Three groups of people are mentioned in this verse:

Three groups of people are mentioned in this verse:

 (i) those blessed by Allah;

(ii) those who incurred His wrath;

 and (iii) those who strayed from the way. Let us look at the characteristics of each of these three groups more closely.

an‘amta ‘alayhim

----The noun ni‘mah (a blessing) from the phrase an‘amta ‘alayhim in reality refers to the blessing of guidance and Divine law (Shari‘ah) that the human being receives from Allah, giving him an opportunity and the means to achieve success both in this world and in the hereafter.

----The clause ‘whom You have blessed’ refers to those people who were entrusted by Allah with the blessing of the Shari‘ah and they fully and sincerely, without any reluctance or reservation, embraced it.

----They were truly grateful to their Creator and Sustainer for this great favour to them. They fully appreciated its significance and encouraged others to realize its momentous importance. They were the people who dedicated their time, energies, their resources, possessions and wealth to its service, and if the need arose they readily sacrificed their lives in its cause.

 ----This is the first group and they are mentioned here rather briefly without clearly specifying their prominent features. At another place, the Qur’an describes this group in more explicit words:

They will be in the company of those whom Allah has blessed (alladhina an‘ama Allahu ‘alayhim) from among the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous. (4·69)

It is worth noting here that in the phrase maghdubi ‘alayhim (who incurred Your displeasure), the act of condemnation is not directly attributed to Allah, unlike the case of those blessed by Him. This is, firstly, to avoid any disrespect to Allah, and secondly, to underline the fact that while all blessings invariably come from Allah, a person or a group of people are condemned and incur the wrath of Allah solely on account of their own corruption and evil.