A Voice the Angels Knew

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said that the angels see the ḥalaq al-dhikr, the gatherings for the remembrance of Allah, like the stars you see in the sky. We use the stars to navigate; the angels use these stars on earth to know where Allah is being remembered. Whenever a group of Muslims come together — and we hope to be among them — it appears to the creation of the heavens like a star, and they see it and come to it, so that they can witness the circles of the remembrance of Allah and make duʿāʾ for those in them. So we ask Allah (swt) to surround us with His angels, to accept their duʿāʾ, and to make us among those who are forgiven.

So even though this was in the depths of the ocean, in the middle of the stomach of the whale, in the darkness of the night, the weak voice of Yūnus was heard by the angels in the highest heavens. These angels went to Allah (swt) and said: O Allah, is this not the voice of Your righteous servant, so-and-so — the one whose righteous deeds never stop rising to You by night and by day? They were saying: we used to see his good deeds going up into the sky by night and by day.

So this voice was familiar to them; they knew who he was. Why? Because they used to see pillars of light going up into the sky from the good deeds he did every day and every night. They knew who he was; this voice was familiar to them; they knew him — because good deeds are like pillars of light that travel up through the sky, reach Allah (swt), and pass by the angels. They said: O Allah, will You not have mercy on him? Allah (swt) said: yes. And then Allah (swt) tells us in the Qur'an the reason why.

Allah (swt) says: had it not been that he was one of those who glorified Us, he would indeed have remained inside its belly until the Day of Resurrection. Because he remembered Allah (swt) in moments of ease, Allah (swt) took care of him in moments of difficulty.