The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)

46
The Quran
3: 155
‘Everything to do with this affair is in God’s hands.’ They conceal in
their hearts things they will not reveal to you. They say, ‘If we had
had our say in this, none of us would have been killed here.’ Tell
them, ‘Even if you had resolved to stay at home, those who were
destined to be killed would still have gone out to meet their deaths.’
God did this in order to test everything within you and in order to
prove what is in your hearts. God knows your innermost thoughts
very well. 155 As for those of you who turned away on the day the two
armies met in battle, it was Satan who caused them to slip, through
some of their actions. God has now pardoned them: God is most
forgiving and forbearing.
156 You who believe, do not be like those who disbelieved and said
of their brothers who went out on a journey or a raid, ‘If only they
had stayed with us they would not have died or been killed,’ for God
will make such thoughts a source of anguish in their hearts. It is God
who gives life and death; God sees everything you do. 157 Whether
you are killed for God’s cause or die, God’s forgiveness and mercy
are better than anything people amass. 158 Whether you die or are
killed, it is to God that you will be gathered.
159 By an act of mercy from God, you [Prophet] were gentle in
your dealings with them – had you been harsh, or hard-hearted, they
would have dispersed and left you – so pardon them and ask forgiveness
for them. Consult with them about matters, then, when you
have decided on a course of action, put your trust in God: God loves
those who put their trust in Him. 160 If God helps you [believers], no
one can overcome you; if He forsakes you, who else can help you?
Believers should put their trust in God.
161 It is inconceivable that a prophet would ever dishonestly take
something from the battle gains. Anyone who does so will carry it
with him on the Day of Resurrection, when each soul will be fully
repaid for what it has done: no one will be wronged. 162 Can the man
who pursues God’s good pleasure be like the man who has brought
God’s wrath upon himself and whose home will be Hell – a foul
destination? 163 They are in a different class in God’s eyes; God sees
exactly what they do.
164 God has been truly gracious to the believers in sending them a
Messenger from among their own, to recite His revelations to them,
to make them grow in purity, and to teach them the Scripture and
wisdom – before that they were clearly astray. 165 Why do you