Then he explained their humility by saying - indicating that they are like others in standing between fear and hope -: ﴿They fear their Lord﴾; that is: the One who created them; the One who manages their affairs; the One who does good to them; a fear that begins ﴿from above them﴾; a reference to the greatness of the fear upon them; and its dominance over them; or the state of their Lord; along with His goodness to them; to Him belongs greatness and might; so He is the feared and the one to be dreaded; (p-175) they cease from what they have been forbidden; ﴿and they do﴾; that is: with a great motive; with knowledge from them of what is due upon them to their Lord from the truth; along with the absence of any contender from desire; or passion; or anything else; and it indicates that they are obligated by His saying (the Exalted): ﴿What they are commanded﴾; so they hope for His mercy for them; the verse is from the intertwining: mentioning fear first indicates hope secondly; and mentioning the action secondly indicates cessation first.