{فَلْيَنظُرِ الْإِنسَانُ إِلَى طَعَامِهِ}

The meaning is: Since this is the state of man—that he has not yet fulfilled what he was commanded to do, even though the requirement of the preceding blessings is fulfillment—let him look at his food, etc., perhaps he will fulfill it.

In the Hawashi al-‘Isamiyyah, it is noted that the statement "he has not yet fulfilled what he was commanded to do" contains a perfect stimulation and incitement for man to comply with the command to "look" that follows it. The derivation of the command as a consequence is based on the idea that compliance, as it ought to be, is facilitated after refraining from one’s current state.

It is apparent that the "man" intended here is similar to the one intended in His saying: "Cursed is man." Since the author of the aforementioned Hawashi allowed for the interpretation of "not fulfilling" as a total negation, and positioned the discourse toward the man who is excessive in disbelief, he stated: The pronoun in "fulfilled" refers to something other than the man who was commanded to look, for the latter is general; hence, [the noun "man"] was made explicit.

The preceding [verses] contained the mention of essential blessings—that is, what relates to the essence of man himself and his requirements—whereas this verse mentions external blessings that correspond to them.

It has been said: The former are specific blessings, while the latter are general blessings. It has also been said: Those are blessings related to coming into existence, while these are blessings related to remaining in existence; however, there is scrutiny regarding this.

The apparent meaning is that "food" refers to what is eaten in all its varieties. It was singled out, and the "drink" was not mentioned, because the traces of Divine Power in food are more numerous than their traces in drink. As for the consideration of taghlib (dominance/inclusion), its inadequacy is not hidden.