His—exalted is He—statement, “Indeed, they…”: the pronoun refers to the prophets, for in Sūrah al-Anbiyā’ Allah recounts their stories and then says, “Indeed, they used to hasten toward every good deed, and would call upon Us in hope and fear, and were humbly submissive to Us.”

“they used to hasten toward every good deed” means that they raced and rushed to perform it. This is the hallmark of the prophets, peace be upon them: they are never sluggish or lethargic; rather, they hurry to good deeds and vie with one another in accomplishing them.

“and would call upon Us in hope” indicates that they supplicated out of longing for what is with Allah, hoping to obtain the desired bounty.

“and fear” signifies dread of Us. They beseech Allah to have mercy on them, imploring Him not to punish, seize, or reprimand them. Thus they yearn for Allah’s mercy while fearing His punishment, just as He says: “Those whom they invoke seek a means of nearness to their Lord—which of them will be nearest—and they hope for His mercy and fear His punishment” (Al-Isrā’ 17:57). They therefore pray to Allah both out of fear of Him and in hope of what He possesses, asking Him to decree good for them and to repel evil from them.

“and were humbly submissive to Us” means they were humble, lowly, and modest before Allah. Hence, they combined all three qualities: