Allah pardon you! Why did you give them leave until those who spoke the truth had become manifest to you and you had known the liars? 43 Those who [truly] believe in God and the Last Day do not ask thee for exemption from struggling with their possessions and their lives [in God's cause] - and God has full knowledge as to who is conscious of Him: 44 Only those who do not believe in God and the Day of Judgment ask you such questions because their hearts are full of doubts and they cannot make any final decisions. 45 ۞ If they had intended to come out, they would certainly have made some preparation therefor; but Allah was averse to their being sent forth; so He made them lag behind, and they were told, "Sit ye among those who sit (inactive)." 46 Had they joined you, they would have been of no help to you but would have just caused confusion and trouble among you by sneaking through the ranks where some of you would be ready to listen to them. God knows best the unjust. 47 Aforetime they sought to cause sedition and raised difficulties for thee till the Truth came and the decree of Allah was made manifest, though they were loth. 48 Some of them ask you, "Make us exempt from taking part in the battle and do not try to tempt us by telling us what we may gain from the battle; many people have died in the battle." Hell certainly encompasses the unbelievers. 49 If good befalls you, it distresses them; but if disaster strikes you, they say, "We took our matter [in hand] before," and turn away while they are rejoicing. 50 (Muhammad), say, "Nothing will happen to us besides what God has decreed for us. He is our Guardian. In God alone do the believers trust." 51 Say: "Are you, perchance, hopefully waiting for something [bad] to happen to us - [the while nothing can happen to us] save one of the two best things? But as far as you are concerned, we are hopefully waiting for God to inflict chastisement upon you, [either] from Himself or by our hands! Wait, then, hopefully; behold, we shall hopefully wait with you!" 52 Say: 'Whether you spend voluntarily or reluctantly it shall not be accepted from you; for you are a wicked nation' 53 And naught preventeth that their contributions should be accepted from them save that they have disbelieved in Allah and in His messenger, and they come not to worship save as idlers, and pay not (their contribution) save reluctantly. 54 So let not their riches or their children surprise you; Allah only intends to punish them in the life of this world with these things and that they die only as disbelievers. 55 And they swear by Allah that they are surely of you, whereas they are not of you; but they are a people who dread. 56 They are so afraid of you that had there been a place for them to seek refuge, a cave or some entrance in which to hide themselves from you, they would have madly rushed therein. 57 And among them are some who criticize you concerning the [distribution of] charities. If they are given from them, they approve; but if they are not given from them, at once they become angry. 58 O were they well-pleased with what God and His Messenger have brought them, saying, 'Enough for us is God; God will bring us of His bounty, and His Messenger; to God we humbly turn.' 59