Sūrat Yūnus
Section 12 of 17 · Surah Studies · Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
The One of the Fish
The name of Yūnus (peace be upon him) occurs explicitly, as Yūnus, four times in the whole Qur'an. Twice, however, he is referred to as Dhū al-Nūn:
وَذَا ٱلنُّونِ إِذ ذَّهَبَ مُغَـٰضِبًا فَظَنَّ أَن لَّن نَّقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ فَنَادَىٰ فِى ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ أَن لَّآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنتَ سُبْحَـٰنَكَ إِنِّى كُنتُ مِنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
“And (remember) Dhunnūn (the man of the fish, namely Yūnus X), when he walked away in anger and thought that We would never put him to trouble. Then, he called (Us) in depths of darkness saying, “There is no god but You. Pure are You. Indeed I was among the wrongdoers”.” (21:87)
The one with the fish — for he is the one who was taken up by the whale, a story familiar to most. Twice, then, he is referred to as the one with the fish, or the one of the fish, however it is best rendered.