Allah sent His prophet Yunus, peace be upon him, to a people who, the Quran tells us, numbered a hundred thousand or more. He called them to worship Allah alone, and they would not listen.
One day he left them in anger, thinking he would not be held to account for it, and boarded a ship heavy with passengers and cargo.
At sea the ship was overladen. Lots were cast to decide who must go over the side, and the lot fell on him. As he met the water, a great fish swallowed him, and he was blaming himself.
The darkness of night, the darkness of the sea, the darkness inside the fish. From the depth of it he called out to Allah:
And Allah answered him:
The Quran also tells us that had he not been one of those who glorify Allah, he would have stayed in the belly of the fish until the Day of Resurrection.
The fish cast him out onto open ground, and he was ill. Allah caused a gourd plant to grow over him. Then Allah sent him back to his hundred thousand or more, and this time they believed, and Allah let them enjoy life for a time.
The Quran recalls one more thing: the one people who believed before the punishment came, and whose belief benefited them, were the people of Yunus.
The worth of his prayer
❝ HadithThe Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that the prayer of Dhun-Nun (Yunus) inside the fish — "There is no god but You, glory be to You; I have been among the wrongdoers" — is never made by a Muslim about anything without Allah answering him.Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3505 · Sahih (al-Albani)