We cannot know all that went through his mind, but we do know that Jonah had proclaimed doom to Nineveh before all those people.
صحيح اننا لا نعلم كل ما جال في خاطره ،‏ لكننا على يقين انه اعلن رسالة الدينونة امام كل شعب نينوى وهم صدقوا ما قاله .‏