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Who was Yunus?
The Destroyed Nations & Yunus is the eighth book in Stories of the Prophets (Qisas al-Anbiya) by Imam Ibn Kathīr, who died in 774 AH and is known for the history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah and his commentary on the Qurʾan. It answers two questions. Which nations did Allah destroy utterly, and when did that happen? And who was Yunus, peace be upon him, and what is his excellence? Ibn Kathīr answers both from the Qurʾan and authentic traditions.
The book has four chapters. 'The Names of Those Destroyed Utterly' establishes, from the report of Abu Said al-Khudri, that after the Torah was sent down Allah destroyed no people with a punishment from the heavens or the earth except the town whose people were transformed into apes, so every nation destroyed utterly, including Ad, Thamud, and the People of the Well, came before the time of Musa. 'The Story of the People of Ya Sin: The Companions of the Town' follows. Then come 'The Story of Yunus, Peace Be Upon Him' and 'The Excellence of Yunus, Peace Be Upon Him.'
Ibn Kathīr weighs the chain of each report as he goes, noting where al-Bazzar traces a hadith back to the Prophet and where the more likely view is that it stops with the Companion. Joyful Muslims also offers the book in the Arabic original, and in editions where each passage is read in Arabic, then in English. The same Arabic-first editions are available in Indonesian, Turkish, and Urdu.
Is there an English audiobook of The Story of Yunus & the Destroyed?
Yes. Joyful Muslims publishes the complete The Destroyed Nations & Yunus as an English audiobook (about 30 minutes), translated from the Arabic, with a word-synced bilingual transcript. It names the nations destroyed before the Torah and tells the story of Prophet Yunus, peace be upon him, from Ibn Kathīr's Qisas al-Anbiya, drawn from the Qurʾan and authentic traditions.
Is it free to listen?
The whole library is open to everyone. Every member gets five hours of listening free each month; Joyful+ removes the time limit.
What does it cover?
Four chapters: the names of those destroyed utterly, the story of the People of Ya Sin (the Companions of the Town), the story of Yunus, peace be upon him, and the excellence of Yunus. About 30 minutes.
Last updated 2026-09-11
Inside the book.
Chapters
Word-synced with the narrator.
The first three minutes are transcribed here. In the app, the Living Manuscript scrolls through the entire book in rhythm with the audio — Arabic alongside English.
Living Manuscript
Listen to the full book in the app for the complete Living Manuscript.
The full, word-synced transcript in Arabic and English is in the app.
