The day it happened, I was returning from the market with my father. I remember how the sun glared off the white stones in the road, almost too bright to look at. That morning, the whole city of Nineveh buzzed with anger. Rumors had spread that a man named Yunus — known to some as Prophet Jonah — was warning us that Allah would destroy our city because of our sins.
You won’t find my name in any surah, but I lived in Nineveh. I was just a boy then, and like many others, I didn’t take Yunus seriously. Our people had turned far away from Allah. We worshipped idols, we lied, we cheated the poor. When Yunus came to warn us, most people laughed at him or told him to leave. Even I had said, “What can one man do to stop all of this?”
But then... the sky changed.
Dark clouds gathered like a lid over us. The wind howled strangely. It wasn’t like the rains that sometimes came from the east. This was different — it felt like the very earth was holding its breath. That’s when my father knelt down in the middle of the street and cried, "He was right! We have wronged ourselves. We must turn back to Allah before it is too late!"
I had never seen my father cry like that.
Word spread fast. The king removed his crown, and messengers ran through the streets calling everyone to repent. Even the animals were not fed, as people gathered to fast and beg Allah for forgiveness. We had learned a new word that day: tawbah — sincere repentance.
But Prophet Yunus was gone.
From what the older men said, Yunus had left the city, believing that it would surely be destroyed, just as other wicked places had been before. According to the scholars, he boarded a ship to leave, but a storm came. When the sailors cast lots to see who was causing the trouble, it fell on him. He was thrown overboard and swallowed by a great fish, where he stayed, praying to Allah in darkness.
I didn’t know all that at the time. All I knew was that our hearts were full of fear, and our mouths full of du‘a (prayers). And then... the clouds disappeared.
No fire fell from the sky. No buildings crashed to the ground. We were saved.
Later, we learned that Allah had forgiven us — all of us — because we had turned back to Him with our hearts full of regret. And Prophet Yunus — peace be upon him — was returned to land, safe from the belly of the fish. He came back to find his people truly changed.
I carry that day with me, even now. It taught me that Allah does not want to destroy His creation. He wants us to return to Him, even after we make mistakes. And better yet, when we do — sincerely and humbly — His mercy is greater than we can ever imagine.
Story Note: Inspired by Surah As-Saffat (37:139–148) and tafsir from scholars such as Ibn Kathir.
The day it happened, I was returning from the market with my father. I remember how the sun glared off the white stones in the road, almost too bright to look at. That morning, the whole city of Nineveh buzzed with anger. Rumors had spread that a man named Yunus — known to some as Prophet Jonah — was warning us that Allah would destroy our city because of our sins.
You won’t find my name in any surah, but I lived in Nineveh. I was just a boy then, and like many others, I didn’t take Yunus seriously. Our people had turned far away from Allah. We worshipped idols, we lied, we cheated the poor. When Yunus came to warn us, most people laughed at him or told him to leave. Even I had said, “What can one man do to stop all of this?”
But then... the sky changed.
Dark clouds gathered like a lid over us. The wind howled strangely. It wasn’t like the rains that sometimes came from the east. This was different — it felt like the very earth was holding its breath. That’s when my father knelt down in the middle of the street and cried, "He was right! We have wronged ourselves. We must turn back to Allah before it is too late!"
I had never seen my father cry like that.
Word spread fast. The king removed his crown, and messengers ran through the streets calling everyone to repent. Even the animals were not fed, as people gathered to fast and beg Allah for forgiveness. We had learned a new word that day: tawbah — sincere repentance.
But Prophet Yunus was gone.
From what the older men said, Yunus had left the city, believing that it would surely be destroyed, just as other wicked places had been before. According to the scholars, he boarded a ship to leave, but a storm came. When the sailors cast lots to see who was causing the trouble, it fell on him. He was thrown overboard and swallowed by a great fish, where he stayed, praying to Allah in darkness.
I didn’t know all that at the time. All I knew was that our hearts were full of fear, and our mouths full of du‘a (prayers). And then... the clouds disappeared.
No fire fell from the sky. No buildings crashed to the ground. We were saved.
Later, we learned that Allah had forgiven us — all of us — because we had turned back to Him with our hearts full of regret. And Prophet Yunus — peace be upon him — was returned to land, safe from the belly of the fish. He came back to find his people truly changed.
I carry that day with me, even now. It taught me that Allah does not want to destroy His creation. He wants us to return to Him, even after we make mistakes. And better yet, when we do — sincerely and humbly — His mercy is greater than we can ever imagine.
Story Note: Inspired by Surah As-Saffat (37:139–148) and tafsir from scholars such as Ibn Kathir.
