Tell the unbelievers that if they abandon their ways He will forgive them what is past; but, if they return, that was indeed the way of their forefathers who have passed away. 38 Fight them, till there is no persecution and the religion is God's entirely; then if they give over, surely God sees the things they do; 39 but if they turn away, know that God is your Protector -- an excellent Protector, an excellent Helper! 40 ۞ And know that anything you obtain of war booty - then indeed, for Allah is one fifth of it and for the Messenger and for [his] near relatives and the orphans, the needy, and the [stranded] traveler, if you have believed in Allah and in that which We sent down to Our Servant on the day of criterion - the day when the two armies met. And Allah, over all things, is competent. 41 You were on the nearer side of the valley, and they were on the farther side, and the caravan was below you. Had you wished to set a time by mutual agreement, you would certainly have disagreed on the timing. However, the encounter took place, so that God might settle a matter which had already been ordained, so that he who was to perish might perish after clear evidence of the truth, and he who was to live might live in clear evidence of the truth. Surely, God is all hearing and all-knowing. 42 [Remember, O Muhammad], when Allah showed them to you in your dream as few; and if He had shown them to you as many, you [believers] would have lost courage and would have disputed in the matter [of whether to fight], but Allah saved [you from that]. Indeed, He is Knowing of that within the breasts. 43 When you faced them He made (the enemy) seem few to you in numbers, and made you appear fewer in their eyes, (it was) so that God could accomplish what had been decreed; for all things rest with God. 44