Reports on how Allah favoured Yunus bin Matta (peace be upon him)

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, said: "It is not permissible for any servant of Mine to say: I am better than Yunus bin Matta."

Abdullah bin Salamah reports that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, said: "It is not permissible for any servant of Mine to say: I am better than Yunus bin Matta." He glorified Allah in the darkness.

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is not permissible for anyone to say: I am better than Yunus bin Matta."

Abu al-Aliyah said: The cousin of your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), narrated to me that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is not permissible for any servant to say: I am better than Yunus bin Matta."

Amr bin Maymun said: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated to us in the Bayt al-Mal that Yunus (peace be upon him) warned his people of the coming of the punishment and told them that the punishment would come upon them within three days. They separated every mother from her child, then went out and began to cry out to Allah in humility and to seek His forgiveness, and Allah withheld the punishment from them. The next day Yunus (peace be upon him) waited for the punishment but saw nothing. In that time, whoever lied and had no proof would be killed. So he went out in anger until he came to a ship, and they recognised him and took him on board. When he boarded the ship, it stopped, while the other ships were moving to the right and left. He said: What has happened to your ship? They said: We do not know. Yunus (peace be upon him) said: On it there is a servant who has run away from his Master, and the ship will not move until you throw him into the water. They said: O Prophet of Allah! By Allah, we cannot throw you in. (2) Yunus (peace be upon him) said: Cast lots, and whoever the lot falls upon should be thrown in. The lot fell upon Yunus (peace be upon him), but they refused to throw him in. Then they said: Whoever the lot falls upon three times should be thrown in. The lot fell upon Yunus (peace be upon him) three times. A fish had been appointed for him; when he fell, it swallowed him and took him down to the bottom of the earth, and there Yunus (peace be upon him) heard the glorification of the pebbles. "Then he called out in the darkness: There is no god but You, glory be to You; indeed I was among the wrongdoers" [Al-Anbiya: 87]. He glorified Allah in three darknesses: the darkness of the fish's belly, the darkness of the sea, and the darkness of the night. Allah says: "Then We cast him onto the open shore while he was ill" [Al-Saffat: 145]. He had become like a bird that has no feathers, and Allah caused a gourd plant to grow over him, from which he would take shade and eat. It then dried up, and he began to weep. So Allah revealed to him: You weep over the drying of a plant, yet you do not weep over 100,000 or more people whom you intended to destroy. (3) He went out and came to a boy who was herding goats, and said to him: O boy! Which people do you belong to? He said: To the people of Yunus. He said: When you go to them, tell them that you have met Yunus (peace be upon him). The boy said: If you are Yunus, then you know that whoever lies and has no proof is killed. So who will testify for me? Yunus said to him: This tree will testify for you, and this spot. The boy said: Command them. So Yunus (peace be upon him) said to them: When this boy comes to you, testify for him. They said: Very well. The boy then returned to his people. He had brothers, and he was a man of influence. He went to the king and said: I have met Yunus (peace be upon him), and he sends you his greeting of peace. The king ordered him to be killed, but the people said: He has testimony. So the king sent some people with him. They reached the tree and the spot, and the boy said to them: I adjure you by Allah, did Yunus (peace be upon him) make you witnesses? They said: Yes. The people returned in fear, saying: Even this tree and the earth testify for this boy. They came to the king and related to him all that they had seen. (4) Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The king took the boy by the hand, seated him in his own place and said: You are more entitled to this place than I am. Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: After that, the boy remained their ruler for forty years.

Abu Malik said: Yunus (peace be upon him) remained in the belly of the fish for forty days.

Mansur reports from Salim, in explaining "Then he called out in the darkness," that he said: This refers to a fish inside a fish, and the darkness of the sea.

Sa'id bin Jubayr said: "Then he called out in the darkness" refers to the darkness of the night, the darkness of the sea, and the darkness of the fish.

Amr bin Murrah reports that Abdullah bin al-Harith said: When the fish swallowed him and took him to the ground, and he heard it glorifying Allah, this moved him to glorify Allah.