Surah al-Duhā (The Morning Brightness)

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.

[Surah al-Duhā (93): verse 11]
“And proclaim the favor of your Lord (11).”

There are two interpretations of this proclamation.

The first is that it means mentioning the blessing and speaking of it, as when a servant says, “Allah has blessed me with such-and-such.”

Muqātil said: “It means: give thanks for the blessings upon you mentioned in this surah—shelter despite being an orphan, guidance after being astray, and sufficiency after poverty.” Speaking of Allah’s blessings is an expression of gratitude, as in the hadith narrated by Jābir and traced back to the Prophet:

“Whoever receives a kindness should repay it. If he finds nothing with which to repay it, he should praise the person who showed him kindness. By praising him, he has thanked him; by concealing it, he has been ungrateful to him. Whoever claims to possess what he has not been given is like someone wearing two garments of falsehood.”

He thus mentions three categories of people: one who is grateful for a blessing and speaks of it with praise; one who denies it; one who conceals it; and one who presents himself as having received it when he has not. He thus takes credit for what he has not done.