O YOU who have attained to faith! Call to mind the blessings which God bestowed on you (at the time) when [enemy] hosts came down upon you, whereupon We let loose against them a storm wind and [heavenly] hosts that you could not see: yet God saw all that you did. 9 When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when eyes turned aside and hearts reached to the gullets, and of Allah ye were imagining various things. 10 That proved be the testing ground for the Muslims, and they were subjected to a severe shake. 11 And call to mind when the hypocrites and all those with diseased hearts said: “All that Allah and His Messenger had promised us was nothing but deceit.” 12 And when a party of them said, 'O people of Yathrib, there is no abiding here for you, therefore return!' And a part of them Were asking leave of the Prophet, saying, 'Our houses are exposed'; yet they were not exposed; they desired only to flee. 13 If the enemy were to enter the town from various directions, and they were summoned to act treacherously, they would have succumbed to it and would have shown little reluctance in doing so. 14 And indeed before this they had agreed with Allah that they would not turn their backs; and the covenant of Allah will be questioned about. 15 Say, "Flight shall not avail you: if you manage to escape from death or killing, you will enjoy life only for a short while." 16 ۞ Say, "Who is there to shield you from God if He wishes to harm you? If God wishes to show you mercy, who can prevent Him." Besides God they shall find none to protect them, and none to bring them succour. 17 God certainly knows those among you who create obstacles (on the way that leads to God) and those who say to their brothers, 'Come quickly to us' and very rarely take part in the fighting. 18 Being chary of helping you. But when danger appears you will find them looking at you with eyes turning like a man's in the swoon of death. Yet when the danger is past they lash you with sharp tongues, covetous of the best (of booty). Such as these have not come to belief. So God nullifies whatever they have done. This is how (the innate law of) God works inevitably. 19 They think the Confederates have not departed; and if the Confederates come, they will wish that they were desert-dwellers among the Bedoums asking for news of you. If they were among you, they would fight but little. 20