ABSTRACT
V erily Jonah [Yoonus] was one of the apostles. [Remember] when he fled unto the laden ship, being angry with his people, because the punishment wherewith he had threatened them did not fa ll upon them ; wherefore he embarked in the ship ; and it became stationary in the midst of the sea: so the sailors said, Here is a slave who hath fled from his master, and the lot will discover him :— and he cast lots with those who were in the ship, and he was [the] one upon whom the lot fell. They therefore cast him into the sea, and the fish swallowed him ; and he was reprehensible, for having gone to the sea, and embarked in the ship, without the permission of his Lord. And had he not been of those who glorified God (by his saying often in the belly of the fish, There is no god but Thou ! I extol Thy perfection ! Verily I have been of the offenders!), he had remained in his belly until the day of resurrection.1 And We cast him on the plain land, the same day, or after three or seven days, or twenty or forty days; and he was sick; and We caused a gourd plant2 to grow up over him, to shade him. It had a trunk, contrary to what is the case of gourds in general, being miraculously produced for him? And a wild she-goat came
bears very large leaves and excellent fruit.
