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 There is no fault for the weak, the sick, and those lacking the means to spend (to stay behind), if they are true to Allah and His Messenger. There is no way against the righteous; Allah is Forgiving, the Most 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 blameworthy ones are those who ask for exemption despite their ability and who preferred to stay at home with those who are truly exempt. God has placed a seal on their hearts but they do not know. 93 When you return, they will apologize to you. Say: 'Make no excuses; we will not believe you. Allah has already told us of your news. Surely, Allah and His Messenger will see your work; then you will be returned to the Knower of the unseen and the visible, and He will inform you of what you were doing' 94 They will swear by Allah to you when you return to them that you would leave them alone. So leave them alone; indeed they are evil; and their refuge is Hell as recompense for what they had been earning. 95 They will swear to you with a view to making you pleased with them: but [even] should you be pleased with them, verily, God shall never be pleased with iniquitous folk. 96 The dwellers of the desert are very hard in unbelief and hypocrisy, and more disposed not to know the limits of what Allah has revealed to His Apostle; and Allah is Knowing, Wise. 97 And among the bedouin there are such as regard all that they might spend [in God's cause] as a loss, and wait for misfortune to encompass you, [O believers: but] it is they whom evil fortune shall encompass - for God is all-hearing, all-knowing. 98 But some of the desert Arabs believe in Allah and the Last Day, and look on their payments as pious gifts bringing them nearer to Allah and obtaining the prayers of the Messenger. Aye, indeed they bring them nearer (to Him): soon will Allah admit them to His Mercy: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. 99