And when fulfillment of the covenant is extremely difficult for the soul, he indicated this while encompassing others: "And those who are patient" meaning in obedience to Allah and from His disobedience and in everything that patience is necessary for. Patience is: restraint, and it is the bitter swallowing of the denial of the soul from what it loves of what is not permissible to do. "Seeking" meaning seeking "the face of their Lord" meaning the One who is good to them. It is as if he mentioned the face to evoke modesty and encourage it, not to say: how steadfast he is! Nor because he is blamed for impatience, nor because there is no benefit under anxiety, nor fear of mockery.

And when the individuals of a thing may differ in honor, he specified by mentioning certain matters that are included in the covenant and the pact to honor them, so he said: "And they establish prayer" because it is in connection with Allah like the covenant in connection with the one who binds it. And he said: "And spend" and he alleviated upon them by some, saying: "from what We have provided them" - because spending is one of the greatest causes that leads to the objectives. This is spending from wealth, and that is spending from strength. And he said: "in secret and in public" indicating the encouragement of equality of the two states, alerting to sincerity. It may be that what is meant by secrecy is what should be kept secret, like the supererogatory prayers, and by publicity what is encouraged to be shown, like the obligatory ones unless prevented by a barrier. This is the explanation of His saying, the Most High:

"And establish prayer and from what We have provided them they spend" [Al-Baqarah: 3] "And seek help through patience and prayer" [Al-Baqarah: 45] And he said: "And repel" meaning they push back with strength and insight "the evil deed" indicating the abandonment of retaliation or they follow it with that which erases it, out of fear and hope and encouragement towards all good deeds. So it is the result of righteous actions and the degree of those brought near.

And when he concluded that with what indicates what comes after death as a warning, he concluded this with something similar as an encouragement, saying: "Those are" meaning the high in rank "for them is the good end of the abode."