18256 - From Qatadah, "And indeed, you pass by them in the morning and by night," he said: Yes, morning and evening. Whoever travels from Medina to the Levant takes the route by Sodom, the village of the people of Lot. (1)

His saying: "In the morning" (Qur'an 37:137)

18275 - From Qatadah regarding His saying: "And indeed, you pass by them in the morning and by night," he said: You pass by them in the morning. He said: [By the village of the people of Lot]. "Will you not then use your reason?" (Qur'an 37:138), he said: Will you not reflect so that what befell them does not befall you? (2)

His saying: "And indeed, Jonah was among the messengers" (Qur'an 37:139)

18276 - From Ibn Abbas, he said: When Allah sent Jonah, peace be upon him, to the people of his village, they rejected what he brought to them and refused him. When they did that, Allah revealed to him: "I will send the punishment upon them on such-and-such day, so leave their midst." He informed his people of what Allah had promised them of punishment. They said: "Watch him; if he leaves their midst, then by Allah, the punishment promised to you will certainly occur." When the night arrived on the morning of which they were promised the punishment, he departed stealthily. The people saw this and became cautious, so they went out from the village to an open field, and they separated every beast from its young. Then they cried out to Allah, turned in repentance, and asked for pardon, so He pardoned them. Jonah, peace be upon him, awaited news about the village and its people, until a passerby arrived. He asked: "What did the people of the village do?" The man said: "They did this: when their prophet left their midst, they knew he had told them the truth regarding the punishment he promised them, so they went out from their village to an open field, then separated every creature that has offspring from its young, then they cried out to Allah and repented to Him, so He accepted from them and deferred the punishment from them." Jonah, peace be upon him, said at that time: "I will never return to them as a liar," and he went on his way. (3)

18277 - From Abdullah ibn al-Harith, he said: When Jonah, peace be upon him, departed in anger, he came to a ship and boarded it. It refused to move, so the crew of the ship said: "This is only due to some event you have committed!" Some said to others: "Come, let us draw lots, and whoever the lot falls upon, cast him into the water." They drew lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah, peace be upon him. They repeated it, and the lot fell upon him again. On the third time, when Jonah saw that, he said: "It is me." He stood up and threw himself into the water, and behold, a whale...