48. The Victory

Verily We have granted thee a manifestVictory:

That Allah may forgive thee thy faultsof the past and those to follow; fulfil His favour to thee; and guide theeon the Straight Way;

And that Allah may help thee withpowerful help.

It is He Who sent down tranquillity intothe hearts of the Believers, that they may add faith to their faith;- for toAllah belong the Forces of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is Full ofKnowledge and Wisdom;-

That He may admit the men and women whobelieve, to Gardens beneath which rivers flow, to dwell therein for aye, andremove their ills from them;- and that is, in the sight of Allah, thehighest achievement (for man),-

And that He may punish the Hypocrites,men and women, and the Polytheists men and women, who imagine an evilopinion of Allah. On them is a round of Evil: the Wrath of Allah is on them:He has cursed them and got Hell ready for them: and evil is it for adestination.

For to Allah belong the Forces of theheavens and the earth; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Full of Wisdom.

We have truly sent thee as a witness, asa bringer of Glad Tidings, and as a Warner:

In order that ye (O men) may believe inAllah and His Messenger, that ye may assist and honour Him, and celebrateHis praise morning and evening.

Verily those who plight their fealty tothee do no less than plight their fealty to Allah. the Hand of Allah is overtheir hands: then any one who violates his oath, does so to the harm of hisown soul, and any one who fulfils what he has covenanted with Allah,- Allahwill soon grant him a great Reward.

The desert Arabs who lagged behind willsay to thee: “We were engaged in (looking after) our flocks and herds, andour families: do thou then ask forgiveness for us.” They say with theirtongues what is not in their hearts. Say: “Who then has any power at all (tointervene) on your behalf with Allah, if His Will is to give you some lossor to give you some profit? But Allah is well acquainted with all that yedo.

“Nay, ye thought that the Messenger andthe Believers would never return to their families; this seemed pleasing inyour hearts, and ye conceived an evil thought, for ye are a people lost (inwickedness).”

And if any believe not in Allah and HisMessenger, We have prepared, for those who reject Allah, a Blazing Fire!

To Allah belongs the dominion of theheavens and the earth: He forgives whom He wills, and He punishes whom Hewills: but Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Those who lagged behind (will say), whenye (are free to) march and take booty (in war): “Permit us to follow you.”They wish to change Allah.s decree: Say: “Not thus will ye follow us: Allahhas already declared (this) beforehand”: then they will say, “But ye arejealous of us.” Nay, but little do they understand (such things).

Say to the desert Arabs who laggedbehind: “Ye shall be summoned (to fight) against a people given to vehementwar: then shall ye fight, or they shall submit. Then if ye show obedience,Allah will grant you a goodly reward, but if ye turn back as ye did before,He will punish you with a grievous Penalty.”

No blame is there on the blind, nor isthere blame on the lame, nor on one ill (if he joins not the war): But hethat obeys Allah and his Messenger,- ((Allah)) will admit him to Gardensbeneath which rivers flow; and he who turns back, ((Allah)) will punish himwith a grievous Penalty.

Allah.s Good Pleasure was on theBelievers when they swore Fealty to thee under the Tree: He knew what was intheir hearts, and He sent down Tranquillity to them; and He rewarded themwith a speedy Victory;

And many gains will they acquire(besides): and Allah is Exalted in Power, Full of Wisdom.

Allah has promised you many gains thatye shall acquire, and He has given you these beforehand; and He hasrestrained the hands of men from you; that it may be a Sign for theBelievers, and that He may guide you to a Straight Path;

And other gains (there are), which arenot within your power, but which Allah has compassed: and Allah has powerover all things.

If the Unbelievers should fight you,they would certainly turn their backs; then would they find neitherprotector nor helper.

(Such has been) the practice (approved)of Allah already in the past: no change wilt thou find in the practice(approved) of Allah.

And it is He Who has restrained theirhands from you and your hands from them in the midst of Makka, after that Hegave you the victory over them. And Allah sees well all that ye do.

They are the ones who denied Revelationand hindered you from the Sacred Mosque and the sacrificial animals,detained from reaching their place of sacrifice. Had there not beenbelieving men and believing women whom ye did not know that ye weretrampling down and on whose account a crime would have accrued to youwithout (your) knowledge, ((Allah) would have allowed you to force your way,but He held back your hands) that He may admit to His Mercy whom He will. Ifthey had been apart, We should certainly have punished the Unbelievers amongthem with a grievous Punishment.

While the Unbelievers got up in theirhearts heat and cant – the heat and cant of ignorance,- Allah sent down HisTranquillity to his Messenger and to the Believers, and made them stickclose to the command of self-restraint; and well were they entitled to itand worthy of it. And Allah has full knowledge of all things.

Truly did Allah fulfil the vision forHis Messenger. ye shall enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah wills, with mindssecure, heads shaved, hair cut short, and without fear. For He knew what yeknew not, and He granted, besides this, a speedy victory.

It is He Who has sent His Messenger withGuidance and the Religion of Truth, to proclaim it over all religion: andenough is Allah for a Witness.

Muhammad is the apostle of Allah. andthose who are with him are strong against Unbelievers, (but) compassionateamongst each other. Thou wilt see them bow and prostrate themselves (inprayer), seeking Grace from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure. On their facesare their marks, (being) the traces of their prostration. This is theirsimilitude in the Taurat; and their similitude in the Gospel is: like a seedwhich sends forth its blade, then makes it strong; it then becomes thick,and it stands on its own stem, (filling) the sowers with wonder and delight.As a result, it fills the Unbelievers with rage at them. Allah has promisedthose among them who believe and do righteous deeds forgiveness, and a greatReward.