Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to us, saying: My father Muḥammad told me, from his father Saʿd—Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ—who said:

“I passed by ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān in the mosque and greeted him with salām. He fixed his eyes on me but did not return my greeting. So I went to ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and said, ‘Commander of the Believers, has something changed concerning the greeting of peace?’

He replied, ‘No. Why do you ask?’

I said, ‘Just now I passed by ʿUthmān in the mosque and offered him salām; he looked me up and down yet did not reply.’

ʿUmar thereupon sent for ʿUthmān and, when he arrived, asked, ‘What kept you from replying to your brother’s greeting?’

ʿUthmān said, ‘I did reply.’

Saʿd continued, ‘I said, “Indeed you did not,” and the matter led both of us to swear oaths. Then ʿUthmān recollected and said, “Yes, it is true. I seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent to Him. You passed by me a moment ago while I was turning over in my mind a statement I once heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Whenever it crosses my thoughts, a veil comes over my eyes and my heart.”’

Saʿd said, ‘Allow me to tell you what that statement is. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ once spoke to us about the very first supplication, but an outlying Bedouin arrived and distracted him until he rose to leave. I followed him, and fearing he might reach his house before I could ask, I stamped my foot on the ground. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ turned to me and said, “Who is that—Abū Isḥāq?” I answered, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.” He said, “What is it?” I replied, “By Allah, it is only that you mentioned to us the first supplication, then this Bedouin came and occupied you.”

He said, “Yes—the supplication of Dhū al-Nūn when he was in the belly of the fish: ‘There is no god but You; glory be to You! I was indeed among the wrongdoers.’ No Muslim ever calls upon his Lord with it concerning anything without receiving an answer.”’

This narration was also recorded by al-Tirmidhī and al-Nasāʾī through the chain of Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad ibn Saʿd. (1)

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The Virtue of Jonah—peace be upon him

Allah the Exalted says: ‘And indeed Jonah was among the messengers’ (37:139). He likewise names him among the noble prophets in Sūrat al-Nisāʾ and Sūrat al-Anʿām; upon all of them be the finest blessings and peace from Allah.

Imām Aḥmad recorded (2): Wakiʿ related to us; Sufyān narrated from al-Aʿmash, from Abū Wāʾil, from ʿAbd Allāh, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ declared, ‘No servant should say, “I am better than Jonah son of Mattā.”’

Al-Bukhārī likewise transmitted it from Sufyān al-Thawrī through this same chain. (3)