Say to the disbelievers that if they desist, what has passed will be forgiven to them; and if they do the same, the tradition of former people has already passed. 38 Fight them until persecution is no more and the Religion of Allah reigns supreme. If they desist, Allah sees the things they do; 39 If they refuse, be sure that Allah is your Protector - the best to protect and the best to help. 40 ۞ AND KNOW that whatever booty you acquire [in war,] one-fifth thereof belongs to God and the Apostle, and the near of kin, and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer. [This you must observe] if you believe in God and in what We bestowed from on high upon Our servant on the day when the true was distinguished from the false - the day when the two hosts met in battle. And God has the power to will anything. 41 You were on the nearer side of the valley, and they were on the farther side, and the caravan was below you. Had you wished to set a time by mutual agreement, you would certainly have disagreed on the timing. However, the encounter took place, so that God might settle a matter which had already been ordained, so that he who was to perish might perish after clear evidence of the truth, and he who was to live might live in clear evidence of the truth. Surely, God is all hearing and all-knowing. 42 When O dear Prophet, Allah used to show the disbelievers in your dream as only a few*; and O Muslims, had He shown them to you as many, you would have certainly lost courage and disputed over the affair, but Allah rescued (you); indeed He knows what lies within the hearts. (* They numbered more but their actual strength was equal to only a few.) 43 When at the time of your encounter He made them appear few in your eyes, and made you appear few in their eyes, it was so that God might bring about that which had been decreed. Everything returns to God. 44