Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Yunus (peace be upon him) was in the belly of the fish for three days, and in three darknesses — the darkness of the fish's belly, the darkness of the night, and the darkness of the sea — he called out: O Allah, there is no god but You! Glory be to You! Indeed I was among the wrongdoers! (al-Anbiya/87). Then Allah granted his request, and the fish carried him toward the shore and cast him out and threw him on the shore. Allah caused a gourd plant to grow over him, and he would suck on its fruit and take shelter under the shade of its branches and leaves. Yunus's (peace be upon him) hair had all fallen out and his skin had become thin, and he was praising Allah and remembering Allah night and day. When his body regained strength and became robust, Allah sent a worm which ate the root of the gourd plant, and that plant withered and then dried up. This weighed heavily upon Yunus (peace be upon him) and he became grieved. Then Allah revealed to him: "O Yunus (peace be upon him)! Why are you sorrowful?!" He said: "My Lord! I was benefiting from this plant, but You set a worm upon it and it dried up." Allah said: "O Yunus (peace be upon him)! Why did you become grieved for a plant which you neither planted nor watered nor tended to, and though you had no further need of it, you did not overlook its drying up — yet you did not grieve for the people of Nineveh who were more than one hundred thousand, and you wished that punishment should descend upon them? Now know that the people of Nineveh have believed and adopted piety, so return to them." Yunus (peace be upon him) set out toward his people. When he drew near to Nineveh, he was ashamed to enter, so he saw a shepherd and said to him: "Go to the people of Nineveh and tell them: Yunus (peace be upon him) has come." The shepherd said to him: "Why do you lie? Are you not ashamed? Yunus (peace be upon him) drowned in the sea and perished." Yunus (peace be upon him) said to him: "This sheep will bear witness for you that I am Yunus (peace be upon him)." At that moment the sheep opened its tongue and said that he was Yunus (peace be upon him). When the shepherd went to his people and gave them this news, they seized him and wanted to beat him. He said: "I have proof for what I say." They said: "Who is your witness?" He said: "This sheep bears witness." So the sheep testified that he was telling the truth and that Allah had returned Yunus to them. They went out in search of Yunus (peace be upon him) and found him and brought him with them and believed in him and remained firm in their faith. Allah the Exalted granted them enjoyment for a while, until the time of their death, and kept them safe from that punishment.