His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿They work for him what he wishes of elevated chambers and statues and large bowls like reservoirs and fixed cauldrons. "Work, O family of David, in gratitude! And few of My servants are grateful."﴾

The elevated chambers are the high, noble buildings. Qatadah said: the palaces and mosques. Ibn Zayd said: the dwellings. The mihrab is the most noble place in the house, and the mihrab is the place of worship, which is the most noble of what it can be. The common usage has prevailed in the place where the imam stands due to its nobility. From this word is the saying of Adi ibn Zayd:

؎ Like the ivory figurines in the mihrabs or like ∗∗∗ the eggs in the garden, its flowers are radiant.

As for the statues, it is said: they were made of glass and brass, statues of things that are not living. Al-Dahhak said: they were statues of animals, and this was permissible in that law.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And it was abrogated by the law of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him.

And some said: The depiction was prohibited because the images were worshipped. It is mentioned in Al-Hidayah that a group permitted depiction and used this verse as evidence, and that is an error. I do not recall any of the scholars who permit it.

And the jaba is the plural of jabiya, which is the pool to which water comes and gathers. The poet said:

؎ So I awoke to a jabiya, a pool ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ as if it were the skin of the sky emerging.

Mujahid said: It is the plural of jawbah, which is the large pit in the ground. In this, there is consideration. From this is the saying of Al-A'sha:

؎ He dispelled the blame from the family of Al-Muhalliq, a jafna ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ like the jabiya of the Iraqi sheikh, it overflows.

And Al-Tabari narrated: "It flows upon the family of Al-Muhalliq," and it is narrated: "the sayh" with a silent s, which is the water flowing on the surface of the earth. It is narrated with a sh and kh with dots, and it is said he meant Kisra, and it is said he meant a sheikh from the farmers of the black land, unspecified. This is because of his weakness, he stores water in a jabiya, so it always overflows, and the jafna was likened to it due to its size. Mujahid, Qatadah, Al-Dahhak, and Ibn Zayd said: the jaba are the watering troughs. Nafi, Ibn Amer, Asim, Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read jaba without a y in both connection and pause. Abu Amr and Isa read without a y in pause and with a y in connection. Ibn Kathir read with a y in both. The reason for omitting the y is for brevity and conciseness, and this is like their omission of it from "the qadi, the ghazi, and the hadi." Also, since the alif and lam replace the tanween and the y is omitted with the tanween, it is necessary for it to be omitted with what it replaces, as they always treat a thing as the opposite of it.

And "fixed" means: stable due to their size, they are not of what can be moved or carried, and no one can work with them except the jinn. And with stability, the people interpreted it. Then they were commanded with these blessings to act in obedience.

And His saying: ﴿ "Thank you" ﴾ may be understood as being in the accusative case, meaning: perform acts of obedience while being in a state of gratitude to Allah for these blessings. It may also be understood as being in the accusative case in the sense of the object, meaning: perform an action that is gratitude, as if prayer, fasting, and all acts of worship are themselves gratitude since they fulfill its purpose. In the hadith, "The Prophet ﷺ ascended the pulpit and recited this verse, then said: 'Three things, whoever is granted them has indeed been granted the action of gratitude: justice in anger and pleasure, moderation in poverty and wealth, and fear of Allah in secret and in public.'" It has been narrated that Dawood (peace be upon him) said: 'O Lord, how can I bear to thank You for Your blessings, and my inspiration and ability to thank You is a blessing from You?' He said: 'Now, O Dawood, you have truly known Me as I should be known.'" And Thabit said: It has been narrated that the prayer place of the family of Dawood was never devoid of someone standing in prayer day and night; they would always take turns. And Sulayman (peace be upon him) - as it has been narrated - would eat barley, feed his family with coarse bread, and feed the poor with dry bread. It has been narrated that he was never full, and when he was asked about that, he said: 'I fear that I might forget the hungry.'

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿ And few of My servants are grateful ﴾ may be addressed to the family of Dawood, and it may be addressed to the family of Muhammad ﷺ. In any case, it contains a reminder and encouragement. Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) heard a man saying: 'O Allah, make me among the few.' He said to him: 'What is this supplication?' The man said: 'I intended His saying, the Exalted: ﴿ And few of My servants are grateful ﴾.' Umar said: 'All people are more knowledgeable than Umar.'

Qadi Abu Muhammad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: And He, the Exalted, has said: ﴿ And few are they ﴾ [Sad: 24], and the fewness also means obscurity, which is a gift from Allah, Blessed and Exalted. Therefore, this supplication has its merits.