۞ Have you not considered those who went forth from their homes, for fear of death, and they were thousands, then Allah said to them, Die; again He gave them life; most surely Allah is Gracious to people, but most people are not grateful. 243 And fight in the Way of Allah and know that Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower. 244 Who will give God a generous loan? He will multiply it many times over. It is God who withholds, and God who gives abundantly, and it is to Him that you shall all be returned. 245 Have you not seen the congregation of the Children of Israel who demanded of one of their Prophets after (the death of) Moses? 'Raise up for us a king' they said, 'and we will fight in the way of Allah' He replied: 'Might it be that if fighting is written for you, you will not fight' 'Why shouldn't we fight in the way of Allah' they replied, 'when we and all our children have been driven from our dwellings' Yet, when fighting was written for them all except for a few, turned away. And Allah has knowledge of the harmdoers. 246 Their Prophet said to them, "Allah has appointed Saul to be king over you." Hearing this, they replied, "How has he been entitled to become king over us? We have a better right to kingship than he, for he does not even possess enough riches." The Prophet replied, "Allah has preferred him to you and blessed him with abundant powers of mind and body. And Allah has the power to give His kingdom to whomever He wills: Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing." 247 Their Prophet further informed them, "The sign of his appointment as king from Allah is that during his reign you will get back the Ark, wherein are the means of your peace of mind from your Lord, and which contains the sacred relics of the family of Moses and Aaron, and which is being borne at this time by the angels. Herein is a great Sign for you, if you are true believers." 248