And His statement: “The true believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts tremble …”

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The rest of the verse reads: “and when His revelations are recited to them, they increase in faith, and upon their Lord they rely” (al-Anfāl 8:2).

“Their hearts tremble”: they are afraid of Allah.

“Upon their Lord”: upon Him alone, never upon anyone else.

“They rely”: they entrust all their affairs to Him, fearing none and hoping in none but Him.

Overall meaning of the verse: Allah—glorified and exalted—describes those who possess genuine faith with three magnificent traits:

1. They fear Him whenever He is mentioned, so they carry out His commands and avoid His prohibitions.
2. Their faith grows whenever they hear the recitation of His words.
3. They consign all matters to Him and depend on Him alone.

Relevance of the verse to this chapter: it shows that placing one’s trust exclusively in Allah is one of the qualities of the believers.

Lessons derived from the verse:

1. Reliance upon Allah is prescribed and is among the qualities of the believers.
2. Faith rises and falls: it increases with obedience and decreases with sin.
3. True belief in Allah demands relying upon Him alone.
4. Humility and submission before Allah, exalted is He, are characteristics of the believers.