وَبِاللَّيْلِ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ ﴿۱۳۸﴾ وَإِنَّ يُونُسَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ ﴿۱۳۹﴾ إِذْ أَبَقَ إِلَى الْفُلْكِ الْمَشْحُونِ ﴿۱۴۰﴾ فَسَاهَمَ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُدْحَضِينَ ﴿۱۴۱﴾ فَالْتَقَمَهُ الْحُوتُ وَهُوَ مُلِيمٌ ﴿۱۴۲﴾ فَلَوْلَا أَنَّهُ كَانَ مِنَ الْمُسَبِّحِينَ ﴿۱۴۳﴾ لَلَبِثَ فِي بَطْنِهِ إِلَى يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ ﴿۱۴۴﴾ فَنَبَذْنَاهُ بِالْعَرَاءِ وَهُوَ سَقِيمٌ ﴿۱۴۵﴾ وَأَنْبَتْنَا عَلَيْهِ شَجَرَةً مِنْ يَقْطِينٍ ﴿۱۴۶﴾ وَأَرْسَلْنَاهُ إِلَى مِائَةِ أَلْفٍ أَوْ يَزِيدُونَ ﴿۱۴۷﴾ فَآمَنُوا فَمَتَّعْنَاهُمْ إِلَى حِينٍ ﴿۱۴۸﴾

﴾138﴿ Wa billail; afalaa ta'qiloon
﴾139﴿ Wa inna Yoonusa laminal mursaleen
﴾140﴿ Iz abaqa ilal fulkil mash hoon
﴾141﴿ Fasaahama fakaana minal mudhadeen
﴾142﴿ Faltaqamahul hootu wa huwa muleem
﴾143﴿ Falaw laaa annahoo kaana minal musabbiheen
﴾144﴿ Lalabisa fee batniheee ilaa Yawmi yub'asoon
﴾145﴿ Fanabaznaahu bil'araaa'i wa huwa saqeem
﴾146﴿ Wa ambatnaa 'alaihi shajaratam mai yaqteen
﴾147﴿ Wa arsalnaahu ilaa mi'ati alfin aw yazeedoon
﴾148﴿ Fa aamanoo famatta' naahum ilaa heen

﴾138﴿ And at night, do you not use reason
﴾139﴿ And indeed, Yunus (peace be upon him) was certainly among the messengers
﴾140﴿ When he went (without permission) to the fully loaded ship
﴾141﴿ Then he cast lots and was among the blamed
﴾142﴿ Then the fish swallowed him, and he was among those who blamed themselves
﴾143﴿ Then, had he not been among those who glorify (Allah)
﴾144﴿ He would have certainly remained in the belly of the fish until the Day of Resurrection
﴾145﴿ Then We cast him onto a barren land while he was sick
﴾146﴿ And We caused a tree of gourd to grow over him
﴾147﴿ And We sent him to a hundred thousand people or more
﴾148﴿ So they believed, and We granted them enjoyment for a while

[from 139 to 148] This is the sixth story – in it, the detailed condition of Yunus (peace be upon him) is mentioned, expressing his servitude in five ways: he was a messenger, he departed without permission, he was blamed through casting of lots, he was swallowed by a fish, and he glorified Allah. His dependence on Allah is mentioned in four ways: being brought out from the belly of the fish, a tree being grown over him, being sent again with a message, and being granted provisions. All of these are proofs that Yunus (peace be upon him) could not be associated with Allah and could not become an intercessor by compulsion.
(أَبَقَ) – Leaving without the permission of the master is called abaq. He too, when he despaired of his people believing and the time of punishment was near, made the judgment that prophets usually leave their towns at the time of punishment. For that reason, he left the town and did not wait for the specific command of Allah the Exalted. He boarded a ship that was heavily loaded. When the ship reached the middle of the sea, due to its heavy weight, it was about to sink.
So the people of the ship decided that they must reduce one passenger to lighten the load. No one was willing to volunteer to be thrown into the sea, so they agreed to draw lots. Whoever’s name came up would be thrown into the sea by compulsion. The lot fell upon Yunus (peace be upon him). This is what is referred to in the verse: "fa sāham fa kāna mina’l-mudhḥaḍīn" (he drew lots and was among the losers).
(الْمُسَبِّحِينَ) – The intended meaning is that he was among those who remembered Allah frequently before this incident. Thus, it fulfills the saying: “Remember Allah in ease, and He will remember you in hardship.” Or, it means he recited “Lā ilāha illā anta subḥānaka” in the belly of the fish. This encourages abundant remembrance of Allah in every condition, as it becomes a means of warding off afflictions.
(سَقِيمٌ) – Refers to one whose body is weak or sick, like a newborn child whose body is still undeveloped.
(وَأَرْسَلْنَاهُ إِلَى مِائَةِ أَلْفٍ) – This implies he was sent again to his people, although he was already a messenger before. The narration that some commentators have reported saying he became a messenger only after emerging from the fish is weak, as it includes Shihab ibn Khushab, who is considered unreliable and weak.
(فَآمَنُوا) – The meaning is that when Yunus (peace be upon him) returned, they brought detailed faith, whereas before they had only brought general belief.