The Prophet Yunus (Jonah)

No matter how desperate and difficult a situation, a person must always trust in Allah and ask Him for help. As we mentioned in the previous section, Musa, peace be upon him, never despaired when he was caught between the armies of Pharaoh and the Red Sea, but he put his trust in Allah. Yunus, peace be upon him, also exemplifies such good character.

Although he was commissioned by Allah to warn them, Yunus, peace be upon him, left his people without warning them. Upon this, Allah put him to the test in several ways: first, he was thrown into the sea from the ship on which he sailed. Then a giant fish swallowed him. This made him feel deep regret for his behaviour; he turned in repentance to Allah, took refuge with Him and prayed to Him. This is related in the Qur'an as follows:

And [mention] the man of he fish [i.e., Yunus], when he left in anger and thought We would not punish him. He called out in the pitch darkness: "There is no god but You! Glory be to You! Truly I have been one of the wrongdoers."

We responded to him and rescued him from his grief. That is how We rescue the believers. (Surat al-Anbiya: 87-88)

Yunus was first thrown from a ship into the sea. Then, a giant fish swallowed him. Allah rescued Yunus, peace be upon him, from that desperate situation.

In the Qur'an, Allah relates what would have happened to him if he had not trusted in Allah and prayed to Him:

Had it not been that he was a man who glorified Allah,

He would have remained inside its belly until the Day they are raised again.

So We cast him up onto the beach and he was sick;

And We caused a gourd tree to grow over him.

We sent him to a hundred thousand or even more. (Surat as-Saffat: 143-147)

Allah rescued Yunus from a truly desperate situation. This is an obvious sign that one must never despair of Allah's help. The experiences of Yunus, peace be upon him, are a lesson for all believers: We must never slacken, no matter what hardship we face, and we must always pray to Allah and ask for help from Him.

The Prophet Yusuf (Joseph)

In the Qur'an, we find a detailed account of the experiences of Yusuf, peace be upon him. Here, we will describe them shortly and see the exemplary character of Yusuf.

Yusuf was one of the sons of Ya'qub, peace be upon them both. When he was very young, his brothers threw him into a well because they were jealous of him, and they told their father that a wolf had eaten him. Travellers in a caravan found him in the well and sold him at the palace of a nobleman in Egypt. There, he was later slandered and sent to prison, where he remained for years.

Travellers in a caravan found Yusuf in a well and sold him at the palace of a nobleman in Egypt.

He was ultimately found innocent and released. Being a very wise and reliable person and because he was completely exonerated, the ruler of Egypt placed the treasuries and storehouses under his authority. Ultimately, Yusuf forgave his brothers who had exposed him to cruelty and brought them and their father and mother to live with him.

Yusuf, peace be upon him, had an exemplary character. Allah put him to the test in various ways, rescued him from a well from which it was impossible to escape, rescued him from an evil situation by sending him to prison and then rescued him from the prison and restored his good name, finally granting him high rank. In every situation, Yusuf, peace be upon him, turned towards Allah and prayed to Him. Despite his innocence he remained in prison for several years, yet he never forgot that this was a trial from Allah. In prison, he always spoke of Allah's might and grandeur to the people around him. His loyalty and trust in Allah under such harsh conditions shows us his excellent character.

The Prophet Ayyub (Job)

Being steadfast in the face of what happens to one is a very important attribute peculiar to Muslims. Ayyub, peace be upon him, was tried by the loss of his family and his wealth, and a serious disease that caused him great suffering. Ayyub only asked help from Allah and put his trust in Him. Allah answered his prayer and taught him how to become well. The exemplary character of Ayyub, peace be upon him, and his prayer are related in the Qur'an as follows:

Remember Our slave Ayyub when he called on his Lord: "Satan has afflicted me with exhaustion and suffering."

[So he was told] "Stamp your foot! Here is a cool bath and water to drink."

…We found him steadfast. What an excellent slave! He truly turned to his Lord. (Surah Sad: 41-44)

No sooner do some of us encounter disease, hardship or trouble, than we immediately despair. Some people even become rebellious towards Allah. However, these attitudes displease Allah. As the example of Ayyub shows, Allah may send various troubles to His slaves, but such afflictions mature the believer and test his devotion to Allah.

In the face of all afflictions we encounter we must pray to Allah and trust Him. We must be patient like Ayyub, peace be upon him, and turn to Allah. Only then, will Allah ease our troubles and reward us both in this world and in the hereafter.

The Prophet 'Isa (Jesus)

Allah created 'Isa, peace be upon him, in a special way. As in the example of Adam, Allah created him without a father. This is related in the Qur'an as follows:

The likeness of 'Isa in Allah's sight is the same as Adam. He created him from earth and then He said to him, "Be!" and he was. (Surah Al 'Imran: 59)

In the Qur'an, 'Isa, peace be upon him, is referred to as the "Son of Maryam." Maryam (Mary) was a noble woman who is shown by Allah to all women as an example. She was a very chaste woman and a devoted believer in Allah. Allah gave her 'Isa through the angel Jibril, miraculously without a father, and the glad tidings that her son would become a prophet.

