And the defaulters from among the dwellers of the desert came that permission may be given to them and they sat (at home) who lied to Allah and His Apostle; a painful chastisement shall afflict those of them who disbelieved. 90 People who are weak or sick and those who do not have the means to take part in the fighting are exempt from this duty if their intention remains sincere about God and His Messenger. Righteous people shall not be blamed. God is All-forgiving and All-merciful. 91 Nor can there be any cause for reproach against those who, when they came to you asking for mounts to go to the battlefront, and when you said that you had no mounts for them, they went back, their eyes overflowing with tears, grieving that they had no resources to enable them to take part in fighting. 92 ۞ The way (of reproach) is only against those who seek exemption from you although they are rich; they preferred to be with the women who stay behind – and Allah has sealed their hearts, so they do not know anything. 93 [And] they will [still] be offering excuses to you when you return to them, [from the campaign]! Say: "Do not offer [empty] excuses, [for] we shall not believe you: God has already enlightened us about you. And God will behold your [future] deeds, and [so will] His Apostle; and in the end you will be brought before Him who knows all that is beyond the reach of a created being's perception as well as all that can be witnessed by a creature's senses or mind, and then He will make you truly understand what you were doing [in life]." 94 When you will have returned to them, [O believers,] they will swear to you by God, [repeating their excuses,] with a view to your letting them be. Let them be, then: behold, they are loathsome, and hell is their goal in recompense for what they were wont to do. 95 They swear before you that you may be pleased with them; so if you become pleased with them, then indeed Allah will never be pleased with the sinful. 96 The bedouin Arabs surpass all in unbelief and hypocrisy and are most likely to be unaware of the limits prescribed by Allah in what He has revealed to His Messenger. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. 97 Some Arabs (Banu Asad and Ghatfan tribes) regard what they spend as a (compulsory) fine and wait for some misfortune to befall you. Theirs shall be the evil turn! Allah is Hearing, Knowing. 98 And among the bedouin Arabs are those who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and regard their spending (in the Way of Allah) as a means of drawing near to Allah and of deserving the prayers of the Messenger. Indeed, this shall be a means of drawing near to Allah. Allah will surely admit them to His mercy. Allah is All-Forgiving, Ever Merciful. 99