Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And you fear the people, but Allah has more right to be feared by you”

He said: “That is, you fear their words and their speech, namely that they might say, ‘He married his son’s wife’” This is a defect among the Arabs, O Isa; they consider it one of the abominations. Allah the Exalted said: “In every matter, and he married her, and let not the words of people concern you. Then Zayd divorced her, and her waiting period ended” Allah the Exalted said: to the end of it. Allah said: From whom? From the people, but here it was stated in the general form. Allah said: and He did not mention the one who is preferred over, for the sake of generality, because omission always serves to indicate generality. That is, Allah has more right to be feared by you than everyone, whether from among the people, the jinn, or others. And His saying: means that you should fear Him. However, fear (khashiyyah) is fear accompanied by knowledge, as He the Exalted said: [Fatir: 28]. Fear (khashiyyah) is also fear accompanied by the power and greatness of the one feared. Thus, fear (khawf) is less than fear (khashiyyah), because fear (khawf) occurs without knowledge, and because fear (khawf) arises from the weakness of the one who fears, not from the power of the one who is feared. For this reason, fear (khashiyyah) is a higher rank and stronger