Allah made 'Isa a prophet and revealed to him the Injil, one of the revealed books Allah sent to mankind. (After the disappearance of 'Isa, the Injil was also altered by people. Today, we do not have the original Injil, and the books the Christians call the Gospels are not really reliable.) Allah ordered 'Isa to summon people to the true path and granted him many miracles. He spoke when he was in the cradle and told people about Allah. 'Isa also gave the glad tidings of Muhammad (Ahmad), may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the Messenger of Allah to succeed him, which is related in the Qur'an as follows:

And when 'Isa son of Maryam said, "Tribe of Israel, I am the Messenger of Allah to you, confirming the Torah which came before me and giving you the good news of a Messenger after me whose name is Ahmad." When he brought them the Clear Signs, they said, "This is downright magic." (Surat as-Saff: 6)

In his time, there were very few people who believed in 'Isa or helped him. The enemies of 'Isa devised plots to kill him. They thought that they had captured and crucified him. But, in the Qur'an, Allah relates to us that they did not kill him:

…and their saying, "We killed the Messiah, 'Isa son of Maryam, Messenger of Allah." They did not kill him and they did not crucify him but it was made to seem so to them. Those who argue about him are in doubt about it. They have no real knowledge of it, just conjecture. But they certainly did not kill him. (Surat an-Nisa: 157)

After the disappearance of 'Isa, peace be upon him, his enemies tried to change the revelation he had brought. They started to portray 'Isa and Maryam as supernatural beings, and even as "gods." Still today, there are those who hold these false beliefs. In the words of 'Isa, Allah informs us in the Qur'an that these are wrong beliefs:

And when Allah says, " 'Isa son of Maryam! Did you say to people, 'Take me and my mother as gods besides Allah?'" he will say, "Glory be to You! It is not for me to say what I have no right to say! If I had said it, then You would have known it. You know what is in my self but I do not know what is in Your Self. You are the Knower of all unseen things. I said to them nothing but what You ordered me to say: 'Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.' I was a witness against them as long as I remained among them, but when You took me back to You, You were the One watching over them. You are Witness of all things." (Surat al-Ma'ida: 116-117)

After his disappearance, the number of people who believed in him increased considerably, but today they are on the wrong path because they follow the Bible, which has been altered through additions and deletions. The only right path remaining today is the path that the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, summoned us to, which is communicated in the Qur'an, because it is the only unaltered revelation of Allah.

The Messenger of Allah: Muhammad

We know a lot more about the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, since he is the last prophet and lived only 1,400 years ago. People altered and distorted all the religions Allah revealed before him. That is why the last Book for which people will be held responsible until the Day of Judgment was sent to our Prophet: to set right all the errors that had been incorporated in the old religions. Allah communicated what He demands from His slaves through the Qur'an.

Our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, also encountered many difficulties while communicating the message of Allah to his people. Many groundless accusations were made against him, despite the fact that he asked for no wages from people and had no worldly interests.

He was forced to migrate from Makkah, the city in which he was born. The first Muslims who followed him were also persecuted, some of them were even tortured and subjected to cruel treatment. But Allah did not allow the disbelievers to do harm to the religion of Islam, which has remained unaltered to this day. In compliance with Allah's promise, every word of the Qur'an has survived completely intact.

The call of the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, also addresses all people alive today. Allah commanded all people to obey the messengers and, in many verses, stressed that obeying His messengers is actually obeying Him. For this reason, obeying our Prophet is one of the most important and essential principles of Islam. Heartfelt submission to the commands of our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is surely a manifestation of one's obedience to Allah.

In the Qur'an, Allah introduces us to the superior attributes of our Prophet, which set an example to all people. Some of these verses are as follows:

A Messenger has come to you from among yourselves. Your suffering is distressing to him; he is deeply concerned for you; he is gentle and merciful to the believers. (Surat at-Tawba: 128)

Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but the Messenger of Allah and the Final Seal of the Prophets. Allah has knowledge of all things. (Surat al-Ahzab: 40)

Allah showed great kindness to the believers when He sent a Messenger to them from among themselves to recite His Signs to them and purify them and teach them the Book and Wisdom, even though before that they were clearly misguided. (Surah Al 'Imran: 164)

With the verses starting with the word, "Say…," Allah commands the Prophet Muhammad how to communicate His message. Through these verses and all the others, our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, communicated Allah's message to people. His wife, A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her said, "His character was the Qur'an." She meant that he completely embodied the Qur'an, and we know that his Sunnah is the practical manifestation of how to obey the Qur'an. In one verse, Allah states that those slaves who fear Allah and want to be forgiven must obey the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

Say, "If you love Allah, then follow me and Allah will love you and forgive you for your wrong actions. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Surah Al 'Imran: 31)

As mentioned in the verse above, if we want Allah to love us, we need to comply with that to which our Prophet calls us and meticulously practise it.