يونس عليه السلام

Yunus is also called Dhu n-Nuun, "the one of the fish" (21:87).

Allah sent him to a people who would not listen to him. Yunus left in anger, before Allah gave him permission (21:87).

He boarded an overloaded ship. Lots were drawn to decide who had to leave the ship, and Yunus was chosen. He ended up in the sea (37:139-141). A huge fish swallowed him (37:142).

Inside the fish, everything was dark: the Qur'an speaks of "the darknesses" (21:87). Yunus turned to Allah and said: لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ Laa ilaaha illaa anta, subḥaanaka, innii kuntu mina ẓ-ẓaalimiin "There is no god but You. Glory be to You! I have truly done wrong." (21:87)

Allah answered his call and saved him from his sadness. Allah says: "And that is how We save the believers" (21:88). The fish cast him out onto the shore. Yunus was weak and ill; Allah made a plant grow beside him to protect him (37:145-146).

And his people? Meanwhile, they had believed! Allah spared them (10:98). Yunus went back to them: they were a hundred thousand, or more (37:147-148).

The Prophet ﷺ said that Yunus's dua, made by a Muslim for any need, is answered by Allah. (Tirmidhi 3505) [À VÉRIFIER : numéro et degré]

What I learn: even in the darkest moment, I never lose hope. Allah hears me everywhere. I can recite Yunus's dua when I am sad or have made a mistake.

Understanding the lesson

Explanation Yunus left too quickly, in anger, before Allah allowed him to. This teaches us to be patient with people, even when they don't listen to us straight away.

In the dark, at the bottom of the sea, there was no one to help him. But Allah hears everywhere: under the sea, in the dark, inside a fish. There is no place where we are too far from Allah.

Yunus's dua has three parts. "There is no god but You": he turns to Allah alone. "Glory be to You": he says that Allah is perfect and never unjust. "I have truly done wrong": he admits his mistake. It is a very beautiful way of asking for forgiveness.

And meanwhile, his people had believed! We should never think that someone will never change.

Lessons to draw from it • I never lose hope: Allah hears me everywhere, even in the darkest moments. • I am patient with others, even when they don't listen to me straight away. • When I make a mistake, I admit it before Allah, like Yunus. • I never think that someone cannot change.

Key points to remember • Yunus's dua: لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ (21:87). • "Thus do We save the believers" (21:88).

The main message Even in the deepest darkness, Allah hears the one who calls on Him: we never lose hope in His mercy.