41 Know that one-fifth of your battle gains belongs to God and the Messenger, to close relatives and orphans, to the needy and travelers, if you believe in God and the revelation We sent down to Our servant on the day of the decision, the day when the two forces met in battle. God has power over all things. 42 Remember when you were on the near side of the valley, and they were on the far side and the caravan was below you. If you had made an appointment to fight, you would have failed to keep it [but the battle took place] so that God might bring about something already ordained, so that those who were to die might die after seeing a clear proof, and so that those who were to live might live after seeing a clear proof– God is all hearing and all seeing.
43 [Prophet], remember when God made you see them in your sleep as few: if He had shown them to you [believers] as many, you would certainly have lost heart and argued about it, but God saved you. He knows the secrets of the heart. 44 When you met He showed them to you as few, and He made you few in their eyes, so that He might bring about what has been ordained: everything goes back to God.
45 Believers, when you meet a force in battle, stand firm and keep God firmly in mind, so that you may prosper. 46 Obey God and His Messenger, and do not quarrel with one another, or you may lose heart and your spirit may desert you. Be steadfast: God is with the steadfast. 47 Do not be like those who came out of their homes full of conceit, showing off to people, and barring others from the way of God– God has full knowledge of all that they do. 48 Satan made their foul deeds seem fair to them, and said, ‘No one will conquer you today, for I will be right beside you,’ but when the armies came within sight of one another he turned on his heels, saying, ‘This is where I leave you: I see what you do not, and I fear God– God is severe in His punishment.’
49 The hypocrites and those who have sickness in their hearts said, ‘These people [the believers] must be deluded by their religion,’ but if anyone puts his trust in God, God is mighty and wise. 50 If only you [Prophet] could see, when the angels take the souls of the disbelievers, how they strike their faces and backs: it will be said, ‘Taste the punishment of the Fire. 51 This is caused by what your own hands have stored up for you: God is never unjust to His creatures.’ 52 They are like Pharaoh’s people and those before them who ignored God’s signs, so God punished them for their sins: God is strong and severe in His punishment. 53 [He did] this because God would never change a favor He had conferred on a people unless they changed what was within themselves. God is all hearing, all knowing. 54 They are indeed like Pharaoh’s people and those before them, who denied the signs of their Lord: We destroyed them for their sins, and We drowned Pharaoh’s people– they were all evildoers.
55 The worst creatures in the sight of God are those who reject Him and will not believe; 56 who, whenever you [Prophet] make a treaty with them, break it, for they have no fear [a] of God. 57 If you meet them in battle, make a fearsome example of them to those who come after them, so that they may take heed. 58 And if you learn of treachery on the part of any people, throw their treaty back at them, for God does not love the treacherous.
Disbelievers and Believers Are Not the Same
59 The disbelievers should not think they have won; they cannot escape. 60 Prepare whatever forces you [believers] can muster, including warhorses, to frighten off God’s enemies and yours, and warn others unknown to you but known to God. Whatever you give in God’s cause will be repaid to you in full, and you will not be wronged. 61 But if they incline towards peace, you [Prophet] must also incline towards it, and put your trust in God: He is the All Hearing, the All Knowing. 62 If they intend to deceive you, God is enough for you: it was He who strengthened you with His help, 63 and with the believers, and brought their hearts together. Even if you had given away everything in the earth you could not have done this, but God brought them together: God is mighty and wise. 64 Prophet, God is enough for you, and for the believers who follow you. 65 Prophet, urge the believers to fight: if there are twenty of you who are steadfast, they will overcome two hundred, and a hundred of you, if steadfast, will overcome a thousand of the disbelievers, for they are people who do not understand. 66 But God has lightened your burden for now, knowing that there is weakness in you– a steadfast hundred of you will defeat two hundred and a steadfast thousand of you will defeat two thousand, by God’s permission: God is with the steadfast.
67 It is not right for a prophet to take captives before he has conquered the battlefield. You [people] desire the transient goods of this world, but God desires the Hereafter [for you]– God is mighty and wise– 68 and had it not been preordained by God, a severe punishment would have come upon you for what you have taken. 69 So enjoy [b] in a good and lawful manner the things you have gained in war and be mindful of God: He is forgiving and merciful.
70 Prophet, tell those you have taken captive, ‘If God knows of any good in your hearts, He will give you something better than what has been taken from you, and He will forgive you: God is forgiving and merciful.’ 71 But if they mean to betray you, they have betrayed God before, and He has given you mastery over them: He is all knowing, all wise.
72 Those who believed and emigrated [to Medina] and struggled for God’s cause with their possessions and persons, and those who gave refuge and help, are all allies of one another. As for those who believed but did not emigrate, you are not responsible for their protection until they have done so. But if they seek help from you against persecution, it is your duty to assist them, except against people with whom you have a treaty: God sees all that you do.
73 The disbelievers support one another. If you do not do the same, there will be persecution in the land and great corruption. 74 Those who believed and emigrated, and struggled for God’s cause, and those who gave refuge and help– they are the true believers and they will have forgiveness and generous provision. 75 And those who came to believe afterwards, and emigrated and struggled alongside you, they are part of you, but relatives still have prior claim over one another in God’s Scripture: God has full knowledge of all things.
Footnotes
a. Translators use ‘if you fear’, but one of the old meanings of khafa is ‘to know’ and ‘to be certain’.
b. Literally ‘eat’.
The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)
The Qur'an / a new translation by M. A. S. Abdel Haleem, copyright © 2004 Oxford World's Classics (Oxford University Press). Used by permission. All rights reserved.