The Story of Jonah the Prophet in the Works of Rumi and Older Mystical Sources

The stories of prophets provide a clear and understandable platform for audiences; the mystics use their allegories to express their own thoughts. Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (died in 1273) is one of the mystics who uses stories, especially the stories of prophets, as a tool to express his ideas. For example, the life story of Jonah the Prophet provides the necessary elements to present Rumi’s thoughts. He does not tell the linear narrative of the life story of Jonah and chooses a part of the story according to the appropriacy and the audience. This refers to Rumi's novel view on storytelling and is an example of his use of story to express his thoughts. The present study is an attempt to examine the views about Jonah the Prophet that have been expressed in the mystical texts before Rumi. Then, we give Rumi's account of the story and, finally, compare the similarities of them by using descriptive-analytical method. The results show that Rumi, while using the works of his predecessors, presents his own interpretations and views, and in some sections, creates new semantic artistic components.