Mosque of Prophet Yunus (upon him be peace)

This mosque houses a tomb believed to be that

of Yunus (upon him be peace). The mosque was

built by the Ayyubids in 1226 CE and is located

in a town called Halhul, north of Hebron. It is

built on Mount Nabi Yunus, the highest peak in

the West Bank, Palestine.

Yunus (upon him be peace) is mentioned by

name 4 times in the Quran.

Yunus (upon him be peace) is also addressed

by two other surnames “Dhun-Nun” (Lord of

the Fish) and “Sahibil-Hot” (Companion of the

Fish). The Quran says: “And (mention) Dhun-

Nun when he went off in anger and deemed

that We had no power over him but he cried

out in darkness, saying: There is no god save

Thee. Be Thou glorified! Lo! I have been an

evil-doer.” [11:87] “But wait thou for thy Lord’s

decree and be not like the Sahibil-Hut who

cried out in fear.” [68:48]

When Prophethood was conferred upon Yunus

(upon him be peace), he was commanded to

go Nineveh for preaching the truth. Nineveh

was situated on the right bank of the river

Tigris in ancient Assyria, across the river from

the modern-day major city of Mosul, Iraq.

When Yunus (upon him be peace) departed

from his people he stayed at Jaffa in Palestine

and boarded a ship to take him to Tirshish,

where Tunisia is located today. It was during

this journey that he was thrown overboard and

swallowed by the fish.

Ibn Abu Hatim has transmitted a hadith from

Rasulullah (peace and blessings of Allah be on

him): When Prophet Yunus (upon him be

peace) was in the belly of the fish it appeared

to him that he should say, “O Allah, there is no

God other than You. Glory be to You. Surely I

am of the wrongdoers.” [Quran 21:8]

This prayer is found beneath the Throne. The

angels said to Allah, “O Lord! A faint known

voice from a strange land (is detected).” He

asked them, “Do you not recognise it?” , “No, O

Lord. Who is he?” . He said, “My slave, Yunus.”

Yunus (upon him be peace) is also claimed to

be buried in Mosul, Iraq.

References: Atlas of the Quran – Dr. Shauqi Abu

Khalili, Islam101.com, Wikipedia

Note that this entry has been shown for

information purposes only. On no account should

anybody pray towards a grave or seek

supplication through them as this is tantamount

to committing shirk, associating partners with

Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).