As Easter draws near, you’re probably thinking the same thing as me, “What’s up with Jonah in the Quran?” What? You’re not thinking that?
Jesus did say in one of his earliest references to his coming passion, “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.” (Mt. 12.40) Jonah might be a good text for my Easter sermon!
Jonah shows up (as YÅ«nus) four times in the Quran: al-Qalam 68:48–50, al-AnbiyÄŹ¾ 21:87–88, aį¹£-į¹¢ÄffÄt 37:139–148, and the surah bearing his name, YÅ«nus 10:98.
The story is a little different, told in a slightly different order. It feels like the end of a short, but fairly accurate, telephone game. I assume Muslims think God gave Muhammad the corrected version of the story when Gabriel told it to him.
It makes me wonder though, where did Muhammad get his information on the Bible? Scholars say Muhammad likely had access to an Arabic translation of the Syriac Peshitta. “The Syriac Peshitta is an ancient translation of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament into the Syriac language, a dialect of Aramaic. It was a widely used version of the Bible in the Middle East.”
While the order of the story and some fairly significant points vary from the Bible to the Quran, both the earlier and the later version say similar things about God’s graciousness and his desire to forgive sin.
Jonah’s prayer in the Quran version also varies from the Bible’s, but you can’t really argue with his sentiment: “There is no God but You. Glory be to You. I was wrong.”
Want some good news? The compassion and forgiveness that both Jonah and the Ninevites received and that was secured by the Son of Man is available to you, me, our families, our people and Muslims all over the place.