Topics
Yunis
was appointed-prophet when he was only 28 years of age. He was given the book,
which is included in the Old Testament by his name, ‘the book of Jonah’. He was
deputed to work in Nineveh.
After the demise of Solomon the people of
Israel turned back on their heals and got involved in the practices of
infidelity, idol worshipping and disobedience of ‘the Lord. When people’s faith
in God weakened and people fell in love with worldly riches and aimed at
amassing wealth, the laws of nature became active, Nebuchadnezzar besieged
Jerusalem and massacred more than seventy thousand Israelis and more than this
were taken as captives. After fifty years, Romans invaded the holy land and
these ungrateful people were once again punished for their sins. After the period
of Romans Nineveh and Babylon once again saw good days.
In the times of Assyrians, when the city of
Ashur was the capital, Nineveh was a small town on the bank of River Tigris.
One of the Assyrian kings built a temple in the name of his god. Other kings
also following his precedence constructed palaces, libraries and other
monumental buildings, which made this small village one of the most respected
cities of the Northern Mesopotamia and was made the capital of Assyrian empire.
King Ashurbanipal built magnificent palace and library.
The
royal palace and temple stood in the center of the city, which enabled the king
to look over the busy streets, markets and parks. In the north blocks of
multistoried buildings were situated, in west it had fields and farms, gardens
and orchards. To add to the decor of the city fountains, decoration slabs of
onyx and marble and plantation of exuberant beauty in the streets and open
places had their role. Assyrians were famous for their an and sculptures. They
carved and filled the stones with vibrant colors to portray the pictures of
their gods and animals. People of Nineveh used to speak Semitic language.
People of this highly developed civilization were cruel and tyrant. When they
subjugated a territory, they erased it from the face of the earth; buildings
were demolished, subjects were put to sword indiscriminately. Soldiers were
rewarded for every head he had beheaded. Ashor was their greatest god. Kings
being representatives of God on earth were revered like gods.
As
God had commanded Jonah, he went to Nineveh and preached the message of God to
king Banipal and told him to release the Israeli captives. King got angry and
wanted to punish him but God made him to refrain. Jonah kept on trying to
convince him but he had turned his ears deaf to him. When Jonah saw that king
was in no mood to listen to him. He started preaching the word of God to the
general public. But, people were no different from their king. They mocked
Jonah and ridiculed his teachings of worshipping One God, refraining from moral
turpitudes and practicing righteousness.
When
Jonah was convinced that those people would not embrace faith like that he
resolved to warn them from the wrath of God. People did not listen to this
even. Jonah eventually said, “If ye did not quit idol worshipping and
practicing infidelity and released the Israeli captives within forty days wrath
of God would seize you and this city of yours would be destroyed
completely.”
People
as usual remained adamant in their stand and said, “We will be looking forward
to your Wrath of God.”
When
thirty days passed, Jonah left the city and went to a place about 12 miles away
from Nineveh. On the 35th day of Jonah’s warning, smoke engulfed the
city and fire started raining of the city. This frightened and worried all the
people of the city including the king. All the men, women and children of the
city put on ragged clothes and gathered in the open park of the city. Expressed
their repentance and asked for the forgiveness of God and promised to follow
Jonah with sincerity. God listened to their cries of penitence and the
inflicted penalty was withheld.
This
incident is reported in the Old Testament in these words:
And Jonah began to enter into the city a day
’s journey, and he cried and said; yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be over
thrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast and put on
sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came
unto the king of Nineveh and he arose from his thrown and he laid his rob from
him and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Ana’ he caused it to be
proclaimed and publish through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his
nobles, saying, let neither man nor beast-herd nor flock, taste anything‘: let
them not feed, nor drink water: but let man and man and beast be covered with
sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn everyone from his evil
way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn
and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger that we perish not? And God saw
their works that they turned from they evil way; and God repented of the evil,
that he had said that e would do unto them; and He did it not. (Jonah Ch. 3, 4-10)
Why was there not a single township among
those We warned, which believed, so its faith should have profited it, except
the people of Jonah? When they believed, We removed from them the penalty of
ignominy in the life of the present, and permitted them to enjoy their life for
a while.
(S:
18, V: 98)
Jonah
was waiting for the inflicted destruction out of the city. But, God had not
inflicted His wrath upon them seeing their penitence and the punishment was
withheld. Jonah thought that God had failed him and, if he returned to the city
people would call him untruthful and a liar and he left from there without
waiting for the further instructions of God.
According
to the legends, he started journeying towards Rome, with his wife and two
children. During their journey he camped in the wilderness and to arrange for
the provisions, leaving his wife with the children, he went towards the
town.
When
he went away a king happened to pass by, when he saw a pretty woman in the
wilderness, he abducted her forcefully. When Jonah returned and the children
related the event, he taking it as the will of God, kept his composure and
consoled the children.
Next
day he started his journey. On his way, he came across a rivulet. In order to
cross the water, he made the elder son to sit on the bank and carried the
younger on his shoulders towards the other side of the water. When he reached
in the middle of that stream, a wolf took his son that was sitting on the bank.
