moment of death and, of course, if is not sincere, such repentance will not
save a person. This may have been the case with Pharaoh. But only Allah
knows. As this story reveals, we must live to please Allah throughout our
lives and avoid falling into Pharaoh's error. If we fail in that, feeling sorry
at the moment of death may be of no avail.
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
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