۞ Allah was well pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance unto thee beneath the tree, and He knew what was in their hearts, and He sent down peace of reassurance on them, and hath rewarded them with a near victory; 18 And spoils in abundance that they are taking. And Allah is ever Mighty, Wise. 19 God has promised you many future gains, and He has given you these in advance; and He has restrained the hands of men from harming you, so that it may be a sign for the believers, and so that He may guide you to a straight path. 20 And there are yet other [gains] which are still beyond your grasp, [but] which God has already encompassed [for you]: for God has power over all things. 21 If those who deny the truth were to fight you, they would certainly turn their backs; then they would find neither protector nor helper: 22 such being God's way which has ever obtained in the past - and never wilt thou find any change in God's way! 23 It was He who restrained their hands from you in the heart of Makkah, and your hands from them, after He had given you victory over them, as God sees all that you do. 24 It was these who disbelieved and prevented you from the Sacred Mosque, and stopped the sacrificial animals from reaching their place; and were it not for some Muslim men and Muslim women, whom you do not know – lest you may crush them and unintentionally incur some violation due to them – Allah would have permitted you to slay them; this relief for them, is so that Allah may admit into His mercy whomever He wills; and had they been separated, We would have indeed punished the disbelievers among them with a painful punishment. 25 Since the disbelievers held zealous ignorance in their hearts, like that of the pre-Islamic age of darkness, God gave confidence to His Messenger and to the believers, binding them to the principle of piety which they deserve. God has the knowledge of all things. 26