A Whale of a Wish

A Whale of a Wish is an Islamic picture book for children aged 4 to 6 that tells the story of Prophet Yunus (AS) through the eyes of the whale that swallowed him.

The whale is young and kind, and he has one wish: to do something special that would make Allah pleased with him. He sets off across the oceans to help others, saving a dolphin from a stingray and making friends with a giant squid. Then, one stormy night far out at sea, he sees a man thrown from a boat into the waves. Although he is frightened of the thunder, the whale does as Allah commands and swallows Prophet Yunus whole.

For many days and nights, Yunus prays inside the whale's belly, asking Allah to forgive him. At last Allah commands the whale to take him back to land, and the whale swims through the night and brings him safely to the shore. The whale's wish has come true: he has played his part in Allah's plan.

Written in rhyme by Razana Noor and illustrated by Rahima Begum, the book is a gentle first telling of a story from the Qur'an. It shows children that Allah hears a sincere dua even in the darkest place, and that doing what Allah asks, even when we are afraid, is the greatest thing we can do.

A whale with a wish

Once there was a young whale who lived with his family deep in the sea. He was as kind as could be, and he had one wish: to do something special that no other fish had ever done. He wanted to make Allah pleased with him, and to show what a good whale he could be.

When he had grown big and strong, he said goodbye to his family with a song and set off across the oceans, looking for ways to help anyone in need. On the way he helped many sea creatures. He saved a dolphin from a deadly stingray, and he even made friends with his old enemy, the giant squid, who turned out to be quite nice once the whale got to know him.

The storm

One night, the whale had a feeling that he needed to be far out at sea, so he swam there. Suddenly, lightning lit up the sky and thunder crashed overhead. It was the worst storm he had seen in years. The whale was terrified of thunder and lightning. He tried to cover his ears, and he wanted to swim away as fast as he could.

Then he saw a boat above him, battered and thrown about by the waves. As he watched, a man was thrown off the deck into the sea. The whale was horrified. What would happen to him?

Allah's command

Just then, Allah, the Most Merciful and Kind, put it into the whale's heart not to be afraid, and to save Prophet Yunus (AS). The whale trusted Allah and did as he was told. He swallowed Prophet Yunus whole, arms, legs and all.

For many days and nights the whale roamed the sea with Yunus inside his belly, far away from home. Night and day, Prophet Yunus prayed: "O Allah, forgive me for the mistake that I made."

Back to the shore

At last, the whale heard Allah's command to return the Prophet to land. He swam all night until he reached the shore in the early morning light. Then he closed his eyes, concentrated hard on his belly and threw Prophet Yunus out onto the dry land, along with some rather slimy jelly.

Prophet Yunus was safe, saved by Allah's plan. The whale felt thankful and blessed to have played such a big part in it. His wish had come true, and he proudly shared the story with his family and friends: a story that Muslims everywhere love.

• Surah As-Saffat 37:139-148: Yunus (AS) is swallowed by the fish, glorifies Allah inside it, and is cast onto the shore and saved.
• Surah Al-Anbiya 21:87-88: Yunus (AS) calls out in the darkness, "There is no god but You, glory be to You, I have been one of the wrongdoers," and Allah saves him.