God pardon thee! Why gavest thou them leave, till it was clear to thee which of them spoke the truth, and thou knewest the liars? 43 Those who believe in Allah and the Last Day would not ask thy leave to be excused from striving hard with their riches and their lives; and Allah is Knower of the God-fearing. 44 only those seek exemption who do not truly believe in God and the Last Day, and whose hearts have become a prey to doubt. Because they doubt, they waver. 45 ۞ Had they intended to set forth with you, they would have prepared themselves for it. But Allah did not like their going forth and held them back, and it was said: 'Stay back with those who stay back' 46 Had these [hypocrites] set out with you, [O believers,] they would have added nothing to you save the evil of corruption, and would surely have scurried to and fro in your midst, seeking to stir up discord among you, seeing that there are in your midst such as would have lent them ear: but God has full knowledge of the evildoers. 47 Indeed they had plotted sedition before, and upset matters for thee, until,- the Truth arrived, and the Decree of Allah became manifest much to their disgust. 48 And (many a one) there is among them who says: "Allow me (to stay back at home), and put me not on trial." Surely they have put themselves on trial already, and Hell will enclose the unbelievers from all sides. 49 If you gain success, it grieves them but if you suffer hardship, they turn away from you saying, "It's good that we took our affairs into our own hands". 50 Say: "Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us: He is our protector": and on Allah let the Believers put their trust. 51 Say: "Are you, perchance, hopefully waiting for something [bad] to happen to us - [the while nothing can happen to us] save one of the two best things? But as far as you are concerned, we are hopefully waiting for God to inflict chastisement upon you, [either] from Himself or by our hands! Wait, then, hopefully; behold, we shall hopefully wait with you!" 52 Say, "Spend willingly or unwillingly; never will it be accepted from you. Indeed, you have been a defiantly disobedient people." 53 The only reasons why their contributions are not accepted are: that they reject Allah and His Messenger; that they come to prayer without earnestness; and that they offer contributions unwillingly. 54 Let not their property and children tempt you; God wants to punish them through their things in this life so that their souls will depart while they are unbelievers. 55 They swear by God they are with you, though in fact they are not. They are only a frightened lot. 56 Could they find a place of refuge or caverns or a retreating hole, they would turn round thereto rushing headlong. 57 And among them are some who criticize you concerning the [distribution of] charities. If they are given from them, they approve; but if they are not given from them, at once they become angry. 58 Would that they were content with what Allah and His Messenger gave them, and were to say: "Allah suffices for us, and Allah will give us out of His bounty and so will His Messenger. It is to Allah alone that we turn with hope." 59