O ye who believe! Be not as those who disbelieved and said of their brethren who went abroad in the land or were fighting in the field: If they had been (here) with us they would not have died or been killed: that Allah may make it anguish in their hearts. Allah giveth life and causeth death; and Allah is Seer of what ye do. 156 If you were to die or to be killed for the cause of God, certainly His forgiveness and mercy is far better than your worldly gains. 157 If you die or are slain, certainly you will all be brought before God. 158 Thus it is due to mercy from Allah that you deal with them gently, and had you been rough, hard hearted, they would certainly have dispersed from around you; pardon them therefore and ask pardon for them, and take counsel with them in the affair; so when you have decided, then place your trust in Allah; surely Allah loves those who trust. 159 If Allah should aid you, no one can overcome you; but if He should forsake you, who is there that can aid you after Him? And upon Allah let the believers rely. 160 It is not for a prophet to be false; and whoever is false will indeed bring his falsehood with him on the Day of Reckoning when each will receive his reward without favour or wrong. 161 So is one who pursues the pleasure of Allah like one who brings upon himself the anger of Allah and whose refuge is Hell? And wretched is the destination. 162 All have a different standing in the eyes of God, and God is observant of all their actions. 163 Indeed, God has conferred a great favour on the believers in sending a Messenger from among themselves, to recite His revelations to them, and purify them, and teaches them the Book and wisdom, for, before that they were surely in manifest error. 164 Is it that when a reverse hath befallen you, albeit ye had inflicted twice as much, ye say: whence is this? Say thou: it is but from yourselves. Verily Allah is over everything Potent. 165 What ye suffered on the day the two armies Met, was with the leave of Allah, in order that He might test the believers,- 166 and that He might know the hypocrites' When it was said to them: 'Come, fight or repel in the way of Allah' They replied: 'If only we knew how to fight, we would follow you' On that day, they were nearer to disbelief than belief. They said with their mouths what was not in their hearts. And Allah knows what they hide. 167 There are those who themselves did not join the others in fighting for the cause of God and said about their brothers, "Had they listened to us and stayed at home, they would not have been killed." (Muhammad), tell them to save themselves from death if they are true in their claim. 168 And do not ever assume that those who are slain in Allah's cause, are dead; in fact they are alive with their Lord, receiving sustenance. (Death does not mean extinction, it is the passing of the soul from this world to another. In case of virtuous believers, their bodies do not rot after death and they remain “alive”, in the manner Allah has ordained for them.) 169 Rejoicing in what Allah has given them out of His grace and they rejoice for the sake of those who, (being left) behind them, have not yet joined them, that they shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve. 170 ۞ joyful in blessing and bounty from God, and that God leaves not to waste the wage of the believers. 171