16 Preface أَأَمِنتُم مَن فِي السَّماءِ أَن يَخسِفَ بِكُمُ الأَرضَ فَإِذا هِيَ تَمورُYusuf AliDo ye feel secure that He Who is in heaven will not cause you to be swallowed up1 by the earth when it shakes (as in an earthquake)?Cf. 17:68 and n. 2263. Also Cf. the story of Qarun in 28:76-82. If we feel safe on land, it is because God has made this earth amenable, manageable and serviceable to us (verse 15 above). But if we defy God and break His Law, have we any security, that even this comparatively unimportant safety in a fleeting world will last? Looking at it from a purely physical point of view, have there not been dreadful earthquakes, typhoons, and tornadoes?