God sent Jonah to the people of Nineveh in Iraq. He called them to God's message but they refused to listen to him. He was calling them night and day to no avail. Instead they harmed him and cursed him at every turn. This lasted for a long time. Jonah was unable to bear this situation any longer. He began to threaten them: "I am going to ask my Lord to send you a severe punishment which has never been seen before; to destroy your cities and burn your gardens; to make you barren and end your line." He then left them.
Slowly, his people began to feel the approach of punishment in their daily life. They began to realize that they had made a big mistake.
God is the Most Merciful; for at every moment in this world he will show His greatness and cause people to observe Him through many signs. He will do this by sending angels in order to direct the sincere, and, indeed, anyone who asks for guidance, to the light of happiness in life. God sent the people of Jonah the angels of Mercy and the angels of Safety in order to inspire their hearts to do good, and guide them to safety through the destruction that was descending on their heads.
Abraham was protected from Nimrod's fire by the intervention of the angel of snow and the angel of peace. In the immense heat of this great fire where he had been thrown, surroun ded by great destruction from above, from below, and from every side, Abraham was saved and protected. This was a message from God to tell His people: "I can save whomever I wish from any harm, whenever I like, no matter how bad their situation is."
Jonah was angrily moving away from his people. They regretted what they had done to their prophet. Men, women, children, old people, and even the animals, both tame and wild, were h eard and seen crying out, each in his own particular language. It was a tremendous event, and everyone asked for mercy and for the angels' intercession.
God Most Merciful, Most Powerful, and Most Beneficent took away the destruction and saved them through his angels from this great havoc. Meantime, Jonah boarded a ship and took to sea. A big storm broke, and the ship was being torn apart and about to sink. The crew decided to draw lots and throw out one passenger as an expiation for the sin which was bringing death upon their heads. When they drew Jonah's lot, they loathed to throw him because he was the prophet, so they drew lots again. Every time, however, his lot keppt coming out. In the end Jonah threw himself over board, and a great green whale came from the bottom of the ocean and swallowed him.
An angel appeared before the whale and instructed her not to crush Jonah but to keep him safe in her stomach. At that moment Jonah spoke to the angel and asked for his advice, saying: "Give me the glad tidings from your Lord. How did God teach you the knowledge of the Unseen?" "Because I don't commit sin," said the angel. Jonah said: "Advise me." The angel replied: "Be patient and not full of anger, for you are full of anger against your nation right now. Be a person who gives benefit, not harm -- for you were praying your Lord to destroy your people for harming you. Don't be happy with your pride and arrogance. Don't humiliate your nation with their sins, because you also have mistakes."
Inside the stomach of the green whale, Jonah went into prostration and said: "O God, I prostrated for you in a place where no-one before has prostrated. O God, you have drowned me in the oceans of hope, and caused me to forget the day of my death. O Lord, you are the possessor of my heart and of my secret. I am the drowned one, so catch me by the hand and save me. Relieve me with Your perfection and inspire me with Your love! Let the angels of mercy reach down to me and pull me, O You who accept the prayers of the needy in the darkness of punishment. O the unveiler and remover of difficulties and harm, here I am coming to You and adoring You. Do not keep me from Your presence. Forgive me."
God ordered the angel to move the whale through the farthest oceans of the world and take her to the saltiest, or most concentrated and deepest depths of the seas. There Jonah began to hear the praising of all whales, all fish, all corals and all creatures of the depths. Nothing remained except they praised God and lauded Him, and Jonah was praising Him also.
[God created a saint whom he endowed with such great powers of praising and remembering that he did not need to eat or sleep. Instead, he spent all his time praying to God, chanting his praise, and making intercession for other human beings. God placed him in a room at the bottom of the ocean. There he perpetuated God's praise unhindered for hundred of years. When that saint died the angels brought him before God Who asked him: "O my beloved servant, shall I reward you according to your deeds or according to My forgiveness?" He replied: "O my Lord, according to my deeds, since you have granted that they consist solely in Your praise." The angels placed the saint's deeds on one side of the scale and on the other side they placed God's generosity to that saint. God's generosity weighed heavier, and the saint fell prostrate and speechless, begging for God's forgiveness.]
The angel inspired Jonah to say: "O God, Most Exalted, no-one can thank You nor worship You as You deserve to be thanked and worshipped. You know the secrets and the deepest knowledge, You unveil everything hidden from Your servants, You know every slight matter in this world and the next, and accept the prayer from every creation, forgive me and accept me in Your presence as Your humble servant."
God revealed to Jonah the following:
"And mention the Lord of the Whale Dhul-Nun, when he went off in anger and
deemed that We had no power over him, but he cried out in the darkness,
saying: There is no God save Thee. Be Thou glorified! Lo! I have been a
wrongdoer. Then We heard his prayer and saved him from the anguish.
Thus We save believers" (21:87-88).
Then God ordered the whale to throw Jonah out onto the sea-shore, and ordered the angel to tell Jonah: "This is God's mercy. He can send it on anyone He likes, even in the midst of the greatest destruction and the surest death, far from any help." Thus did God save Jonah, and the following story illustrates how God saves His people from the grip of destruction even against the greatest odds.
A few hours passed. The airport and the streets around it were deserted, except for one couple and their small child who had travelled on the same plane as me. They were sitting in the cafeteria where they could not even find a cup of water for their baby. They had run into the same problem: no-one was found to take them to Tripoli which was about two hours from the airport by car.
I sat not far from the stranded family. We could hear the cacophony of crashing shells, less than a mile away on the coast-line. All of us were wondering how to reach home that day. I went into a state of prayer and meditation. I remembered my master, and I asked for help from God through the intercession of my master. Another hour went by. Night was falling. We could see the red sun about to disappear below the horizon.
