Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “If He wills, He calms the wind, and they remain stationary upon its surface. Indeed, in that are signs for every patient and grateful person.”

Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) threatened those who ride them with the following:
This is the least of the punishment. Why? Because ships in the past only moved according to the wind, as they were rigged with a sail, a long sail that was set, and the wind would strike it and they would move. If the wind calmed, they would stop. For this reason, He said: meaning the moving vessels, meaning upon the surface of the sea. At that time, affairs would be disrupted, and perhaps a stormy wind would come and break the ship, causing it to sink. So the conditions are three: either a good wind that moves the ship as it should, or a stormy wind that sinks the ship, or calm. What happens in the calm? They remain stationary upon the surface of the water. So He (Glorified and Exalted is He) explains that among His signs is the movement of these ships.