The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

8: 25
Battle Gains 111
made this a message of hope to reassure your hearts: help comes only
from God, He is mighty and wise. 11 Remember when He gave you
sleep a as a reassurance from Him, and sent down water from the sky
to cleanse you, to remove Satan’s pollution from you, to make your
hearts strong and your feet firm. 12 Your Lord revealed to the angels:
‘I am with you: give the believers firmness; I shall put terror into
the hearts of the disbelievers – strike above their necks and strike all
their fingertips.’ 13 That was because they opposed God and His
Messenger, and if anyone opposes God and His Messenger, God
punishes them severely – 14 ‘That is what you get! Taste that!’––and
the torment of the Fire awaits the disbelievers.
15 Believers, when you meet the disbelievers in battle, never turn
your backs on them: 16 if anyone does so on such a day – unless
manœuvring to fight or to join a fighting group – he incurs the wrath
of God, and Hell will be his home, a wretched destination! 17 It was
not you who killed them but God, and when you [Prophet] threw
[sand at them] b it was not your throw [that defeated them] but
God’s, to do the believers a favour: God is all seeing and all knowing
– 18 ‘That is what you get!’––and God will weaken the disbelievers’
designs. 19 [Disbelievers], if you were seeking a decision,
now you have witnessed one: if you stop here, it will be better for
you. If you return, so shall We, and your forces, though greater in
number, will be of no use to you. God is with the believers.
20 Believers, obey God and His Messenger: do not turn away when
you are listening to him; 21 do not be like those who say, ‘We heard,’
though in fact they were not listening – 22 the worst creatures in
God’s eyes are those who are [wilfully] deaf and dumb, who do not
reason. 23 If God had known there was any good in them, He would
have made them hear, but even if He had, they would still have
turned away and taken no notice. 24 Believers, respond to God and
His Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life. Know
that God comes between a man and his heart, c and that you will be
gathered to Him. 25 Beware of discord that harms not only the
wrongdoers among you: know that God is severe in His punishment.
a On the night before the battle.
b Before the battle, the Prophet prayed and threw a handful of sand at the enemy as a
symbol of their being defeated.
c There are various ways of interpreting this, including that, through death, God
separates a man from his heart’s desire, i.e. life.