This statement of Ibn ʿAbbās has the same meaning as what we have said. We chose to explain its interpretation as meaning "we submit, humble ourselves, and yield," rather than explaining it as "we hope and fear"—even though hope and fear exist only alongside humility—because servitude, according to all Arabs, fundamentally means humility, and they call a smoothed road that feet have trodden and travelers have made humble "subdued" (muʿabbad). An example of this is the saying of Ṭarafa ibn al-ʿAbd:

She competes with noble, swift [camels], following Pastern upon pastern over a beaten, smoothed path. (1)

He means by mawr: path, and by muʿabbad: smoothed and trodden. (2) From this, a camel made obedient for riding in fulfilling needs is called muʿabbad. From it also, the servant is called ʿabd due to his submissiveness to his master. The evidence for that—from the poetry and speech of the Arabs—is too numerous to count, and in what we have mentioned there is sufficiency for whoever is granted the success to understand it, if God Almighty wills.

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Discourse on the interpretation of His statement: {And You alone we ask for help}.

Abū Jaʿfar said: The meaning of His statement, "(And You alone we ask for help)," is: You alone, our Lord, we ask for help in worshipping You and obeying You, and in all our affairs—none other than You, for whoever disbelieves in You seeks help in his affairs from his worshipped object among idols besides You, whereas we seek help through You in all our affairs, devoting worship sincerely to You.

172 - Just as Abū Kurayb narrated to us, saying: ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd narrated to us,