Surah Saad (38) — Ayah 17

(Ayah 17) ➊ { اِصْبِرْ عَلٰى مَا يَقُوْلُوْنَ:} In this surah, up to this point, the statements of the disbelievers that have been mentioned—such as calling you a sorcerer and a liar, and their objection that, “Out of all of us, was this one man chosen to be a messenger?” and that there is some premeditated conspiracy behind this call, and whatever they said while mocking the Resurrection—Allah Almighty commanded you (ﷺ) to be patient over all these things and, for consolation, ordered you to remember Dawud (David) (علیہ السلام) and a few other prophets.

➋ The meaning of {وَ اذْكُرْ عَبْدَنَا دَاوٗدَ ذَا الْاَيْدِ : ’’ الْاَيْدِ ‘‘} is strength. {’’آدَ الرَّجُلُ يَئِيْدُ أَيْدًا‘‘} (ض) When a person becomes strong, it is said: {’’فَهُوَ أَيِّدٌ‘‘} as He said: « وَ اَيَّدْنٰهُ بِرُوْحِ الْقُدُسِ» [ البقرۃ : ۸۷ ] “And We strengthened him with the Holy Spirit.” Dawud (علیہ السلام) was a man of great strength; Allah Almighty endowed him with many strengths, such as physical strength with which he killed Jalut (Goliath), courage and strength of heart due to which he never turned his back to the enemy, strength in worship which was manifested by praying a third of the night every day and always fasting every other day, strength in leadership with which he subdued all the surrounding polytheist powers and established a strong kingdom. The strength of sound judgment (hukm), the strength of decisive speech, the blessing of a beautiful voice due to which even the mountains and birds would join him in glorification and recitation, the strength to soften iron and make armor through which he would eat only from what his own hands earned. For further details, see Surah Al-Baqarah (2:251), Al-Anbiya (21:78, 79), An-Naml (27:15, 16), and Surah Saba (34:10–13).

➌ { اِنَّهٗۤ اَوَّابٌ :} That is, in all his affairs, he would turn to Allah Almighty very much; he would not take any step on their own accord. At all times, through prayer, supplication, hope and fear, remembrance and recitation, and striving, they would keep their attention towards Him; if ever there was any shortcoming, they would immediately turn to Him with repentance and seeking forgiveness.

17. 1. Strength and intensity. From this comes "ta'yid" meaning reinforcement. By this strength is meant religious strength and capability, just as it is mentioned in the hadith that the most beloved prayer to Allah is the prayer of Dawud (عليه السلام) and the most beloved fasts are the fasts of Dawud (عليه السلام). He would sleep half the night, then stand in prayer for a third of the night, and then sleep for a sixth of it. He would fast one day and leave fasting the next day, and he would not flee in battle (Sahih Bukhari).

17. So be patient over what they say, and remember Our servant David [19], the man of strength, who constantly turned (to Us) [20][21].

[19] Another meaning of ﴿وَاذْكُرْ﴾ could also be that his story should be narrated to others.
[20]
The Literal Meaning of ﴿يد﴾ and ﴿ذوالايد﴾:

The literal meaning of ﴿ذوالايد﴾ is "one with hands," and in almost every language, such a word is used to denote strength and power. The possessor of strength can refer to physical strength as well. Thus, it is narrated about him that in your childhood, when you used to graze a herd of goats, if any beast attacked them, you would grab one of its jaws and pull the other with such force that you would tear it apart. Then, it was also his physical strength that he killed Jalut on the battlefield. And it can also mean military and political power, as you defeated the surrounding polytheist nations and established a strong Islamic kingdom.
[21]
His Exalted Qualities:

Such was his turning to Allah and devotion in worship that he always preferred poverty over kingship. Many authentic ahadith have been reported in his praise. You did not burden the public treasury with your personal expenses; rather, you used to meet your expenses with your own earnings. You would fast one day and not fast the next; this remained your practice throughout your life. You would spend a third of the night in worship. You had divided the twenty-four hours of the day and night among himself and his family in such a way that there was never a time when someone from the family of Dawud was not engaged in the worship of Allah. You had also made it a rule that every three days, one day was devoted to the worship of Allah, one day to deciding people's cases, and one day to the management and administration of the affairs of the kingdom.