Hazrat Yunus AS Story || The Prophet Stories in English

 Asalamu Alaikum!

Walaikum Assalam!

What were you reading my son?

I was reading a book

on Prophet Yunus (as).

Is it true that the Prophet

was swallowed by a huge whale?

Yes, its true my son!

And did the Prophet

live after that?

Yes he did.

Do you want to hear

his story today?

Yes, I do!

Please tell me Baba

Alright.. Now listen carefully

Bismillah!

The Story of Prophet Yunus (as)

A long long time ago,

there was a city named Nineveh.

The people of Nineveh

were idolaters,

who lived a shameless life.

Prophet Yunus (as) was

sent by Allah(swt) to Nineveh,

to preach to them

about the true God.

“You should believe only in

Allah(swt) and obey his commands”

He told them

“Otherwise a severe punishment

will come upon you”

He warned them

But the inhabitants of the town

didn’t like anyone to interfere

 in their way of worship.

“We and our forefathers have worshipped

 these Gods for many years”

said an old man

“And no harm has come

to us” added another

Prophet Yunus (as) tried very hard to

convince the people about Allah (swt).

But the people kept ignoring him

He warned that if they kept

on with their foolishness,

Allah(swt) will soon punish them

Instead of fearing Allah(swt),

they told the Prophet that they

were not afraid of his threats.

“Let your God punish

us” they told him

The Prophet was

disheartened by now.

“In that case I will leave

you to your misery”

saying that, he left

the town of Nineveh.

The Prophet became

impatient and he departed

without waiting for further

commands from Allah(swt).

He knew that God must

be angry on him,

so he decided to travel

to a distant land.

As soon as the Prophet

left the city,

the skies began to

change its color.

It looked like

they were on fire!

The people were filled

by fear at this sight!

They remembered the destruction of

the people of ‘Ad, Thamud and Nuh!

Slowly faith started

penetrating their hearts.

The people of Nineveh gathered

on the top of a mountain,

and started to pray to

Allah(swt) for His mercy.

The mountains echoed

with their cries,

the people of Nineveh repented

sincerely for the sins

they had committed.

When Allah(swt) heard

their prayers,

he decided not to punish them,

and He showered His blessing

upon the people once again!

When the people realized

that they were saved,

they prayed to Allah(swt) for

the return of Yunus (as),

so that he could guide them

Meanwhile, Yunus (as) had boarded a small

ship in the company of other passengers.

It sailed all day in calm waters, with a

good wind blowing at the sails.

But as the night came,

the sea suddenly changed.

There was a horrible storm,

and it looked like the ship was

going to be split into pieces!

The waves rose as

high as mountains,

tossing the ship up and down!

Everyone in the ship

were terrified!

The captain of the ship

shouted to the crew

to lighten the ships heavy load.

The crew first threw

their baggage overboard,

but this was not enough!

Their safety lay in reducing

the weight further,

so they decided among themselves,

that one among them

 will have to be thrown into the sea.

In the meantime,

a large whale had

surfaced behind the ship.

Allah (swt) had commanded

the whale to surface,

and it had obeyed.

The whale kept following the

ship as he had been commanded.

And back at the ship,

the captain told them

“We will make lots with

all the travelers names.

The one whose name is drawn

will be thrown into the sea.

Yunus (as) reluctantly

participated in the lot,

and his name was added as well.

When the lot was drawn,

the paper had “Yunus”

written on it!

Since the crew knew that the Prophet

was the most honorable man among them,

they didn’t want to

throw him into the sea.

Therefore they decided

to draw a second lot.

And when they drew the

lot for the second time,

the name of the Prophet

appeared again!!

The crew decided to give one

final chance to the Prophet,

and drew a third lot.

But the Prophet’s name appeared during

the third and final lot as well!

The Prophet realized that Allah(swt) was

involved in what was going on.

He realized that Allah(swt)

was punishing him,

because he had abandoned the

mission without Allah (swt)'s consent.

