The Supplication of Yunus (a.s.)

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

The following is adapted from a swuhbah by Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani (q.s.). 

Allah (s.w.t.) with His Karam, Generosity, Put us is the ummah of the Prophet (s.a.w.).  It is Ummat al-Marhumah, the ummah Blessed with Allah’s Mercy (s.w.t.) and Ummat al-Maghfurah, an ummah that Allah (s.w.t.) has Forgiven.  In order that Allah (s.w.t.) Forgives us from our sins, He Mentioned to us through His Beloved Prophet (s.a.w.) to read from the Qur’an. 

They compile statistics for publishing houses.  They compile the statistics to see how many people have read different books and which of them has the highest readership.  The ones with highest percentage of readership become best sellers.  There is not a single book in the whole world that if we were to read it, we would be given money.  There is only one book, that if we read it, we get wealth in dunya and akhirah.  And not only that, Allah (s.w.t.) will be Pleased with us because you reading His Divine Words.  They are the Qur’an and ahadits of the Prophet (s.a.w.).   Is there any other book that can do that other than Qur’an and ahadits of the Prophet (s.a.w.)?  Why then is the Qur’an left on shelves?  If one does not know Arabic, he can at least look at the pages.  One has only to open the page, put his finger at the first ayah and keep moving along the lines.  If we do not know how to read, we must try to learn.  Allah (s.w.t.) will Reward us from His Greatness that has no beginning and no end. 

سُوۡرَةُ یُونس

يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلنَّاسُ قَدۡ جَآءَتۡكُم مَّوۡعِظَةٌ۬ مِّن رَّبِّڪُمۡ وَشِفَآءٌ۬ لِّمَا فِى ٱلصُّدُورِ وَهُدً۬ى وَرَحۡمَةٌ۬ لِّلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ (٥٧) 

O mankind!  There has come to you an Admonition from your Lord and a Healing for the (diseases) in your hearts and for those who believe, a Guidance and a Mercy. (Surah Yunus:57) 

In every letter of the Qur’an, there are Allah’s (s.w.t.) Rewards; not only on every word, but on every letter that we recite.  Every letter is Divine and has Rewards.  For reading even one letter, Allah (s.w.t.) will Reward us as He Says: 

سُوۡرَةُ بنیٓ اسرآئیل / الإسرَاء

وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ ٱلۡقُرۡءَانِ مَا هُوَ شِفَآءٌ۬ وَرَحۡمَةٌ۬ لِّلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ‌ۙ ... (٨٢) 

We Send down (stage by stage) in the Qur’an that which is a Healing and a Mercy to those who believe ... (Surah al-Isra’:82) 

Allah (s.w.t.) Sent Yunus (a.s.) to 100,000 people to call them to Him. He called and called but they did not listen to him and so he ran away, seeking solitude in Allah (s.w.t.).  What happened to him?  Allah (s.w.t.) Taught him a lesson and Ordered the fish to swallow him.  What did Yunus (a.s.) do?  In Jami’ah at-Tirmidzi and Swahih al-Hakim, Sayyidina Sa’d ibn Abu Waqqasw (r.a.) said that Yunus (a.s.) used to make a du’a in the belly of the creature: 

سُوۡرَةُ الاٴنبیَاء

وَذَا ٱلنُّونِ إِذ ذَّهَبَ مُغَـٰضِبً۬ا فَظَنَّ أَن لَّن نَّقۡدِرَ عَلَيۡهِ فَنَادَىٰ فِى ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ أَن لَّآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنتَ سُبۡحَـٰنَكَ إِنِّى ڪُنتُ مِنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ (٨٧) 

And remember Dzu an-Nun, when he departed in wrath: he imagined that We had no Power over him!  But he cried through the depths of darkness, “There is no god but You: Glory to You: I was indeed wrong!” (Surah al-Anbiya’:87) 

Yunus (a.s.) was an oppressor to himself because he ran away and did not continue in his efforts to deliver the Message.  So, what did the Prophet (s.a.w.) say?  He said, “In anything that you ask, in illness or need, or anything at all, if you recite that verse, Allah will Respond to you and Answer you.”  But Yunus (a.s.) did not say it only once.  He said it continuously on his breathing in and breathing out, until Allah’s (s.w.t.) Test was done and the fish threw him out.  Is there any book other than Qur’an that if we recite or read from, the Prophet (s.a.w.) will say if we ask Allah (s.w.t.) through it, like that, we get Acceptance or Reward?  The Qur’an is the Book where we are Rewarded for reading every time and in each reading, Rewarded in a different manner.  For example, if we read Surah al-Baqarah from beginning to end, we will be Reward, and if we read it the next day, the Reward will not be the same as the first reading.  Each time we read the same surah, there is different Reward and a different tajalli upon us. 

That is why some swahabah used to read the whole Qur’an in one day, including the night.  It takes twenty minutes to read one juz, so thirty juz can be finished in six-hundred minutes, which is ten hours.  There are some people who do not stop; they read continuously.  Those who have memorised and recite Qur’an, have principles in reciting the Qur’an and every day they have to recite five ajza’ to keep refreshing their memory. 

The Prophet (s.a.w.) asked the swahabah, “Do you want me to teach you the Greatest Name of Allah?  It is the du’a of Yunus.” 

One man asked, “Is that private to Yunus?” 

And the Prophet (s.a.w.) said, “Did you not hear Allah’s Word?” 

سُوۡرَةُ الاٴنبیَاء

فَٱسۡتَجَبۡنَا لَهُ ۥ وَنَجَّيۡنَـٰهُ مِنَ ٱلۡغَمِّ‌ۚ وَكَذَٲلِكَ نُـۨجِى ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ (٨٨) 

So, We Listened to him: and Delivered him from distress: and thus, do We Deliver those who have faith. (Surah al-Anbiya’:88) 

So, if we read the Qur’an it will save us, and any mu’min who recites this verse during his illness from which he dies, if he recited it forty times then he will die as a shahid.  People were running to die as shahid, martyrs, in the time of the Prophet (s.a.w.).  And then Allah (s.w.t.) Gave us this for our benefit.  The Prophet (s.a.w.) said, “Whosoever recites this verse forty times and dies on his bed, he will be given the reward of a shahid!  And if he did not die, he will be Cured and he will be Forgiven.”