Alam tara anna alfulka tajree fee albahri biniAAmati Allahi liyuriyakum min ayatihi (surah Luqman: 31)

Tafseer Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi

(31:31) Do you not see that ships sail in the sea by Allah's Grace that He may show you some of His Signs? *55 Surely there are Signs in this for everyone who is steadfast, thankful. *56

Alam tara annal fulka tajree fil bahri bini`matil laahi li yuriyakum min Aayaatih; inna fee zaalika la Aayaatil likulli sabbaarin shakoor

*55) That is, "Such Signs as show that aII powers rest only with Allah. Man may make as strong and suitable ships for his sea journeys as he likes, and may achieve whatever perfection in marine science and in the related knowledge and experience, these by themselves cannot avail him anything to perform safe voyages especially when confronted by the terrible forces at the sea, unless he is succoured by the grace of Allah. As soon as Allah's grace is withdrawn, man immediately realizes how meagre and insufficient are the means and resources and knowledge of the sciences. Similarly, man in the state of peace and security may be a hardened atheist or polytheist, but when his boat loses balance in the storm at sea, even the atheist comes to realize that there is God and the polytheist that there is only One God. "
*56) That is When the people who possess these two qualities, recognize the reality by these signs, they come to understand Tauhid clearly and stick to it firmly. The first qualitiy is that they should be patient: they should not be fickle but fine and persistent: they should remain steadfast on the righteous belief under aII circumstances, pleasant or unpleasant, difficult or easy, favourable or unfavourable. They should not have the weakness that when the hard times come they Stan imploring God humbly, and when they change into good times, they forget God altogether. Or that, to the contrary, they should worship God in good times and start cursing Him when touched by afflictions and misfortunes. The other quality is that they should be grateful: they should not prove ungrateful and thankless: but appreciative of favour and should remain perpetually disposed from within to render thanks to the one who conferred the favour."