It was decided that the Prophet

should throw himself into the water.

Yunus (as) stood at

the edge of the ship,

looking at the furious sea.

It was night and there

was no moon in the sky.

The stars were hidden

behind a black fog.

Before jumping into the sea, the

Prophet kept mentioning Allah(swt)’s name.

He then jumped into the sea,

and disappeared beneath

the huge waves.

The whale that was following the ship,

found the Prophet floating

on the waves.

It didn’t waste anytime,

and swallowed the

Prophet in one gulp!

The whale shut its ivory teeth,

as if they were white bolts

locking the door of his prison.

It then dived to the

bottom of the sea.

The Prophet imagined

himself to be dead,

but his senses became alert

when he figured that

he was able to move.

He realized that he was alive,

and knew that he was imprisoned.

In his loneliness, he started to think

over what had happened in the town,

and realized that he should

have never left the town.

Instead, he should have stayed and

kept on speaking to the people,

asking them to return to Allah(swt)

In his despair, the Prophet started to

pray with all his heart to Allah(swt).

“O Allah, there is no

God apart from You.

You alone do I praise and honor.

I have done wrong,

if You do not help me,

I shall be lost for ever”

The Prophet continued praying

 to Allah(swt),

repeating his prayers.

Fishes, whales and many other creatures

that lived in the sea, heard the voice

 of the Prophet's prayers,

coming from the whale's stomach

All these creatures gathered

around the whale,

and began to praise Allah(swt),

each in its own language!!

The whale also participated

in praising Allah(swt).

Then he understood that he

had swallowed a Prophet!

When he realized this,

He felt afraid at first!

He then said to himself

“Why should I be afraid?

Allah(swt) commanded me

to swallow him”

Allah(swt) Almighty saw the sincere

repentance of the Prophet,

and He decided to save him!

He commanded the whale

to go the surface,

and eject the Prophet

onto the shore.

The whale obeyed and swam to

the surface of the ocean.

He then ejected the Prophet

onto a remote island!

The Prophet was very sick

now because of the acids

inside the whale’s stomach.

His skin was inflamed,

and when the sun rose,

the rays burned his body!

The Prophet was on the verge of screaming

 with pain by now.

 But he endured the pain and continued

 his prayers to Allah (swt)

Allah(swt) then caused

a tree to grow behind

where the Prophet was praying.

This tree protected the Prophet from the

 harsh rays of the sun,

 and it gave him nourishing fruits as well!

Gradually, he

regained his strength

and found his way

back to Nineveh.

He was pleasantly surprised to

notice the change that took place!

The entire population of Nineveh

turned out to welcome him!!

They informed him that they 

now worshipped Allah(swt),

the one true God.

The Prophet was very

happy to hear that,

and he lived happily in

Nineveh until he died!

Masha Allah!

That was such a wonderful story!

I’m glad you liked it my son.

Now are you ready

for the questions?

Yes I am!

Alright, now tell me

the name of the town where

Prophet Yunus (as) preached

It was Nineveh!

That was quick!

Now for the next question.

Why did the Prophet

leave the town?

The Prophet was angry at the people of

Nineveh for not listening to his words.

That’s why he left the town,

even before God told him to.

Mashallah! 

That’s excellent my son.

Now tell me why did the

Prophet jump into the sea?

The ship that the Prophet was travelling

 got caught in a storm.

 The captain and the crew decided that they

 will  have to throw one person

from among them, so as to

 lighten the load.

The Prophet had to

jump into the sea

because his name came up

while drawing the lots.

Excellent Amir.

Now for the last question.

How did the Prophet escape

from the whale’s stomach?

The Prophet kept praying to God

while he was in the whale’s belly

God saw the sincere

repentance of the Prophet,

and He decided to save him!

God then commanded the

whale to go the surface,

and eject the Prophet

onto the shore.

Masha Allah! You give all

the right answers today!

I will tell you another

story tomorrow,

Good night my son!

Good night Baba!