O People who believe! Remember the favour of Allah upon you when some armies came against you, so We sent against them a windstorm and the armies you could not see; and Allah sees your deeds. 9 When they came upon you from above and below you, when the eyes were stupefied with horror, and hearts jumped to the throats, and you made wild suppositions about God. 10 There the believers were tried and they were shaken with severe shaking. 11 And when tile hypocrites, and those in whose hearts is sickness, said, 'God and His Messenger promised us only delusion.' 12 and when some of them said, "O you people of Yathrib! You cannot withstand [the enemy] here: hence, go back [to your homes]!" — Whereupon a party from among them asked leave of the Prophet, saying, "Behold, our houses are exposed [to attack]!" — The while they were not [really] exposed: they wanted nothing but to flee. 13 If the (enemy) had entered the city from every side and asked them to rise in revolt, they would have done so, and not hesitated but a little; 14 They had already vowed before God that they would never turn their backs: and a vow made to God must be answered for. 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 (to them): “Who can protect you from Allah if He desires an evil for you? And who can prevent Him if He desires to show mercy to you?” They shall find none other than Allah to be their protector or helper. 17 Allah already knoweth those of you who hinder, and those who say unto their brethren: "Come ye hither unto us!" and they come not to the stress of battle save a little, 18 They are niggardly in spending for you. When fear comes, you can see them looking at you, their eyes rolling about like to faint because of the agony of death. When their fear subsides, they start to bite you with their sharp tongues. They are miserly in spending for a virtuous cause and have no faith. God has turned their deeds devoid of all virtue. This was not at all difficult for God. 19 They think that the confederate tribes have not yet gone. If the confederate tribes were to attack them, they would have wished to be left alone among the bedouin Arabs where they would only follow the news about you. Even if they were with you, only a few of them would take part in the fight. 20