۞ Permission to fight is given to those (i.e. believers against disbelievers), who are fighting them, (and) because they (believers) have been wronged, and surely, Allah is Able to give them (believers) victory 39 to those who were unjustly expelled from their homes only because they said, "God is our Lord." Had it not been for God's repelling some people through the might of the others, the monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which God is very often worshipped would have been utterly destroyed. God shall certainly help those who help Him. He is All-powerful and Majestic. 40 [And they are] those who, if We give them authority in the land, establish prayer and give zakah and enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong. And to Allah belongs the outcome of [all] matters. 41 If your opponents deny you, remember that, before them, the people of Noah and the tribes of 'Ad and Thamud denied their messengers likewise. 42 Those of Abraham and Lut; 43 and so did the dwellers of Midian, and Moses too was branded a liar. Initially I granted respite to the unbelievers for a while and then seized them. How dreadful was My punishment! 44 And how many a city did We destroy while it was committing wrong - so it is [now] fallen into ruin - and [how many] an abandoned well and [how many] a lofty palace. 45 Have they not travelled (sufficiently) in the land to have understanding hearts and listening ears? It is their hearts which are blind, not their ears. 46 That is how they ask you to hasten the punishment; but God does not go back on His promise. Verily a day with your Lord is equal by your reckoning to a thousand years. 47 To how many unjust towns have We given respite and then sized with torment. To Me do all things return. 48