۞ Permitted are those who are fought against, because they have been oppressed, and verily to succour them Allah is Potent. 39 to those who were unjustly expelled from their homes only because they said, "God is our Lord." Had it not been for God's repelling some people through the might of the others, the monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which God is very often worshipped would have been utterly destroyed. God shall certainly help those who help Him. He is All-powerful and Majestic. 40 [They are] those who, if We established them in the land, would say their prayers regularly and pay the zakat and enjoin good and forbid evil. The final outcome of all affairs rests with God. 41 If they accuse you of falsehood, (remember that) the people of Noah, 'Ad and Thamud had accused (their apostles) before, 42 as did the people of Abraham, and the people of Lot, 43 (And) the dwellers in Midian. And Moses was denied; but I indulged the disbelievers a long while, then I seized them, and how (terrible) was My abhorrence! 44 And how many a township have We destroyed because it had been immersed in evildoing - and now they [all] lie deserted, with their roofs caved in! And how many a well lies abandoned, and how many a castle that [once] stood high! 45 Have they not marched forth in the land, so that there might become unto them hearts to understand with or ears to hear with? Verily it is not the sights that are blinded but blinded are the hearts that are in the breasts. 46 They ask you to hasten the punishment. Allah will not break His promise. Each day with your Lord is like a thousand years in your reckoning. 47 And to how many a community that was immersed in evildoing have I given rein for a while! But then I took it to task: for with Me is all journeys' end! 48