111 God has purchased the persons and possessions of the believers in return for the Garden– they fight in God’s way: they kill and are killed– this is a true promise given by Him in the Torah, the Gospel, and the Quran. Who could be more faithful to his promise than God? So be happy with the bargain you have made: that is the supreme triumph. 112 [The believers are] those who turn to God in repentance; who worship and praise Him; who bow down and prostrate themselves; who order what is good and forbid what is wrong and who observe God’s limits. Give glad news to such believers.
113 It is not fitting for the Prophet and the believers to ask forgiveness for the idolaters– even if they are related to them– after having been shown that they are the inhabitants of the Blaze: 114 Abraham asked forgiveness for his father because he had made a promise to him, but once he realized that his father was an enemy of God, he washed his hands of him. Abraham was tender-hearted and forbearing. 115 God would not condemn for going astray those He has already guided [to the faith] before making entirely clear to them what they should avoid. [a] God has knowledge of everything; 116 control of the heavens and earth belongs to God; He alone gives life and death; you have no ally or helper other than Him.
117 In His mercy God has turned to the Prophet, and the emigrants and helpers who followed him in the hour of adversity when some hearts almost wavered: He has turned to them; He is most kind and merciful to them. 118 And to the three men who stayed behind: when the earth, for all its spaciousness, closed in around them, when their very souls closed in around them, when they realized that the only refuge from God was with Him, He turned to them in mercy in order for them to return [to Him]. God is the Ever Relenting, the Most Merciful.
Be Mindful of God
119 You who believe, be mindful of God: stand with those who are true. 120 The people of Medina and their neighboring desert Arabs should not have held back from following God’s Messenger, nor should they have cared about themselves more than him: if ever they suffer any thirst, weariness, or hunger in God’s cause, take any step that angers the disbelievers, or cause any harm to an enemy, a good deed is recorded in their favor on account of it– God never wastes the reward of those who do good– 121 if they spend a little or a lot for God’s cause, if they traverse a mountain pass, all this is recorded to their credit so that God can reward them in accordance with the best of their deeds.
122 Yet it is not right for all the believers to go out [to battle] together: out of each community, a group should go out to gain understanding of the religion, so that they can teach their people when they return and so that they can guard themselves against evil. 123 You who believe, fight the disbelievers near you and let them find you standing firm: be aware that God is with those who are mindful of Him.
124 When a sura is revealed, some [hypocrites] say, ‘Have any of you been strengthened in faith by it?’ It certainly does strengthen the faith of those who believe and they rejoice, 125 but, as for the perverse at heart, each new sura adds further to their perversity. They die disbelieving. 126 Can they not see that they are afflicted once or twice a year? Yet they neither repent nor take heed. 127 Whenever a sura is revealed, they look at each other and say, ‘Is anyone watching you?’ and then they turn away– God has turned their hearts away because they are people who do not use their reason.
128 A Messenger has come to you from among yourselves. Your suffering distresses him: he is deeply concerned for you and full of kindness and mercy towards the believers. 129 If they turn away, [Prophet], say ,‘God is enough for me: there is no god but Him; I put my trust in Him; He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne.’
Footnotes
a. This reassured the Muslims who had been praying for their disbelieving ancestors that they would not be blamed for having done this.
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.