Prophet Jonas عليه السلام was a Hebrew Israelite not Native to Nineveh

 

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

والصلاة والسلام على من لا نبي بعدى

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Prayers of blessings and peace upon the one after whom there is no prophet

One of the widespread misconceptions among the Muslims is that prior to the Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم a Prophet was only sent to the same nation or people that he personally belonged to or originated from. This presents a difficulty with regard to the Prophet Jonas عليه السلام who despite being a Hebrew according to the Book of Jonah (ch.1, v.9) was sent to Prophesy to the people of Nineveh who were Assyrians and not Israelites like Jonas. Some Muslims may deny that Prophet Jonas عليه السلام was an Israelite or a Hebrew and claim that he was actually a native of Nineveh. They argue that Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:

ثُمَّ بَعَثۡنَا مِنۡۢ بَعۡدِہٖ رُسُلًا اِلٰی قَوۡمِہِمۡ

Then We sent, after him (Noah), Messengers to their respective peoples

(Surah 10, Ayah 74)

وَلَقَدۡ اَرۡسَلۡنَا مِنۡ قَبۡلِکَ رُسُلًا اِلٰی قَوۡمِہِمۡ

And We did send before you (O My beloved Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم) Messengers to their respective peoples

(Surah 30, Ayah 47)

وَمَاۤ اَرۡسَلۡنَا مِنۡ رَّسُوۡلٍ اِلَّا بِلِسَانِ قَوۡمِہٖ لِیُبَیِّنَ لَہُمۡ

And We did not send any Messenger except with the language of his people that he might make clear to them

(Surah 14, Ayah 4)

The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

وَكَانَ النَّبِيُّ يُبْعَثُ إِلَى قَوْمِهِ خَاصَّةً، وَبُعِثْتُ إِلَى النَّاسِ ‌كَافَّةً

"The Prophet would be sent to his particular people but I have been sent to all mankind” (Sahih al-Bukhari)

The brief answer to this problem is that the people to whom a Prophet is sent become associated with him and are called the people of that Prophet, regardless of whether the Prophet is originally from them. So although Prophet Jonas عليه السلام was an Israelite Hebrew, the people of Nineveh became his qawm (people) and he had the ability to communicate the Message to them in their native language (Aramaic).

It is narrated that after the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم returned from Ta’if, having gone there to convey the Message of Allah but having suffered greatly at their hands and being wounded by them, he sought shelter at the shade of a wall of an orchard belonging to the brothers Utbah and Shaybah, sons of Rabi’ah. As they were from the same Quraish clan as the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم they felt pity for his condition and ordered a Christian slave of theirs named Addas to serve the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم with a plate of grapes. Before eating the grapes the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said باسم الله meaning “In the Name of Allah” which surprised Addas, who observed that the people of this land (Arabia) do not use such words. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم then asked him where he was from and what religion he belonged to, to which Addas replied that he was a Christian from Nineveh. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم then said:

مِنْ قَرْيَةِ الرَّجُلِ الصَّالِحِ يُونُسَ بْنِ مَتَّى

"From the town of the righteous man Jonas son of Amittai”

Addas was again surprised and asked how the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم knew about Jonas son of Amittai, to which the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم answered:

ذَاكَ أَخِي كَانَ نَبِيًّا وَأَنَا نَبِيٌّ

"That is my brother, he was a Prophet and I am (also) a Prophet”

Addas رضى الله عنه then immediately kissed the blessed head, hands and feet of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم

Observing all of this, the brothers Utbah and Shaybah rebuked Addas رضى الله عنه and asked him why he kissed the Prophet Muhammad’s head, hands and feet, to which Addas رضى الله عنه replied:

يَا سَيِّدِي، مَا فِي الْأَرْضِ شَيْءٌ خَيْرٌ مِنْ هَذَا، لَقَدْ أَخْبَرَنِي بِأَمْرِ مَا يَعْلَمُهُ إلَّا نَبِيٌّ

"O my master! There is none on the Earth better than him. He informed me of a matter that none could know except a Prophet” (Sirat Ibn Hisham; v.2, p.69)

While this affirms that Nineveh was the town of Prophet Jonas عليه السلام it simply means that Nineveh became associated with him because he was sent to it to Prophesy and convey the Message of God to it, although he was a Hebrew Israelite and not a native of Nineveh or an Assyrian. This is confirmed by the fact that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in this and other Hadith mentioned the name of Jonas’s father Amittai which is a Hebrew word that means “truth” (Strong’s Concordance, H573).