Tell those who are bent on denying the truth that if they desist, their past shall be forgiven, but if they persist in sin, they have an example in the fate of those who went before. 38 And fight against them until there be no temptations and their obedience be wholly unto Allah. So if they desist, then verily Allah is the Beholder of that which they do. 39 But if they turn away, then know well that Allah is your Protector - an excellent Protector and an excellent Helper. 40 ۞ Know that one-fifth of what you acquire as booty (of war) is for God and His Apostle, and for relatives and orphans, the poor and wayfarers, if you truly believe in God and what We revealed to Our votary on the day of victory over the infidels when the two armies clashed (at Badr). For God has the power to do any thing. 41 When you were on the near bank and the disbelievers on the far bank, and the caravan below you; and had you made an agreement between one another, you would have failed to reach on the appointed time – but this is in order that Allah may complete a thing that must be done – that he who dies may die by a clear proof and he who lives may live by a clear proof; and indeed Allah is surely, All Hearing, All Knowing. 42 God showed (the Makkans) to be few in your dream, for if He had shown them to be many you would surely have lost courage and disagreed about the (wisdom) of the battle. But God spared you this, for He surely knows what is in the hearts of men. 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