The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

58
The Quran 4: 78
world, the Hereafter is far better for those who are mindful of God:
you will not be wronged by as much as the fibre in a date stone.
78 Death will overtake you no matter where you may be, even inside
high towers.’ When good fortune comes their way, they say, ‘This is
from God,’ but when harm befalls them, they say, ‘This is from you
[Prophet].’ Say to them, ‘Both come from God.’ What is the matter
with these people that they can barely understand what they are
told? 79 Anything good that happens to you [Prophet] is from God;
anything bad is [ultimately] from yourself. We have sent you as a
messenger to people; God is sufficient witness. 80 Whoever obeys the
Messenger obeys God. If some pay no heed, We have not sent you to
be their keeper. 81They say, ‘We obey you,’ but as soon as they leave
your presence, some of them scheme by night to do other than what
you said. God records what they scheme, so leave them alone, and
put your trust in God: He is sufficient protector.
82 Will they not think about this Quran? If it had been from
anyone other than God, they would have found much inconsistency
in it. 83 Whenever news of any matter comes to them, whether
concerning peace or war, they spread it about; if they referred it to
the Messenger and those in authority among them, those seeking
its meaning would have found it out from them. If it were not
for God’s bounty and mercy towards you, you would almost all have
followed Satan.
84 So [Prophet] fight in God’s way. You are accountable only for
yourself. Urge the believers on. God may well curb the power of
the disbelievers, for He is stronger in might and more terrible
in punishment. 85 Whoever speaks for a a good cause will share in
its benefits and whoever speaks for a bad cause will share in its
burden: God controls everything. 86 But [even in battle] when you
[believers] are offered a greeting, respond with a better one, or at
least return it: b God keeps account of everything. 87 He is God: there
is no god but Him. He will gather you all together on the Day of
Resurrection, about which there is no doubt. Whose word can be
truer than God’s?
a It is reported that an individual asked the Prophet to exempt another from going
into battle. ‘Speaks for’ is one of the meanings of shafaa as explained by Razi, and it is
more fitting for the context of urging the believer to fight in God’s cause here. The other
meaning, ‘intercedes’, adopted by most translators does not fit with the context.
b See 4: 94 and Razi’s comment.