And, verily, Yunus (Jonah) was one of the Messengers. (Qur’an 37:139)

Assalamu alaikum, fellow Muslims and non-Muslims. 

We may all know the importance of the Qur’an, the Holy Book written by Allah (swt). However, we may not necessarily follow the teachings of the Qur’an and follow the role models that were sent to the Earth to spread the word of Islam. In order to remind you of the important lessons taught by each of the significant prophets mentioned in the Qur’an, I will In Sha Allah, be starting a prophets series. This will contain lessons I learnt from each of the prophets. I am trying my best to In Sha Allah post every day of Ramadan about each prophet.

Today, we will talk about our fifteenth prophet, who is Yunus (pbuh). If you would like to know the story, sources are available below. If I also make any mistakes, I apologise and Allah (swt) knows the best. 

Fear Allah and never challenge Him.

The people of Nineveh challenged Allah and were not afraid of Him which was a big mistake.

Just because your forefathers were not punished for doing their mistakes, does not mean that you won’t be punished for your bad actions.

The people of Nineveh made excuses and thought nothing would happen to them for their bad actions.  

Don’t lose hope.

Prophet Yunus (pbuh) decided to leave without Allah’s permission because he lost hope on his people. This was a big mistake.

Don’t only rely on Allah, you still have to work hard.

For example, Yunus (pbuh) thought Allah’s punishment was enough to scare his people but this is bad. If you have an exam, this doesn;t mean that you should fully rely on Allah only, you still have to work hard and revise in order to succeed.

You should learn from your previous mistakes.

When the people saw the colour of the skies change to the colour of fire, they feared and remembered what happened to the people of Ad and Thamud in the past.

Allah is merciful so if you repent He will forgive you.

Allah accepted the apology of the people of Nineveh because they were sincere and each of them asked for forgiveness.

Never be lazy to ask forgiveness from Allah.

You never know when you will die, and if you seek forgiveness, you could eliminate your sins.

You should not do anything without the permission of Allah.

Yunus (pbuh) left the city without asking Allah, which was really bad.

Do everything fairly.

The people in the ship drew a lottery for who would exit the ship first which made it equal for everyone.

Allah can give signs for when you are doing wrong. 

For example, for Yunus (pbuh), he was told to jump off the ship as he kept getting signs but again, you should never lose hope and don’t put yourself in harm. Don’t commit suicide.

All creation except jinns and humans do not have free will and they obey Allah.

The whale obeyed Allah the whole time and then swallowed Yunus (pbuh).

The three types of darkness are in a whale’s stomach, night and the bottom of the sea.

Due to Allah’s will, prophet Yunus (pbuh) had to go through all these levels of darkness.

Pray to Allah in times of hardship and ease.

Prophet Yunus (pbuh) prayed to Allah when he was suffering and became sick due to the acidity in the whale’s stomach. 

Tests and trials make you scared of Allah and keep faith in Him.

It always reminds us about Allah so we should keep that in mind.

Say this dua: Laa ilaha illa anta subhanaka inni kumtu mina dhalimeen (Translation: There is no God but You, glory to you, I was indeed wrong!’

This dua is what Yunus (pbuh) said in the whale of the stomach, and it is used worldwide today.

Allah (swt) can recover anyone from a sickness if they are sincere.

Yunus (pbuh) was recovered and forgiven because he had sincere repentance.

Allah can do anything.

He could have decided to keep Yunus (pbuh) in the whale’s stomach until the Day of Judgement, but because the prophet repented, he was forgiven. Allah also made everyone Muslim.

You should always pray to Allah (swt).

Yunus (pbuh) returned to Nineveh and guided his people.

A messenger should not leave his people unless Allah has said so.

Yunus (pbuh) learnt his mistake.

It is never too late to be Muslim.

Start to be Muslim and practise Islam from now.

These were some of the lessons that I captured from Yunus (pbuh). The story of Yunus (pbuh) is beautifully said in this Youtube video which I used to create this article:

Please share this article with your family and friends to get some rewards this Ramadan. In Sha Allah, you will stay well.

Thank you for reading and have a lovely day!