Its meaning is:
"They 'kill' the scholars by questioning [them] until they learn, and they are 'killed' by those below them through teaching them. This is because the inner meaning (batin) of the 'killing' of the believers is their 'life',"
just as Allah the Exalted said:
{And never think of those who have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision} 1 .
[173] The Al-Alim [The Sage] (Mighty is His Might) said:
"Indeed, Allah has obligated a brother toward his brother: that he never intends any evil for him, that he never harbors resentment (yughiru) against him in his chest, that he never disobeys any command of his, that he never reveals any secret of his, and that he never compels him to seek an excuse [for a shortcoming]."