SURA XLVIII (48) - THE VICTORY (Medina - 29 Verses) CVIII 460

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 ye 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 ye thought that the Apostle and the faithful could never more come
back to their families; and your hearts were pleased at this; and ye thought an
evil thought of this expedition, and ye 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 ye go forth to the
spoil to take it, "Let us follow you." Fain would they change the word of God.
Say: Ye shall by no means follow us: thus hath God said already. They will
say,. "Nay, ye are jealous of us." Nay! they are men of little understanding.

Say to those Arabs of the desert, who took not the field, ye shall be
called forth against a people of mighty valour. Ye shall do battle with them,
or they shall profess Islam. If ye obey, a goodly recompense will God give
you; but if ye turn back, as ye 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 ye 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 ye 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 ye would have trodden down believers, both
men and women, whom ye 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, "Ye shall surely enter the sacred Mosque, if God will, in full security,
having your heads shaved and your hair cut: ye shall not fear; for He knoweth
what ye 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.