Jonah looked at the disappearing wolf with his son helplessly and grieved. In
that a strong current of water unbalanced him and the child on his shoulders
dropped into the water. Despite all his efforts, he could not save him and
somehow or the other managed to reach the bank.
When
he reached Euphrates, he found a boat full of passengers ready to leave; he
boarded into it. Not before long, storm seized the boat. People in those
times believed that if a runaway salve was riding a boat, that boat would surly
sink. So the captain announced that if anyone, who was absconding from his
master, should jump into the water otherwise the boat would capsize and all the
passengers would also die.
When
Jonah heard this announcement, it came to his mind that it was he who had not
waited for the will of his Lord and now is on the run. He said to the captain,
“I am that slave, who have left without the will of his Master.”
Keeping
his graceful personality in view, the captain did not believe him and did not
allow him to jump from the boat. When the tempest and rage of the storm
increased further, people in the boat decided to cast lots for a name. They
drew three times and every time the name of Jonah came out. So finally they
threw him in the water, where a large fish swallowed him.
So
also was Jonah among those sent by Us. When he ran away like a slave from
captivity to the ship fully laden, He agreed to cast lots, and he was
condemned: Then the big Fish did swallow him, and he had done acts worthy of
blame. Had it not been that he repented and glorified God.
(S: 37,V: 139-I43)
ln the darkness of the stomach of the fish,
Jonah had a true realization of his mistake and forgetfulness, so he expressed
penitence and celebrated the praises of his Lord: God and asked for the
forgiveness. Merciful God very graciously acceded to his prayers and relieved
him from the pain in which he had fallen.
And
remember Zun-nun, when he departed in wrath: He imagined that We had no power
over him! But he cried through the depths of darkness, "There is no god
but Thou: glory to Thee: I was indeed wrong!" So We listened to him: and
delivered him from distress: and thus do We deliver those who have faith.
(S:
21,V: 87-88)
The second
chapter of the book of Jonah in the Old Testaments consists of those prayers,
which Jonah prayed in penitence while he was in the abdomen of the fish.
According to Torah, he remained in the belly of fish for three days and
three lights. When God heard his prayer the fished vomited him on shore. To
protect him from the heat of the sun, God grew a tree upon him to shade over
him.
Had
it not been that he repented and glorified God, he would certainly have
remained inside the Fish till the Day of Resurrection. But We cast him forth on
the naked shore in a state of sickness, and We caused to grow, over him, a
spreading plant of the gourd kind.
(S: 37,V: 143-146)
It
is stated that that was a gourd plant. The body of Jonah had turned raw and
tender like a hatchling because of remaining in the fish stomach. Gradually he
recovered and his body became normal. He built a hut for himself. Soon after
the completion of the hut, the plant root got infested with termite and the
plant dried up and withered. Jonah felt grieved upon withering of that plant.
It was then, when God addressed him and said, “You are feeling sorry for this
one plant, why didn’t you think that I might have felt bad upon the destruction
of Nineveh, a city with one hundred thousand people?”
Jonah
fell on his knees and prostrated before his Lord God. Expressed his penitence
and asked for His forgiveness and mercy.
God
commanded him to go to the people of Nineveh and guide them towards His path.
When Jonah reached Nineveh, the people welcomed him heartily and they all
embraced faith on One God and practiced upon his teachings.
And We sent him (on a mission) to a hundred
thousand (men) or more. And they believed; so We permitted them to enjoy their
life for a While.
(S: 37,V: 147-148)
His
wife and children also returned to him by the grace of God. Elle spent rest of
his life in Nineveh and was buried near Mussel.
Scholars
are of the opinion that there were three mistakes on the part of Jonah, for which
he was made to suffer the inflictions.
1.
He fixed the day of punishment
at his own. God had not decreed any such thing.
2.
He left that place before the
day announced and an apostle in such a situation, like the captain of the ship,
is not supposed to abandon his people till the last.
3.
When God withheld the
punishment of his people, he did not return and to save his face assumed that
the people would further disgrace and dishonor him. It is against the mercy of
God that if people ask forgiveness, he should reject them. Indeed God is Oft-
Returning and Blotter of the sins.
And,
this point is also noteworthy that Jonah issued warning of the infliction at
his own. God is all-powerful and has every authority upon life and death. Jonah
remained in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights and God did
not allow the fish to digest him, he even sustained there and when God willed
the fish threw him up and he survived and recovered to health.
This
is also noteworthy that when lots were cast, his name came out three times
consecutively and he was thrown into the water.
This
story has a moral befitting the Muslims of today. As every sane person can see
that the earth is full of evil and every one of us, in one or the other way, is
refraining from the path of God, our Lord. We all are free but from the point
of Laws of God, everyone is a fugitive and runaway of his Master.
From
this story of Jonah we have to learn this lesson that if We would act upon the
teachings of the prophets and follow the Path of God with penitence and
righteousness, we would also be delivered.
