Tell those who are bent on denying the truth that if they desist, their past shall be forgiven, but if they persist in sin, they have an example in the fate of those who went before. 38 And fight them until there is no fitnah and [until] the religion, all of it, is for Allah. And if they cease - then indeed, Allah is Seeing of what they do. 39 But if they are obstinate, know that God is your helper and protector: How excellent a helper, and how excellent a protector is He! 40 ۞ Know that one fifth of the spoils that you obtain belongs to Allah, to the Messenger, to the near of kin, to the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer. This you must observe if you truly believe In Allah and in what We sent down on Our servant on the day when the true was distinguished from the false, the day on which the two armies met in battle. Allah has power over all things. 41 Recall when your army was positioned at the less defensible brink of the valley, (the pagans') army had the more defensible higher side of the valley and the caravan was led (out of your reach) below. This situation did not take place according to your previous plans, otherwise, everything would have been different. (It was God's plan) to place you in a vulnerable position, exposed to the enemy and it was His plan to lead the caravan out of your reach) so that His decree that you would be granted a victory by a miracle would become a doubtless fact and so that those who were to be destroyed would face destruction with a clear knowledge of the Truth and those who were to survive would also survive with a clear knowledge of the Truth. God is All-hearing and All-knowing. 42 And recall when Allah showed them to you in your dream to be few in number. And had He showed them to you to be numerous, you would have flagged and disagreed with one another about fighting them. But Allah saved you. Surely Allah knows what is hidden in the breasts. 43 When God showed you them in your eyes as few, when you encountered, and made you few in their eyes, that God might determine a matter that was done; and unto God all matters are returned. 44