Tell the unbelievers that if they abandon their ways He will forgive them what is past; but, if they return, that was indeed the way of their forefathers who have passed away. 38 And fight with them until there is no more persecution and religion should be only for Allah; but if they desist, then surely Allah sees what they do. 39 But if they turn away - then know that Allah is your protector. Excellent is the protector, and Excellent is the helper. 40 ۞ AND KNOW that whatever booty you acquire [in war,] one-fifth thereof belongs to God and the Apostle, and the near of kin, and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer. [This you must observe] if you believe in God and in what We bestowed from on high upon Our servant on the day when the true was distinguished from the false - the day when the two hosts met in battle. And God has the power to will anything. 41 And when you were encamped on the nearside and they (the unbelievers) on the farther side, with the caravan below, had you made an appointment with them, you would have surely failed to keep it; but Allah sought to accomplish what He had ordained, so that by clear evidence, he who was destined to perish might perish, and he who was destined to live might live. Surely, Allah is Hearing, Knowing. 42 When Allah showed them unto thee (O Muhammad) in thy dream as few in number, and if He had shown them to thee as many, ye (Muslims) would have faltered and would have quarrelled over the affair. But Allah saved (you). Lo! He knoweth what is in the breasts (of men). 43 And so, when you met in battle, He made them appear as few in your eyes - just as He made you appear as of little account in their eyes - so that God might accomplish a thing [which He willed] to be done: for all things go back to God [as their source]. 44