Ships That Sail and Other Divine Signs: An Analysis and Contextualisation of Surah Luqman 31:29–32

Abstract

This article focuses on three portions at the end of the Qur’anic chapter, Luqman 31, known as the wisdom surah par excellence. They are 31:29–30, sunrise and sunset; 31:31, ships sail; and 31:32, surviving a storm at sea. Commencing with 31:31 (ships sail) the characteristics of the individual portions are described as well as the way they link or are interchained. One objective of this study is to show how syntax, stylistics, and a theology–addressee perspective interact on an intra- and inter-textual level. A second objective is to frame the contents of the three portions within comparable Qur’anic and biblical material. Attention is also drawn to textually and methodologically related secondary sources. Two of the portions are introduced by the rhetorical question, “Do you not see that Allah ...?” Underlying the study is thus the question about the essence of the divine–human relationship suggested by the three Qur’anic portions. The answer arrived at in the study is that a vision of the ` of Allah implies ethical accountability and exacts dedicated worship.