When Talut set out with his forces, he said to them, "God will test you with a river: whoever drinks from it is not with me and whoever does not drink is with me. There will, however, be no blame upon one who sips only a handful from it." But, except for a few of them, they all drank from it. When he and those who believed along with him had crossed the river, they said, "We have no strength today against Goliath and his warriors." But those of them who believed that they would meet God replied, "Many a small group, by God's command has prevailed against a large group. God is indeed with the steadfast." 249 When they appeared to Goliath and his soldiers, they said: 'Lord, pour upon us patience. Make us firm of foot and give us victory against the nation of unbelievers' 250 Consequently, by Allah's grace, they routed the unbelievers, and David killed Goliath; and Allah gave him kingship and wisdom and taught him whatever other things He willed. And if Allah had not been repelling one set of people by means of another, the earth would have been filled with chaos. But Allah is bountiful to the world (and so repels chaos in this way). 251 These are the Verses of Allah, We recite them to you (O Muhammad SAW) in truth, and surely, you are one of the Messengers (of Allah). 252 ۞ These are the Noble Messengers, to whom We gave excellence over each other; of them are some with whom Allah spoke, and some whom He exalted high above all others; and We gave Eisa (Jesus), the son of Maryam, clear signs and We aided him with the Holy Spirit; and if Allah willed, those after them would not have fought each other after the clear evidences had come to them, but they differed – some remained on faith and some turned disbelievers; and had Allah willed, they would not have fought each other; but Allah may do as He wills. 253