Tafseer of The Night Journey · Al-Israa · 17:67
And when adversity touches you at sea, lost are [all] those you invoke except for Him. But when He delivers you to the land, you turn away [from Him]. And ever is man ungrateful.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Allah the Exalted says: "When distress and adversity befall you at sea, those whom you call upon are lost" — that is to say: you lose track of those whom you call upon besides Allah, of the rivals and gods; they turn away from your path and do not help you. You then find no one other than Allah to provide help, whom you can call upon. But when you called upon Him and He came to your aid, answered your prayer, and saved you from the terror of the sea, you turned away from what your Lord had called you to do — namely, the casting off of the rivals, the rejection of the gods, and the acknowledgment of Him alone as God — out of ingratitude for His favor. وَكَانَ الإِنْسَانُ كَفُورًا : He says: "Man was a denier of the favors of his Lord."
