Some Arabs of the desert came with ready excuses, asking for leave to stay behind. But those who had lied to God and His Prophet stayed at home doing nothing. So the punishment for those who disbelieve among them will be painful. 90 There is no fault for the weak, the sick, and those lacking the means to spend (to stay behind), if they are true to Allah and His Messenger. There is no way against the righteous; Allah is Forgiving, the Most Merciful. 91 Nor (is there blame) on those who came to thee to be provided with mounts, and when thou saidst, "I can find no mounts for you," they turned back, their eyes streaming with tears of grief that they had no resources wherewith to provide the expenses. 92 ۞ The blameworthy ones are those who ask for exemption despite their ability and who preferred to stay at home with those who are truly exempt. God has placed a seal on their hearts but they do not know. 93 They will apologize to you on your return. Tell them, "Do not ask for pardon. We will never believe you. God has already told us everything about you. God and His Messenger will soon make your deeds public, then you will return to Him who has absolute knowledge of the unseen and the seen and He will inform you of what you have done. 94 They will swear to you by Allah, when ye return to them, that ye may leave them alone. So leave them alone: For they are an abomination, and Hell is their dwelling-place,-a fitting recompense for the (evil) that they did. 95 they will swear to you, so that you may be pleased with them. But [even] if you are pleased with them, God is not pleased with rebellious people. 96 The Bedouins are more stubborn in unbelief and hypocrisy, and apter not to know the bounds of what God has sent down on His Messenger; and God is All-knowing, All-wise. 97 And among the bedouin Arabs there are such as regard whatever they spend (in the Way of Allah) as a fine and wait for some misfortune to befall you. May ill fortune befall them! Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. 98 Yet some Arabs of the desert believe in God and the Last Day, and consider what they spend to be a means of bringing them nearer to God and the blessings of the Prophet. This is certainly a means of achieving nearness (to God), and God will admit them to His mercy, for God is forgiving and kind. 99