They persisted in urging him, so he left them in anger—angry with the prophet, the king, and his people—and came to the Mediterranean Sea, where he boarded a vessel. (1)

Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, and a group of others said: He departed from his people angry with his Lord because He had lifted the punishment from them after he had warned them of it. He disliked remaining among a people who had seen what appeared to be a failure of the warning he had given them, and he felt ashamed before them. He did not know the reason for which the punishment had been lifted. His anger arose from a sense of honor at the apparent failure of his warning, and from the prospect of being called a liar—not from any dislike of Allah’s decree, exalted is He. (2)

Some reports state that it was the custom of his people to kill anyone whom they had found to be untruthful. He therefore feared that they would kill him when the punishment did not come upon them at the appointed time, and so he became angry. Here, the form mughādabah is like other reciprocal forms that may be used of one person alone, such as setting out on a journey or administering punishment. Thus, the meaning of “he went off in anger” is simply: he went off angry.

Al-Hasan said: He was angry with his Lord only because He commanded him to go to his people, warn them of His punishment, and call them to Him. He asked his Lord to grant him time to prepare himself for departure to them, but he was told, “The matter is more urgent than that.” He continued asking for a delay, even if only long enough to take a pair of sandals to wear, but he was not granted time. (3) His temperament was constricted, so he departed in anger. (4)

Ibn Abbas related: Gabriel came to Jonah and said, “Go to the people of Nineveh and warn them.” He said, “Let me find a mount.” Gabriel replied, “The matter is more urgent than that.” So he became angry and went to the ship.

Wahb ibn Munabbih said: Jonah son of Matta was a righteous servant, but his temperament was constricted. When the burdens of prophethood were laid upon him, he broke down beneath them like a young camel beneath a heavy load. He cast them from his hand and fled from them. For this reason, Allah excluded him from the Messengers of firm resolve, and said to His Prophet [Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him], “So be patient, as those Messengers of firm resolve were patient” (al-Ahqaf: 35), and He said, “And do not be like the Companion of the Fish” (7) (al-Qalam: 48).