Ilyas and Yunus — Flight from the People and Return

Quranic context:
Ilyas (AS) was sent to a people who worshipped Baal. He called them to Allah but they rejected and threatened him. Yunus was sent to Nineveh but despaired of them and left without divine permission.

Context:
A few believed Ilyas and Allah delivered them. When Yunus repented in the whale's belly and was sent back, his entire people believed — a rare Quranic exception: a people who believed upon seeing the threat of punishment and were spared.

Lesson:
A prophet fleeing his mission does not escape its consequences. Returning to the call is better than fleeing it. The salvation of Yunus's people shows that sincere collective repentance is accepted.