The Quran

Preface

هُوَ الَّذي يُسَيِّرُكُم فِي البَرِّ وَالبَحرِ ۖ حَتّىٰ إِذا كُنتُم فِي الفُلكِ وَجَرَينَ بِهِم بِريحٍ طَيِّبَةٍ وَفَرِحوا بِها جاءَتها ريحٌ عاصِفٌ وَجاءَهُمُ المَوجُ مِن كُلِّ مَكانٍ وَظَنّوا أَنَّهُم أُحيطَ بِهِم ۙ دَعَوُا اللَّهَ مُخلِصينَ لَهُ الدّينَ لَئِن أَنجَيتَنا مِن هٰذِهِ لَنَكونَنَّ مِنَ الشّاكِرينَ

Yusuf Ali

He it is Who enableth you to traverse through land and sea; so that ye even board ships;- they sail with them with a favourable wind, and they rejoice thereat; then comes a stormy wind and the waves come to them from all sides, and they think they are being overwhelmed: they cry unto God, sincerely offering (their) duty unto Him saying, “If thou dost deliver us from this, we shall truly show our gratitude!”¹

All the great inventions and discoveries on which man prides himself are the fruit of that genius and talent which God has freely given of His grace. But the spirit of man remains petty, as is illustrated by the parable from the sea. How the heart of man rejoices when the ship goes smoothly with favourable winds! How in adversity it turns, in terror and helplessness, to God, and makes vows for deliverance! and how those vows are disregarded as soon as the danger is past! Cf. 6:63.