Sura XLVIII (48)
The Victory
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Verily,
We have won for thee an undoubted victory --
In
token that God forgiveth thy earlier and later faults, and fulfilleth His
goodness to thee, and guideth thee on the right way,
And
that God succoureth thee with a mighty succour.
He it
is who sendeth down a spirit of secure repose into the hearts of the faithful
that they might add faith to their faith; (for God's are the armies of the
Heavens and of the Earth: and God is Knowing,
Wise:)
And
that He may bring the believing men and the believing women into gardens 'neath
whose trees the rivers flow, to dwell therein for ere, and that He may cancel
their evil deeds: for this is the great bliss
with God:
And
that He may punish the hypocritical men and the hypocritical women, and the men
and women who join other gods with God, and think evil thoughts of Him. Theirs
shall be a round of evil; and God is angry with them:
and, an evil journey thither!
The
armies of the Heavens and of the Earth are God's, and God is Mighty, Wise!
Verily,
we have sent thee to be a witness and a herald of good (an announcer), and a
warner,
That
you may believe on God and on His Apostle; and may assist Him, and honour Him,
and praise him, morning and evening.
48:10 In truth, they who plighted fealty to
thee, really plighted that fealty to God: the
hand of God was over their hands! Whoever, therefore, shall break his oath
shall only break it to his own hurt; but whoever shall be true to his
engagement with God, He will give him a great reward.
The
Arabs who took not the field with you, will say to thee, "We were engaged
with our property and our families; therefore ask thou pardon for us."
They speak with their tongues what is not in their hearts. Say: And who can have any power over God in your
behalf, whether he will you some loss, or whether he will you an advantage?
Yes, God is acquainted with your doings.
But
you thought that the Apostle and the faithful could never more come back to
their families; and your hearts were pleased at this; and you thought an evil
thought of this expedition, and you became an undone people:
For,
whoso believeth not in God, and His Apostle. . . . Verily, we have got ready
the flame for the Infidels!
And
God's is the kingdom of the Heavens and of the Earth:
Whom He will He forgiveth, and whom He will He punisheth: and God is Gracious, Merciful!
They
who took not the field with you will say, when you go forth to the spoil to
take it, "Let us follow you." Fain would they change the word of God.
Say: You shall by no means follow us: thus hath God said already. They will say,.
"Nay, you are jealous of us." Nay! they are men of little
understanding.
Say to
those Arabs of the desert, who took not the field, you shall be called forth
against a people of mighty valour. You shall do battle with them, or they shall
profess Islam. If you obey, a goodly recompense will God give you; but if you
turn back, as you turned back aforetime, He will chastise you with a sore
chastisement.
It
shall be no crime on the part of the blind, the lame, or the sick, if they go
not to the fight. But whoso shall obey God and His Apostle, he shall bring him
into the gardens 'neath which the rivers flow:
but whoso shall turn back, He will punish him with a sore punishment.
Well
pleased now hath God been with the believers when they plighted fealty to thee
under the tree; and He knew what was in their hearts:
therefore did He send down upon them a spirit of secure repose, and rewarded
them with a speedy victory,
And
with the rich booty which they took: for God
is Mighty, Wise!
48:20 God promised you the taking of a rich
booty and sped it to you; and He withheld men's hands from you, for a sign to
the faithful, and that He might guide you along the right way: --
And
other booty, over which you have not yet had power:
but now hath God compassed them for you; for God is over all things Potent.
If the
Infidels shall fight against you, they shall assuredly turn their backs; then,
neither protector nor helper shall they find!
Such
is God's method carried into effect of old; no change canst thou find in God's
mode of dealing.
And He
it was who held their hands from you and your hands from them in the valley of
Mecca, after that He had given you the victory over them: for God saw what you did.
These
are they who believed not, and kept you away from the sacred Mosque, as well as
the offering which was prevented from reaching the place of sacrifice. And had
it not been that you would have trodden down believers, both men and women,
whom you knew not, so that a crime might have lighted on you without your
knowledge on their account, and that God would bring whom He will within His
mercy, this would have been otherwise ordered. Had they been apart, we had
surely punished such of them as believed not, with a sore punishment.
When
the unbelievers had fostered rage in their hearts -- the rage of ignorance (of
heathens) God sent down His peace on His Apostle and on the faithful, and
stablished in them the word of piety, for they were most worthy and deserving
of it: and God knoweth all things.
Now
hath God in truth made good to His Apostle the dream in which he said,
"You shall surely enter the sacred Mosque, if God will, in full security,
having your heads shaved and your hair cut:
you shall not fear; for He knoweth what you know not; and He hath ordained you,
beside this, a speedy victory."
It is
He who hath sent His Apostle with "the Guidance," and the religion of
truth, that He may exalt it above every religion. And enough for thee is this
testimony on the part of God.
Muhammad
is the Apostle of God; and his comrades are vehement against the infidels, but
full of tenderness among themselves. Thou mayest see them bowing down,
prostrating themselves, imploring favours from God, and His acceptance. Their
tokens are on their faces, the marks of their prostrations. This is their picture
in the Law, and their picture in the Evangel:
they are as the seed which putteth forth its stalk; then strengtheneth it, and
it groweth stout, and riseth upon its stem, rejoicing the husbandman -- that
the infidels may be wrathful at them. To such of them as believe and do the
things that are right, hath God promised forgiveness and a noble recompense.