The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

9: 109
Repentance 125
bring them nearer and God will admit them to His mercy. God is
most forgiving and merciful.
100 God will be well pleased with the first emigrants and helpers a
and those who followed them in good deeds, and they will be well
pleased with Him: He has prepared Gardens graced with flowing
streams for them, there to remain for ever. That is the supreme
triumph.
101 Some of the desert Arabs around you are hypocrites, as are
some of the people of Medina – they are obstinate in their hypocrisy.
You [Prophet] do not know them, but We know them well: We shall
punish them twice and then they will be returned to [face] a painful
punishment [in the Hereafter]. 102 And there are others who have
confessed their wrongdoing, who have done some righteous deeds
and some bad ones: God may well accept their repentance, for God
is most forgiving and merciful. 103 In order to cleanse and purify
them [Prophet], accept b a gift out of their property [to make amends]
and pray for them – your prayer will be a comfort to them. God is all
hearing, all knowing. 104 Do they not know that it is God Himself
who accepts repentance from His servants and receives what is given
freely for His sake? He is always ready to accept repentance,
most merciful. 105 Say [Prophet], ‘Take action! God will see your
actions – as will His Messenger and the believers – and then you will
be returned to Him who knows what is seen and unseen, and He will
tell you what you have been doing. 106 And there are others who are
waiting for God’s decree, either to punish them or to show them
mercy. God is all knowing and wise.
107 Then there are those who built a mosque c ––in an attempt to
cause harm, disbelief, and disunity among the believers––as an outpost
for those who fought God and His Messenger before: they
swear, ‘Our intentions were nothing but good,’ but God bears witness
that they are liars. 108 [Prophet], never pray in that mosque. You
should rather pray in a mosque founded from its first day on consciousness
of God: in this mosque there are men who desire to grow
in purity – God loves those who seek to purify themselves. 109 Which
is better, the person who founds his building on consciousness of
a The Medinan Muslims who welcomed and supported the emigrants from Mecca.
b Literally ‘take’.
c Abu Amir al-Rahib told the hypocrites to build a rival mosque in order to sow
dissension in the community.