And when religion means the recompense of reward and punishment, and sometimes it is directed solely towards reward due to the knowledge of His general mercy, glorified is He, and that His mercy has overcome His anger, He explicitly mentioned punishment and said: ﴿And those who are﴾ meaning with all their inner selves ﴿from the punishment of their Lord﴾ meaning the One who is good to them, not from the punishment of others. For indeed, the one who does good is more deserving of being feared, even if it is from the cessation of His goodness. And if fear arises along with His manifestation in the station of goodness, then fear is more appropriate when He is exalted in the attributes of majesty, such as greatness, dominance, and vengeance. ﴿They are fearful﴾ meaning they are afraid in this world with a great fear that is in the utmost firmness of fearing that He may punish them in the Hereafter, or in this world, or in both. Therefore, they do not become heedless and do nothing except what pleases Him, glorified is He.