The Story of Jonah (peace be upon him)

God, Exalted is He, says in Sūrat Yūnus:

“Why was there never a single town that believed and its faith then benefited it—save the people of Jonah? When they believed, We lifted from them the punishment of disgrace in the life of this world and allowed them enjoyment for a while.”
(Qur’an 10:98)

He also says in Sūrat al-Anbiyāʾ:

“And Dhū’l-Nūn, when he went off in anger and thought We would not constrain him, he cried out in the darkness: ‘There is no god but You; glory be to You! Truly, I was of the wrong-doers.’ So We answered him and delivered him from distress, and thus do We deliver the believers.”
(Qur’an 21:87–88)

And in Sūrat al-Ṣaffāt:

“Indeed, Jonah was one of the messengers, when he fled to the laden ship. He cast lots and was of those defeated, and the fish swallowed him while he was blameworthy. Had he not been among those who glorify (God), he would surely have remained in its belly until the Day they are raised. Then We cast him upon the barren shore while he was ill, and We caused a gourd tree to grow over him. We sent him to a hundred thousand—or more—and they believed, so We granted them enjoyment for a while.”
(Qur’an 37:139–148)

And in Sūrat Nūn (al-Qalam):

“So be patient with the judgment of your Lord, and do not be like the Companion of the Fish, who called out while he was distressed. Had not a favor from his Lord overtaken him, he would have been cast upon the barren shore, reproached. But his Lord chose him and made him among the righteous.”
(Qur’an 68:48–50)

The scholars of Qur’anic exegesis state: God sent Jonah—peace be upon him—to the people of Nineveh in the land of Mosul. He called them to God, Mighty and Majestic, but they denied him and persisted in their disbelief and obstinacy. When their refusal dragged on, he departed from among them and warned them that the punishment would descend upon them after three days.

Ibn Masʿūd, Mujāhid, Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, Qatādah, and many others from the early and later generations said: After he had left and they were certain that the punishment was imminent, God cast into their hearts repentance and the will to turn back to Him. They regretted what they had done to their prophet. They donned sackcloth, separated every beast from its young, and then poured forth to God, Mighty and Majestic, crying out, beseeching, and clinging to Him. Men and women, boys and girls, mothers and children wept; the livestock, beasts, and herds raised their voices—the camels and their calves bellowed, the cattle and their young lowed, the sheep and their lambs bleated. It was a moment of immense, awe-inspiring dread.

So the All-Mighty, by His power, strength, tenderness, and mercy, removed from them the punishment that had already reached them and was circling over their heads like fragments of a pitch-black night. Hence His words: “Why was there never a single town that believed and its faith then benefited it—save the people of Jonah…” (Qur’an 10:98), meaning: Why has no community of bygone ages ever believed in its entirety? This shows that such a thing never occurred; rather, as He said