May God forgive you! (Muhammad), why did you not let them join the army so that you could discern the liars from the truthful ones? 43 Those who believe in God and the Last Day will never ask you to exempt them from striving with their wealth and their lives, God best knows the righteous, 44 Only those who ask your permission do not believe in Allah and the Last Day and whose hearts are filled with doubt. And in their doubt, they waiver. 45 ۞ Had they (the hypocrites) wanted to join your army, they would have prepared themselves, but God did not wish to motivate them, so He caused them to linger behind with those whose joining you in battle would be of no use. 46 If they had gone forth among you, you would then not gain any increase from them except trouble, and seeking to cause turmoil they would run rumours among you; and their spies are among you; and Allah well knows the unjust. 47 Assuredly they besought sedition afore and turned the affairs upside down for thee until the truth arrived and the decree of Allah prevailed, averse though they were. 48 And among them there was [many a one] who said," Grant me permission [to remain at home,] and do not put me to too hard a test!" Oh, verily, [by making such a request] they had [already failed in their test and] succumbed to a temptation to evil: and behold, hell will indeed encompass all who refuse to acknowledge the truth! 49 If good comes to you, it grieves them; but if hardship befalls you, they say: 'We have taken our precautions' and they turn away, rejoicing. 50 Say: 'Naught shall visit us but what God has prescribed for us; He is our Protector; in God let the believers put all their trust.' 51 Say: "Do you wait for us (anything) except one of the two best things (martyrdom or victory); while we await for you either that Allah will afflict you with a punishment from Himself or at our hands. So wait, we too are waiting with you." 52 Say thou: expend willingly or unwillingly, it will not be accepted of you; verily ye are ever a people ungodly. 53 Nothing prevents the acceptance of what they spend except that they do not believe in God and His Apostle, and come to worship but languidly and spend only grudgingly. 54 So let not their wealth or their children impress you. Allah only intends to punish them through them in worldly life and that their souls should depart [at death] while they are disbelievers. 55 They swear by Allah that they are part of you whereas they are certainly not part of you. They are merely a people who dread you. 56 If they find a place of shelter or a cave or hole to hide, they will turn to it. 57 And of them there are those who blame you with respect to the alms; so if they are given from it they are pleased, and if they are not given from it, lo! they are full of rage. 58 If only they had been content with what Allah and His Messenger gave them, and had said, "Sufficient unto us is Allah! Allah and His Messenger will soon give us of His bounty: to Allah do we turn our hopes!" (that would have been the right course). 59