A Simplified Story
The story of Jonah (Yunus in Arabic) appears in the Quran in abbreviated form, particularly in Surah As-Saffat (37:139-148) and briefly mentioned in Surah Al-Anbiya (21:87-88). While the Quran captures the basic outline—prophet flees, gets swallowed by a fish, prays from inside, gets released—it misses the profound theological depth that makes the biblical account so significant.
More troubling, the Quranic version omits the ending entirely, missing God's compassion for Nineveh and the theological lessons about mercy, repentance, and God's concern for all peoples. These omissions reveal the Quran's dependence on oral traditions rather than direct knowledge of the biblical text.
The Quranic Account
The most complete Quranic telling appears in Surah 37:
"And indeed, Jonah was among the messengers. When he ran away to the laden ship. And he drew lots and was among the losers. Then the fish swallowed him, while he was blameworthy. And had he not been of those who exalt Allah, he would have remained in its belly until the Day they are resurrected. But We threw him onto the open shore while he was ill. And We caused to grow over him a gourd vine. And We sent him to [his people of] a hundred thousand or more. And they believed, so We gave them enjoyment [of life] for a time." — Quran 37:139-148
This version contains several problems when compared to the biblical account. It mentions him being cast on shore "while he was ill" (saqeem), adds the detail of the gourd vine, and claims he went to "a hundred thousand or more" people. But it misses the entire point of the story.
What the Quran Omits
The biblical Book of Jonah is four chapters long and packed with theological significance. The Quran's nine verses miss critical elements:
1. No mention of Nineveh by name: The Quran says "a hundred thousand or more" but doesn't identify the city. This was one of the great cities of the ancient world—the capital of Assyria. The omission suggests the author didn't know the specific details.
2. Missing the ending: The biblical account concludes with God teaching Jonah about compassion. When Jonah sulks because God spared Nineveh, God uses a withered plant to illustrate His concern for the 120,000 people "who cannot tell their right hand from their left" (Jonah 4:11). This entire dialogue—the climax of the book—is absent from the Quran.
3. No theological depth: The biblical Jonah explores profound themes: God's sovereignty over nature, His compassion for pagan nations, the universality of His grace, and the problem of nationalist religion. The Quranic version reduces this to: disobedient prophet gets swallowed, prays, gets released, people believe. End of story.
4. Missing Jonah's actual prayer: Jonah 2 contains Jonah's beautiful prayer from inside the fish, rich with poetic imagery and theological confession. The Quran merely says he was "of those who exalt Allah."
The Messianic Sign Ignored
Perhaps most significantly, the Quran completely misses why the Jonah story matters prophetically. Jesus explicitly identified Jonah's three days in the fish as a prophetic sign of His own death and resurrection:
"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." — Matthew 12:40
This is the only sign Jesus said would be given to that generation. The Jonah story prefigures Christ's burial and resurrection—the central event of Christianity. The Quran mentions Jonah multiple times but never connects it to this messianic prophecy, because Islam denies the crucifixion entirely.
Jesus also used Nineveh's repentance to condemn His own generation:
"The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here." — Matthew 12:41
Historical Problems
The Quranic telling also contains historical issues:
The number: The Quran says "a hundred thousand or more" (mi'at alfin aw yazeudoon). The biblical text says 120,000 who "cannot tell their right hand from their left" (children) plus many animals (Jonah 4:11), suggesting a larger total population. Medieval Islamic commentators tried to harmonize this, but it reveals the Quran's vague knowledge of the account.
Casting lots: The Quran mentions Jonah drawing lots (fasahama fakana min al-mudhadeen) and being "among the losers." The biblical version explains this was done to find who caused the storm—the sailors didn't know. The Quran's version is compressed and loses narrative clarity.
Tafsir Attempts at Explanation
Islamic commentators have tried to fill in the gaps the Quran leaves. Ibn Kathir's tafsir on Surah As-Saffat adds details from Israelite traditions (Isra'iliyyat) to complete the story—exactly what we'd expect if the Quran gave an incomplete account that needed supplementing.
Some commentators even reference biblical details not in the Quran to explain the narrative, inadvertently admitting the Quran's version is insufficient on its own.
Biblical Contrast: The Complete Story
The biblical Book of Jonah is a theological masterpiece that challenges nationalist religion and reveals God's universal compassion. Jonah, representing Israel, resists God's command to preach to Gentiles. When they repent, Jonah sulks—he wanted judgment, not mercy.
God's response is the point: "Should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left?" (Jonah 4:11)
This reveals a God who loves all peoples, who desires repentance over punishment, who pursues the rebellious, and who uses even a disobedient prophet to accomplish His purposes. The entire narrative arc teaches lessons the Quran's abbreviated version cannot convey.
What the Omissions Reveal
The truncated Quranic version of Jonah suggests the author heard simplified retellings rather than reading the biblical text directly. All the unique details that make Jonah theologically profound are missing. What remains is a bare-bones sketch: disobedient prophet, fish, prayer, release, successful preaching.
This pattern repeats throughout the Quran's treatment of biblical narratives—enough detail to show familiarity with the stories, but missing the depth, context, and theological significance that make the originals powerful. It's consistent with oral tradition, not direct textual knowledge.
Questions to Consider
- Why does the Quran omit the climax of Jonah's story—God's compassion for Nineveh?
- If the Quran is completing or correcting biblical stories, why does it provide less information, not more?
- How can the Quran claim to confirm previous scriptures when it misses the prophetic significance Jesus assigned to Jonah?
- Why do Islamic commentators need to reference biblical and Jewish sources to complete the Quranic narrative?
- What does it suggest when the "final revelation" contains an abbreviated, theologically shallow version of a biblical story?
Conclusion
The Quranic treatment of Jonah demonstrates the pattern we see throughout: familiarity with biblical stories but not with biblical texts. The profound theological lessons—God's universal compassion, His mercy over judgment, the messianic sign of resurrection—are all absent. What remains is a simplified morality tale that misses the point.
Christians reading the Book of Jonah encounter a complex, reluctant prophet, a compassionate God who pursues the wicked, and a prefiguration of Christ's death and resurrection. Muslims reading the Quranic verses get a brief account of disobedience and restoration. One is a theological feast; the other is a summary.
Related articles: Noah in the Quran, Joseph in Islam