Suddenly, I saw a car speeding towards the airport and approaching the parking lot outside the cafeteria window. It seemed to be racing as if trying to escape some terrible pursuers. It screeched to a halt outside the main door, and a high-ranking officer of the Lebanese Army dashed out of it. He was the officer responsible for the airport. From a distance I wondered whether I knew that person, as he seemed familiar to me. As he approached I realized this was one of the followers of my master, who therefore belonged to the same group as I.
When the officer saw me, he expressed less surprise than I did, and
I felt that he was hiding something in his heart. We hugged each other.
He asked:
When they saw us leaving, they seemed to lose hope, as if resigned for impending disaster. That had terrified me, and my friend was also afraid of the idea of being stranded in that forlorn place. In the car, I felt as if the child was sending us a message: "All of us are innocent people. God created us to live in peace and happiness in this lovely world, extending our hands to each other as human beings. I want to enjoy this life as much as you, and play under the trees that rise us towards heaven, and hear the birds, and watch the waves breaking on the sea-shore. I don't want to die!" When I seemed to hear the child's appeal in my heart, tears came to my eyes and I thought: "Am I leaving behind this family at night, with no-one taking care of them?"
The car began to back up, but something was holding the both of us. I said:
I got down from the car with my friend. We ran to them and screamed: "Come on!" They got on their feet, electrified by the sudden hope for salvation. They were practically dancing with joy as we helped them carry their luggage into the car. We scrambled into the car again and screeched away, heading for the North.
I asked my friend a second time how he knew that I was at the airport. Again, he said: "Later. We have to decide which way to take right now. Shall we take the two-hour trip by the sea-shore, or go the other way around, through the mountains, twenty-one thousand feet above sea-level through the Cedars and then down to Tripoli? It would take us twelve hours. There is no shelling on that road, but at this hour, any armed group might rob us, kill us, take the car and go!"
We were in the middle of this dilemma when the little girl said
out of nowhere: "I want to see the sea-shore. I don't want to go through
the mountains. Please, uncle, take us to the sea-shore." Her father said:
"And why do you want to go the sea-shore?" The child answered: "Because
the angel told me so." The father was in no mood to hear about angels.
However, the child's words rang like thunder in my ears. It was as if the
angel had spoken to the child in order to direct the mature ones. I said
to my friend on the spot:
My friend dispelled our wonder and exclaimed: "This is the same light and the same face that I saw in my office! He is the one who visited me!" This gave my friend the much-needed sign that he was on the right track. He continued on his way through the coastal highway towards the Green Line that cut the center of the city, and he continued his story.
We were about to reach the Green Line, where the shelling and shooting were at their most intense. Warriors from every side were scrambling everywhere. These were unprincipled people who killed without the slightest provocation. They delighted even in shooting at a bird if they could only sight one. My friend stepped on the gas pedal. The married couple were shouting: "Please! they are looking at us! They are going to kill us!" But the little girl exclaimed: "No, no! Mom, dad, don't you see the angels protecting us? They are everywhere, chaining all the armed people! The warriors cannot move! They are like mummies wrapped in their chains, without movement!"
My friend and I felt a renewed burst of confidence when we heard the little girl's words. It was as if we were inside a plane flying between the clouds; no-one could see the plane except a radar detector. The car was moving, crossing the streets as if veiled from everyone's eyes. We were hearing and seeing both sides fighting with each other, but no-one cared about us nor even noticed our presence. Only the angels were seeing us and guiding us, as the radar guides the airplane flying blindly in the middle of a storm.
We soon found ourselves on the other side. We had crossed safely and nothing had happened to us. We found ourselves in a state of happiness and relief that made the hair on our bodies stand on end. Had we really made it safely through, the only car to pass the Green Line at that time? The child kept repeating: "The angels saved us, the angels saved us!"
We continued on our way, heading for Tripoli. It was not over yet. The way was full of other dangers. The militias and the different parties had their soldiers posted all along the road, and we had to face them also, as we had faced the snipers and the shells. But the confidence the angels had placed in our hearts had grown to the extent that we felt sure of ourselves. We drew comfort from the sweet voice of our youngest passenger, who never stopped saying that angels were with us.
After half an hourof driving safely in the dead of night, we saw a checkpoint one mile ahead of us. Many cars had been stopped and pulled to the side. People were being taken away. My friend slowed down. He began to feel afraid, although he was an army general. It was impossible to change our way and go back, as this was the only way available to us. We had no alternative but to continue. As we were approaching, we could see the soldiers put handcuffs on people, not differentiating between men and women, and even slapping them on their faces and pushing them. Even children were not safe from their violence. We could hear many children screaming for their parents. Without fear of reprisal and without shame, the soldiers were kicking them and shoving them with their boots, showing no pity.
The parents of the little girl tried to hide their child under
the seat, ordering her to huddle between their legs. But the little girl said:
- "Why are you afraid, don't you see that the angels are coming with us? Look at all of them, some by the windshield, some holding the handle of the car doors, and others sitting at the back on top of the trunk!"
We all felt an immense relief . There was hope yet that we would pass that checkpoint unharmed. When we arrived, my friend slowed down and prepared to stop. But no-one was paying any attention to us. It was as if we did not exist on this earth. My friend waited for a few moments lest they should shoot at us if we moved. No-one was paying any attention. The little girl jumped out of the back seat and spoke to the driver, saying: "Uncle, move, don't wait! They will never see us, because the angels are covering us."
My friend felt encouraged to move, and he stepped on the gas pedal. He crossed the checkpoint and soon it was a distant blur behind us, its people continuing to stop the cars that came behind. We had apparently changed into ghosts! An hour later, we reached Tripoli safe and sound. It was just after midnight. And that is how we were saved from fear and destruction, as Jonah had been brought out safe and sound from the belly of the whale.
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