O believers, remember God's blessing upon you when hosts came against you, and We loosed against them a wind, and hosts you saw not; and God sees the things you do. 9 Eyes became dull and hearts almost reached the throat when they attacked you from above and below and you started to think of God with suspicion. 10 That proved be the testing ground for the Muslims, and they were subjected to a severe shake. 11 When the hypocrites and those who were filled with doubt, said: "The promise of God and His Apostle was nothing but deceit." 12 It was there that a group of them said, "People of Yathrib, turn back for there is no place for you to stay." Another group, asking for the Prophet's permission, said, "Our homes are defenseless." In fact, they were not defenseless. They only wanted to run away. 13 And if entrance had been forced against them from those quarters, and then they had been asked to apostatise, they would have done so, and but tarried about it briefly. 14 Yet they had made covenant with God before that, that they would not turn their backs; and covenants with God shall be questioned of 15 Say: 'Flight will not avail you, if you flee from death or slaughter, you would enjoy (this world) only for a little (time)' 16 ۞ Say, "Who is it that can protect you from Allah if He intends for you an ill or intends for you a mercy?" And they will not find for themselves besides Allah any protector or any helper. 17 Already Allah knows the hinderers among you and those [hypocrites] who say to their brothers, "Come to us," and do not go to battle, except for a few, 18 Being chary of helping you. But when danger appears you will find them looking at you with eyes turning like a man's in the swoon of death. Yet when the danger is past they lash you with sharp tongues, covetous of the best (of booty). Such as these have not come to belief. So God nullifies whatever they have done. This is how (the innate law of) God works inevitably. 19 They think the Confederates have not departed; and if the Confederates come, they will wish that they were desert-dwellers among the Bedoums asking for news of you. If they were among you, they would fight but little. 20