﴿ أَفَأَمِنتُمْ أَن يَخْسِفَ بِكُمْ جَانِبَ ٱلْبَرِّ أَوْ يُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ حَاصِبًۭا ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُوا۟ لَكُمْ وَكِيلًا ﴾

“Can you, then, ever feel sure that He will not cause a tract of dry land to swallow you up, or let loose upon you a deadly storm-wind, whereupon you would find none to be your protector?”

Despite man’s insolence, God does not seize upon him immediately. Rather He afflicts him with some natural calamity by way of warning. Man is awakened by this but is so heedless that, as soon as he is relieved of his distress, this feeling of wakening soon vanishes into thin air. He remains blissfully unaware of the fact that he is as much in God’s grip as he was earlier. His coming home safely after the sea voyage does not rule out the possibility of suffering the same calamity again. Furthermore, the dangers and insecurity on land are no less than at sea. Tempests at sea are like earthquakes on land. There is no place where he can take refuge from God’s chastisement.