O ye who believe! what is the matter with you, that, when ye are asked to go forth in the cause of Allah, ye cling heavily to the earth? Do ye prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared with the Hereafter. 38 If you do not go forth, He will punish you sternly and replace you by other people. You will not harm Him in the least. God has power over all things. 39 If you do not help him (Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him), Allah has helped him – when he had to go forth due to the mischief of the disbelievers, just as two men* – when they were in the cave, when he was saying to his companion “Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us”; then Allah caused His calm to descend upon him and helped him with armies you did not see, and disgraced the word of the disbelievers; and Allah’s Word is supreme; and Allah is the Almighty, the Wise. (* The Holy Prophet migrated only with S. Abu Bakr (who later became the first caliph) as his sole companion.) 40 March forth whether light or heavy, and strive in the way of Allah with your belongings and your lives. That is best for you if you only knew it. 41 Had there been some wealth near at hand or a short journey, they would have certainly accompanied you, but the difficult path became very distant for them; and they will now swear by Allah that “Had we been able, we would have surely accompanied you”; they destroy their own souls; and Allah knows that undoubtedly, they are indeed liars. 42