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11. Jonah (Yunus)
· Read in The Qur’an – 4:163, 6:83-86, 10:98
· Read in The Tanakh and The Bible – Jonah, Matthew 12:39-40; 16:4, Luke 11:29-32
Readings from The Qur’an:
· The Qur'an 4: 163. Verily, We have sent the revelation to you (0 Muhammad) as We sent the revelation to Nuh (Noah) and the Prophets after him; We (also) sent the revelation to Ibrahim (Abraham), Isma`il (Ishmael), Ishaq (Isaac), Ya'qub (Jacob), and Al-Asbat [the offspring of the twelve sons of Ya'qub (Jacob)], 'Isa (Jesus), Ayyub (Job), Yunus (Jonah), Haran (Aaron), and Sulaiman (Solomon); and to Dawud (David) We gave the Zabur (Psalms).
· The Qur'an 6:83-86. And that was Our Proof which We gave Ibrahim (Abraham) against his people. We raise whom We will in degrees. Certainly your Lord is All-Wise, All-Knowing. 84. And We bestowed upon him Ishaq (Isaac) and Ya'qub (Jacob), each of them We guided, and before him, We guided Nub (Noah), and among his progeny Dawud (David), Sulaiman (Solomon), Ayyub (Job), Yusuf (Joseph), Musa (Moses), and Harun (Aaron). Thus do We reward Al-Muhsinun (the good-doers - see the footnote of V .9:120). 85. And Zakariya (Zechariah), and Yahya (John) and 'Isa (Jesus) and Iliyas (Elias), each one of them was of the righteous. 86. And Isma'il {Ishmael) and Al-Yasa' (Elisha), and Yunus (Jonah) and Lut (Lot), and each one of them We preferred above the 'Alamin [mankind and jinn (of their times)].
· Since the Qur’an says revelation and guidance came to Harun Yunus (Jonah), and through the Torat (Torah), shouldn’t Muslims know the full story of Harun Yunus (Jonah), given in the Tanakh and Bible?
· The Qur'an 10:98 “Was there any town (community) that believed (after seeing the punishment), and its Faith (at that moment) saved it (from the punishment)? (The answer is none)- except the people of Yunus (Jonah); when they believed, We removed from them the torment of disgrace in the life of the (present) world, and permitted them to enjoy for a while.”
· What is the “sign of Jonah” that Jesus speaks about in the Bible?”
Readings from The Tanakh and The Bible:
· Matthew 12:39–41 “But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. [40] For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. [41] The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”
· Matthew 16:4 “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.”
· Luke 11:29–32 “When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. [30] For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. [31] The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. [32] The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”
Lessons from Jonah:
· Listen - Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, [2] “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” (Jonah 1:1-2)
· Draw Near to God But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. (Jonah 1:3)
· Acknowledge God’s Discipline But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. (Jonah 1:4)
· Stop Trying to Avoid God Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. [6] So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.” (Jonah 1:5-6)
· Confess Your Sin And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” [10] Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.(Jonah 1:8-10)
· Lay Down Your Life for the Lord: The Sooner the Better He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” (Jonah 1:12)
· Pray Desperately Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish (Jonah 2:1)
· Understand the Gospel And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. (Jonah 1:17)
· And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land. (Jonah 2:1)
· Obey His Voice Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, [2] “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” (Jonah 3:1-2)
· Rejoice in His Work of Salvation And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. (Jonah 3:5)
· Avoid Self-Righteousness, Self-Justification, Self-Pity (Jonah 4)
· Let God Have the Last Word - Listen And the LORD said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. [11] And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” (Jonah 4:10-11)
See also:
· “What does the Bible say about Jonah?” www.trustworthyword.com/jonah