Say to those who disbelieve, if they desist, that which is past shall be forgiven to them; and if they return, then what happened to the ancients has already passed. 38 Fight them until there is no more [religious] persecution, and religion belongs wholly to God: if they desist, then surely God is watchful of what they do, 39 And if they turn away, then know that Allah is your Patron: Excellent Patron! and Excellent Helper! 40 ۞ And know that whatsoever ye obtain of spoils then verily unto Allah belongeth a fifth thereof and unto the apostle and unto his kindred and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer, if ye indeed have believed in Allah and that which We sent down on Our bondman on the day of distinction, the day whereon the two hosts met. And Allah is over everything Potent. 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 When O dear Prophet, Allah used to show the disbelievers in your dream as only a few*; and O Muslims, had He shown them to you as many, you would have certainly lost courage and disputed over the affair, but Allah rescued (you); indeed He knows what lies within the hearts. (* They numbered more but their actual strength was equal to only a few.) 43 And remember when ye met, He showed them to you as few in your eyes, and He made you appear as contemptible in their eyes: that Allah might accomplish a matter already enacted. For to Allah do all questions go back (for decision). 44