۞ INDEED, well-pleased was God with the believers when they pledged their allegiance unto thee [O Muhammad] under that tree, for He knew what was in their hearts; and so He bestowed inner peace upon them from on high, and rewarded them with [the glad tiding of] a victory soon to come 18 And abundant spoils that they will capture. And Allah is Ever All-Mighty, All-Wise. 19 Allah promised you many acquisitions which you will take, then He hastened on this one for you and held back the hands of men from you, and that it may be a sign for the believers and that He may guide you on a right path. 20 And other (victories and much booty there are, He promises you) which are not yet within your power, indeed Allah compasses them, And Allah is Ever Able to do all things. 21 And if those who disbelieve fight with you, they would certainly turn (their) backs, then they would not find any protector or a helper. 22 Such is the way of Allah in days gone by, and you shall find no change in the ways of Allah. 23 It is He who withheld their hands from you, and your hands from them in the valley of Makkah, after giving you victory over them. God sees what you do. 24 It was the disbelievers who kept you from the Sacred Mosque and prevented your sacrificial offering from reaching its proper place. God would not have kept you from fighting the disbelievers, had there not been believing men and women (among them) whom you did not know and whom you might have unknowingly harmed. God did this because He grants mercy to whomever He wants. Had they been distinguishable from the believers, We would certainly have punished them with a painful torment. 25 And when the unbelievers established in their hearts fierce bigotry, the fierce bigotry of ignorance, Allah sent down His tranquility on His Messenger and the believers and firmly fastened to them the Word of 'taqwa' (there is no god except Allah, and Muhammad is His Messenger, as it is the cause of righteousness) to which they have better right and are worthy of it. Allah has knowledge of all things. 26