did not give up on his people; despite their ignorance and harsh words, he still warned them of Allah's punishment. "Let it happen," the men laughed, informing Yunus that they were not at all afraid of his empty threats. Prophet Yunus was depressed; he left his people. Without Allah's permission, he decided to leave the city of Nineveh, hoping to find a distant community that would accept him and convert to Islam. The quiet sky of Nineveh soon turned red with anger, preparing to pour out Allah's wrath. Men, women and children gathered on the mountaintop to watch the battle in the sky above them with hearts filled with fear. They soon remembered Yunus's warning about Allah's punishment and feared the plight of the people of Ad, Thamud and Nuh. With new faith they fell on their knees; with outstretched hands they began to ask Allah for forgiveness and mercy. As a result of this sincere repentance, Allah removed His punishment, forgave His subjects and gave them His blessing. When the sky cleared, the people prayed for the safe return of their beloved Prophet Yunus, so that he could guide them through the path of Allah. In the meantime, prophet Yunus, who had left Nineveh, boarded a small passenger ship with the intention of sailing as far as possible from his people. The ship sailed in calm waters during the day; but as night approached, a storm raged and wildly tossed the ship to and fro. The crew and passengers began to fear for their lives as seawater gradually flooded the deck and slowly sank the ship. As the storm continued through the night, the captain ordered his men to throw the luggage and all other extra cargo overboard to lighten the ship's load. Following instructions, the crew dumped the ship's excess cargo; but the ship continued to sink, because it was still too heavy. The captain had no choice - he had to sacrifice one man's life if he wanted to save the lives of his crew and passengers. As it was common among men at that time, the captain decided to sacrifice the passenger by drawing lots. Lots were cast and the name of prophet Yunus was chosen. The men knew that Yunus was a young, righteous, honest and blessed man, so they refused to throw him out and agreed to draw again. So the lot fell and Yunus' name came up again. The men refused to cast Yunus, saying, "We cannot get rid of Yunus. He is our blessing in the boat. He is the best man we have in the boat; we cannot get rid of him." So they drew a third time and Yunus' name came up again! The men were perplexed, but Prophet Yunus knew that it was Allah's decision, because he had left his people without God's consent. So Yunus jumped out of the ship into the dark angry waves in the middle of the sea.

As Allah commanded, the biggest whale in the ocean swallowed Yunus just as he hit the water. An unconscious Yunus woke up to find himself surrounded by darkness. He believed that he was in his grave; but when his senses awoke, he knows that he was not in his grave, but was actually in the belly of a whale fish. Deep in the belly of a whale, Prophet Yunus bowed to Allah and said: "O Allah, I bow before you in a place where no one has bowed before you, in the belly of a fish." Then he cried out to Allah, repeating: “None has the right to be worshiped but you. Congratulations to you. Indeed, I was among the wrongdoers." The creatures of the deep sea heard the prayers of Yunus and gathered around the whale to participate in the celebration of Allah's praises. Allah, the Most Merciful, was greatly moved by the repentance of Yunus. He ordered. the whale to spit his messenger to the nearest shore. The whale obeyed Allah's command. and swam to the nearest shore and threw Yunus out. He had no shelter from the sun and wind, so God ordered a tree to grow over Yunus to provide him with food and shelter. Allah forgave him and declared that if not for his sincere prayers, Yunus would be in the belly of a whale until the Day of Judgment. When Yunus was fully recovered, he traveled back to Nineveh to complete his mission. When Yunus arrived in his hometown, he was amazed - the entire population of Nineveh had converted to Islam and were waiting for his arrival. Yunus, along with his people, bowed before his lord and thanked him for all his blessings. Yunus was the only prophet whose entire community accepted Islam. God said in the Holy Qur'an about the people of Yunus Ibn Matta: "Was there a community in the city that believed after seeing the punishment, and its belief at that moment saved it from the punishment? (the answer is none) - except the people of Yunus; if they believed, We removed from them this world's shame of life and We allowed them to enjoy the moment." [Surah Yunus Ayat 98]