(10:98)(4:163)(68:48)(6:87)(37:140-148)(21:87-88)
Jonah and the Fish
Nearly all the
prophets in the Quran have one common feature; they tell their nations that the
results of their deeds are entering into the final stage. If the people do not change their behavior,
the consequences of their deeds are going to destroy them. However, these warnings fail to produce any
results, and the anticipated destruction comes.
The story of
Jonah is an exception to this rule.
Jonah’s time is approximately seven hundred B.C. He was preaching a few miles north of
Nazareth, in small towns and villages, when he was directed to preach in the
business center of Nineveh.
Jonah entered the great capital with only the
experience of preaching in villages and small towns; he met with an organized
opposition in this capital city. The
well-settled groups of various kinds, with vested interests in the economy,
religion, and power-sharing, all combined their resources together to work
vigorously against his mission. They
ridiculed, jeered, and made fun of his appearance, mission, and every possible
thing that belonged to him.
Jonah felt
that he was helpless against this type of onslaught; he could not withstand an
allied attack without forming an exaggerated opinion about the vices of the opposition. He was a brilliant preacher who was
propounding factual statements based on logic and reasoning. The opposition was answering him with ridicule
and twisting his arguments in a grotesque way.
His message was misrepresented everywhere.
The effect of sober thought and reason
was lost in the atmosphere of jeering, taunting and misrepresentation.
One fine
evening, Jonah had a bitter encounter with the opposition; distraught and
furious, he was walking on the bank of a river.
Suddenly, he thought, “Why am I wasting my time with these stubborn
people? I am so polite and reasonable with them, but they don’t care for the
truth. Why shouldn’t I go to another
place and spend my time with reasonable people, who could appreciate the value
of my time and mission.” This idea struck him like a bolt of thunderous
lightning and overwhelmed him. On the bank of the river, he saw a boat full of
passengers, ready to leave. Without
thinking, he jumped into the boat to leave the land.
In the lives
of many prophets, a time comes when they are directed by God to leave the
native land: this is known as migration (hijrat). This is not an escape from struggle or
unfavorable circumstances; it is an effort to find the most suitable
circumstances for preaching. The time
and place for migration is decided by God.
