Lasting Lesson
\r\n Luqman (Luqman) - Chapter 31: Verse 32 (partial)
![](\"/_img/quran-issue807.gif\")
"When waves engulf them (in the sea) like canopies, they call upon Allah, consecrating their faith solely to Him. But when He delivers them safely to the land, some of them become muqtasid.\"
The word used here is muqtasid which is open to more than one meaning. Were we to take iqtisad to mean rectitude and uprightness, the phrase would mean that even after the crisis is over and the person facing crisis lands on the shores of safety, he still adheres to tawhid, something to which he committed himself during his state of crisis. Experiencing such a crisis gave these righteous people constancy in adhering to tawhid. Alternatively, if the word is taken to signify a medial, moderate attitude, the verse would mean that the crisis they experienced had a moderating effect on some ardent devotees of atheism and polytheism. It may also mean that once the worst is over, people lose a part of their fervour and enthusiasm for God, which had been aroused as a result of the threatening circumstances that had come to surround them.
\r\nIt is likely that the present verse embraces all these shades of meaning. The point stressed is that people perceive the truth when they are exposed to a severe storm during a sea voyage. In that hour of crisis they abjure both polytheism and atheism and invoke the One True God to help them out of the crisis. However, once God delivers them safely to land, only a few appear to have learnt any lasting lesson from the experience. Even those few can be divided into the following categories: (i) some truly mend their ways, (ii) the disbelief of some becomes somewhat diluted, and (iii) some retain a part of the sincerity engendered by the crisis.
\r\nCompiled From:
\r\n \"Towards Understanding the Quran\" - Sayyid Abul Ala Mawdudi, Vol. 8, p. 146