[Pooya/Ali Commentary 34:11] Dawud was an impartial and just ruler. He used to ask everyone he met what they thought of him as a ruler. If anyone had been wronged he would arrange the necessary redress. Once when Dawud was passing a street of his town at midnight, he met an angel, sent by Allah, in the form of a man. He asked the angel his usual question, and the angel replied that the ruler was alright, except for the fact that he took his own sustenance from the public funds. On hearing this Dawud wept for forty days, and prayed to Allah to teach him some profession. It was then that Allah, in His mercy, made iron soft and pliant like wax in Dawud's hands, and inspired him with the art of manufacturing coats of mail, and the other articles of defence. Dawud was therefore able to sell the articles and live upon his own earnings. The concluding words indicate indirectly that a person should not spend all his time in earning a living, because the ultimate object of life is to do good actions with awareness of Allah.