O People who believe! Remember the favour of Allah upon you when some armies came against you, so We sent against them a windstorm and the armies you could not see; and Allah sees your deeds. 9 When the disbelievers came upon you from above you and from below you, and when the eyes became fixed in stare and the hearts came up to the throats, and you were imagining matters regarding Allah. 10 That proved be the testing ground for the Muslims, and they were subjected to a severe shake. 11 When the hypocrites and those who were filled with doubt, said: "The promise of God and His Apostle was nothing but deceit." 12 And when a section of them said: “(O people of Yathrib), now there is no place for you to stay, so turn back.” (And call to mind) when a section of them was seeking permission from the Prophet to leave, saying: “Our houses are exposed (to attack),” although they were not exposed (to attack); they only wished to flee (from the battle-front). 13 Had the army of the enemies invaded their homes and asked them to give-up their religion, they would have yielded to them without delay. 14 And certainly they had made a covenant with Allah before, that) they would not turn (their) backs; and Allah's covenant shall be inquired of. 15 Say thou: flight shall not profit you if ye flee from death or slaughter, and lo! ye will not enjoy life except for a little. 16 ۞ Say: "Who is there that could keep you away from God if it be His will to harm you, or if it be His will to show you mercy?" For, [do they not know that] besides God they can find none to protect them, and none to bring them succour? 17 God certainly knows those among you who create obstacles (on the way that leads to God) and those who say to their brothers, 'Come quickly to us' and very rarely take part in the fighting. 18 begrudging you all help. But then, when danger threatens, thou canst see them looking to thee [for help, O Prophet,] their eyes rolling [in terror] like [the eyes of] one who is overshadowed by death: yet as soon as the danger has passed, they will assail you [believers] with sharp tongues, begrudging you all that is good! [People like] these have never known faith - and therefore God will cause all their works to come to nought: for this is indeed easy for God. 19 They thought the confederate tribes would never withdraw. Indeed, if the confederates should come again, they would prefer to be in the desert, among the Bedouins. There they would ask news of you [from a distance]. But if they were with you, they would take very little part in the fighting. 20