Allah informs that He brought man into existence after he was not even a thing worth mentioning, due to his lowliness and weakness
Has there not been over man a period of time, when he was not a thing worth mentioning
Verily, We have created man from Nutfah Amshaj
According to Ibn Abbas (from Nutfah Amshaj,) "This means the fluid of the man and the fluid of the woman when they meet and mix." Then man changes after this from stage to stage, condition to condition and color to color. `Ikrimah, Mujahid, Al-Hasan and Ar-Rabi` bin Anas all made statements similar to this. They said, "Amshaj is the mixing of the man's fluid with the woman's fluid." Concerning Allah's statement.
In order to try him, means, We test him.
Allah says in a similar statement in surah Mulk, Ayat 2 (67:2)
That He may test you which of you is best in deed.
so, We made him hearer and seer
meaning, We gave him the faculties of hearing and sight so that he would be able to use them for obedience and disoedience. Allah guided Him to the Path, so Man is either Grateful or Ungrateful
Verily, We guided to him the way,
meaning, We explained it to him, made it clear to him and showed it to him.
This as Allah says in Surah Fussilat Ayah 17
And as for Thamud, We guided them but they preferred blindness to guidance.
Allah also mentions this in Surah Al-Balad Ayah 10
And We guided him in two ways.
meaning, `We explained to him the path of good and the path of evil. This is the statement of `Ikrimah, `Atiyah, Ibn Zayd and Mujahid from what is well-known from him and the majority
Whether he be grateful or ungrateful
This is his decree. Thus, with this he is either wretched or happy. This is like what has been recorded by Muslim in a Hadith from Abu Malik Al-Ash`ari. He said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said
This is like what has been recorded by Muslim in a Hadith from Abu Malik Al-Ash`ari. He said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
All of mankind wakes up in the morning the merchant of his own soul. So he either imprisons it or sets it free