Calling Out in the Storm

Allah (swt) then, continuing into verse 22, takes up their idol worship, and from verse 22 onwards there follows a long passage whose application is universal. It is a question that has even been put to a flight attendant, concerning turbulence.

The gist of it is that such people, while everything is safe and secure, deny Allah. But when they are in trouble — in the middle of the ocean, with the waves building and every other hope failing — then, inherently, because Allah is so deeply built into the psyche of every human being, they call out to Allah (swt). The difficulty is that it does not last: as soon as they are back on shore they forget Allah and return to their wrong ways. SubḥānAllāh.

Allah (swt) then poses a series of questions — who provides you with sustenance from the heavens and from the earth, and the like — from verse 33 onwards.