O People who Believe! If you obey the disbelievers, they will make you turn back on your heels, so you will then turn back as losers. 149 Nay, Allah is your protector, and He is the best of helpers. 150 We will strike awe into the hearts of those who deny the truth, because they have associated partners with God, for which He has sent down no authority. Their abode shall be the Fire, and evil indeed is the abode of the wrongdoers. 151 And Allah did indeed fulfil His Promise to you when you were killing them (your enemy) with His Permission; until (the moment) you lost your courage and fell to disputing about the order, and disobeyed after He showed you (of the booty) which you love. Among you are some that desire this world and some that desire the Hereafter. Then He made you flee from them (your enemy), that He might test you. But surely, He forgave you, and Allah is Most Gracious to the believers. 152 ۞ Behold! ye were climbing up the high ground, without even casting a side glance at any one, and the Messenger in your rear was calling you back. There did Allah give you one distress after another by way of requital, to teach you not to grieve for (the booty) that had escaped you and for (the ill) that had befallen you. For Allah is well aware of all that ye do. 153 Then, after this woe, He sent down upon you a sense of security, an inner calm which enfolded some of you, whereas the others, who cared mainly for themselves, entertained wrong thoughts about God - thoughts of pagan ignorance - saying, "Did we, then, have any power of decision [in this matter]?" Say: "Verily, all power of decision does rest with God" - [but as for them,] they are trying to conceal within themselves that [weakness of faith] which they would not reveal unto thee, [O Prophet, by] saying, "If we had any power of decision, we would not have left so many dead behind." Say [unto them]: "Even if you had remained in your homes, those [of you] whose death had been ordained would indeed have gone forth to the places where they were destined to lie down." And [all this befell you] so that God might put to a test all that you harbour in your bosoms, and render your innermost hearts pure of all dross: for God is aware of what is in the hearts [of men]. 154 Those of you who turned away on the day when the two armies met must have been seduced by satan on account of some of what they had earned. But Allah has pardoned them. He is Forgiving and Clement. 155