۞ Leave is given to those who fight because they were wronged -- surely God is able to help them -- 39 Those who were unjustly expelled from their homes just because they said, “Allah is Our Lord”; and had Allah not repelled some men by means of other men, the abbeys, churches, synagogues and mosques – in which the name of Allah is profusely mentioned – would definitely be demolished; and indeed Allah will assist the one who helps His religion; indeed surely Allah is Almighty, Dominant. 40 (Allah will certainly help) those who, were We to bestow authority on them in the land, will establish Prayers, render Zakah, enjoin good, and forbid evil. The end of all matters rests with Allah. 41 If they belie you, so too before them, the nation of Noah belied, and Aad and Thamood 42 and so too did the people of Abraham and the people of Lot; 43 and the inhabitants of Midian also charged their prophets with falsehood. Moses was also rejected. I gave respite to those who denied the truth, but then I seized them. Consider then, how terrible My repudiation of them was. 44 How many were the unjust dwellers of the towns that We destroyed. From their trellises to their lofty mansions, all were toppled and their wells were abandoned. 45 Have these people not travelled through the land to make their hearts understand and let their ears hear; the truth is that it is not the eyes that are blind but the hearts that are in the bosoms that are blinded. 46 And they urge you to hasten the punishment. But Allah will never fail in His promise. And indeed, a day with your Lord is like a thousand years of those which you count. 47 And how many a town to which I gave respite while it was unjust, then I overtook it, and to Me is the return. 48