Prophet Yūsuf: Part 3 — Forgiveness, with Ayyūb and Yūnus
Section 27 of 28 · Lives of the Prophets
A Hundred Thousand or More
But now Yūnus had to finish his job. So Allah sent him back to his town: go back. So he went back to his people.
وَأَرْسَلْنَـٰهُ إِلَىٰ مِا۟ئَةِ أَلْفٍ أَوْ يَزِيدُونَ فَـَٔامَنُوا۟ فَمَتَّعْنَـٰهُمْ إِلَىٰ حِينٍ
“And We had sent him (as messenger) to one hundred thousand, or more. So, they believed, then, We let them enjoy for a time.” (37:147–148)
Allah (swt) says: We sent him to a hundred thousand people, or even more. What happened? They believed in him — all of them accepted Islam — so We gave them enjoyment for a while.
Allah (swt) says that the people of Yūnus are an exception, because before them the other nations of the prophets had been destroyed. But with the people of Yūnus (peace be upon him), Allah (swt) says:
فَلَوْلَا كَانَتْ قَرْيَةٌ ءَامَنَتْ فَنَفَعَهَآ إِيمَـٰنُهَآ إِلَّا قَوْمَ يُونُسَ لَمَّآ ءَامَنُوا۟ كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُمْ عَذَابَ ٱلْخِزْىِ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَمَتَّعْنَـٰهُمْ إِلَىٰ حِينٍ
“So, how is it that there never was a town, which could have believed and its belief would have been of benefit to it, except the people of Yūnus? When they came to believe, We removed from them the punishment of humiliation in the worldly life and let them enjoy themselves for some time.” (10:98)
Was there any town that believed after seeing the punishment, and its faith saved it from the punishment? The answer is none — except the people of Yūnus. When they believed, We removed from them the torment of disgrace in the life of this world, and gave them enjoyment for a while. It is said that when Yūnus left, the punishment was hovering over them; the punishment was about to strike. But because Yūnus had left prematurely, Allah (swt) held that punishment back, and then when Yūnus came back they responded, and Allah (swt) saved them from a punishment that was already hovering over their heads.