O Prophet! Strive against the unbelievers and the hypocrites, and be severe to them. Hell shall be their abode; what an evil destination! 73 They swear by Allah that they said nothing (evil), but indeed they uttered blasphemy, and they did it after accepting Islam; and they meditated a plot which they were unable to carry out: this revenge of theirs was (their) only return for the bounty with which Allah and His Messenger had enriched them! If they repent, it will be best for them; but if they turn back (to their evil ways), Allah will punish them with a grievous penalty in this life and in the Hereafter: They shall have none on earth to protect or help them. 74 ۞ And among them are those who made a covenant with Allah, [saying], "If He should give us from His bounty, we will surely spend in charity, and we will surely be among the righteous." 75 Nevertheless, when He gave them of His bounty they were niggardly of it, and turned away, swerving aside. 76 So He chastised them with setting hypocrisy in their hearts until the Day they shall meet Him, because they kept back from Allah that which they had promised Him, and because they were wont to lie. 77 Did they not know that God knows their secret and what they conspire together, and that God knows the things unseen? 78 They who defame those of the believers who give alms willingly, and deride those who have nothing besides what they earn by their labour (to give in charity), will be derided by God, and will suffer painful punishment. 79 Ask forgiveness for them, [O Muhammad], or do not ask forgiveness for them. If you should ask forgiveness for them seventy times - never will Allah forgive them. That is because they disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger, and Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people. 80