The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

4: 77
Women 57
wronged themselves, and begged God’s forgiveness, and the
Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found
that God accepts repentance and is most merciful. 65 By your Lord,
they will not be true believers until they let you decide between them
in all matters of dispute, and find no resistance in their souls to your
decisions, accepting them totally – 66 if We had ordered, ‘Lay down
your lives’ or ‘Leave your homes,’ they would not have done so,
except for a few – it would have been far better for them and
stronger confirmation of their faith, if they had done as they were
told, 67 and We would have given them a rich reward of Our own
68 and guided them to a straight path. 69 Whoever obeys God and the
Messenger will be among those He has blessed: the messengers, the
truthful, those who bear witness to the truth, a and the righteous –
what excellent companions these are! 70 That is God’s favour. No one
knows better than Him.
71 You who believe, be on your guard. March [to battle] in small
groups or as one body. 72 Among you there is the sort of person who
is sure to lag behind: if a calamity befalls you, he says, ‘God has been
gracious to me that I was not there with them,’ 73 yet he is sure to say,
if you are favoured by God, ‘If only I had been with them, I could
have made great gains,’ as if there had been no ties of affection
between you and him. 74 Let those of you who are willing to trade the
life of this world for the life to come, fight in God’s way. To anyone
who fights in God’s way, whether killed or victorious, We shall give a
great reward. 75 Why should you not fight in God’s cause and for
those oppressed men, women, and children who cry out, ‘Lord,
rescue us from this town whose people are oppressors! By Your
grace, give us a protector and give us a helper!’? 76 The believers fight
for God’s cause, while those who reject faith fight for an unjust
cause. b Fight the allies of Satan: Satan’s strategies are truly weak.
77 [Prophet], do you not see those who were told, ‘Restrain yourselves
from fighting, perform the prayer, and pay the prescribed
alms’? When fighting was ordained for them, some of them feared
men as much as, or even more than, they feared God, saying, ‘Lord,
why have You ordained fighting for us? If only You would give us
just a little more time.’ Say to them, ‘Little is the enjoyment in this
a Martyrs bear witness to the truth with their lives (Razi).
b Again this is the term taghut, which has a multitude of meanings. See note to
verse 60.