¹ An acquittal from God and His messenger, to those with whom you made a covenant among the idolaters:¹

² “Travel in the earth four months;¹ and know that you cannot escape² God, and that God will disgrace the false claimers of guidance.”³

³ And a proclamation from God and His messenger to mankind on the day of the greater pilgrimage:¹ “God is free of the idolaters,² as is³ His messenger. And if you repent, it is better for you; but if you turn away, know that you cannot escape⁴ God.” And bear thou tidings⁵ to those who ignore warning⁶ of a painful punishment,

⁴ Save the idolaters¹ with whom you made a covenant then who have not been deficient towards you in anything, nor assisted anyone against you; so fulfil to them your² covenant to its³ term; God loves those of prudent fear.⁴

⁵ And when the inviolable months¹ have passed, then kill the idolaters² wheresoever you find them, and seize them, and restrain³ them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they repent,⁴ and uphold the duty,⁵ and render the purity,⁶ then let them go their way; God is forgiving and merciful.

⁶ And if one of the idolaters¹ seeks thy protection, then grant thou him protection until he hears the words of God; then convey thou him to his place of security — is it not that² they are people who know not!

⁷ How can there be for the idolaters¹ a covenant with God and with His messenger save those with whom you made a covenant at the inviolable place of worship?² — so long as they take a straight path with you, then take a straight path with them; God loves those of prudent fear³ —

⁸ How,¹ when if they get the better of you, they observe neither pact of kinship nor obligation to protect? They please you with their mouths, but their hearts refuse; and most of them are perfidious.²

⁹ They have sold the proofs¹ of God at a cheap price and turned away from² His path; evil is what they did.

¹⁰ And they regard towards a believer¹ neither pact of kinship, nor obligation to protect; and it is they who are the transgressors.

¹¹ But if they repent,¹ and uphold the duty,² and render the purity,³ then are they your brethren in doctrine;⁴ and We set out and detail⁵ the proofs⁶ for people who know.

¹² And if they renege on their oaths after their covenant and revile your doctrine,¹ then fight the leaders of denial: they have no oaths² that they might desist.

¹³ Will you not fight a people who broke their oaths, and purposed to turn the Messenger out, and began against you the first time? Do you fear them? Then God is worthier¹ that you should fear Him, if you be believers.²

¹⁴ Fight them! God will punish them at your hands and disgrace them, and help you against them,¹ and heal the breasts of people who believe

¹⁵ And remove the wrath of their hearts; and God relents towards whom He wills; and God is knowing and wise.

¹⁶ If¹ you think that you will be left² when God knows not those among you who have striven, and have taken — besides³ God, and His messenger, and the believers⁴ — no confidant[...].⁵ And God is aware of what you do.

¹⁷ It is not for the idolaters¹ to inhabit² the places of worship³ of God, bearing witness against themselves to denial; those: their works are vain, and in the Fire do they abide eternally.

¹⁸ He only inhabits¹ the places of worship² of God who believes in³ God and the Last Day, and upholds the duty,⁴ and renders the purity,⁵ and fears not save God; and it may be that those are of the guided.

¹⁹ Have you made the giving of water to the pilgrim and the inhabiting¹ of the inviolable place of worship² like him who believes in³ God and the Last Day and strives in the cause of God? They are not equal before God; and God guides not the wrongdoing⁴ people.

²⁰ Those who heed warning,¹ and emigrate, and strive in the cause of God with their wealth and their lives are of more tremendous degree before God; and it is they who are the attainers of success.

²¹ Their Lord gives them glad tidings of mercy from Him, and approval; and they have gardens therein of enduring bliss,

²² They abiding eternally therein forever; with God is a great reward.

²³ O you who heed warning:¹ take not your fathers and your brethren as allies if they prefer denial to faith; and whoso takes them as allies among you: it is they who are the wrongdoers.²

²⁴ Say thou: “If your fathers, and your sons, and your brothers, and your wives, and your kindred, and the wealth you have acquired, and trade wherein you fear a decline, and dwellings with which you are pleased, be dearer to you than God and His messenger and striving in His cause, then wait until God brings His command”; and God guides not the perfidious¹ people.

²⁵ God has helped you¹ in many places — and on the day of Ḥunayn² when you were impressed at your multitude, but it availed you nothing, and the earth was straitened for you, vast as it was; then you turned and fled.

²⁶ Then sent God His tranquillity upon His messenger, and upon the believers,¹ and sent down forces you did not see, and punished those who ignored warning;² and that³ is the reward of the false claimers of guidance;⁴

²⁷ Then does God relent after that towards whom He wills; and God is forgiving and merciful.

²⁸ O you who heed warning:¹ those who ascribe a partnership² are unclean; so approach not³ the inviolable place of worship⁴ after this their⁵ year. And if you fear⁶ poverty,⁷ then will God enrich you out of His bounty, if He wills; God is knowing and wise.

²⁹ Fight¹ those who believe not in² God or the Last Day, and make not unlawful what God and His messenger have made unlawful,³ and adhere not to the doctrine⁴ of truth⁵ among those given⁶ the Writ,⁷ until they make⁸ reparation⁹ under supervision¹⁰ when they are brought low.

³⁰ And the Rabbinic Jews¹ say: “ʿUzayr² is the son of God”;³ and the Christians⁴ say: “The Messiah⁵ is the son of God.” That is the speech of their mouths; they imitate the speech of those who ignored warning⁶ before. May God curse them!⁷ How are they deluded?⁸

³¹ They take their rabbis and their religious scholars as lords rather than¹ God, and the Messiah,² son of Mary;³ and they were not commanded save to serve One God; there is no god save He. Glory⁴ be to Him above that to which they ascribe a partnership!⁵

³² They want to extinguish the light of God with their mouths; and God refuses save to perfect His light, though the false claimers of guidance¹ be averse.

³³ He it is that sent His messenger with the guidance and the doctrine¹ of truth,² that He might make it manifest over all doctrine,³ though the idolaters⁴ be averse.

³⁴ O you who heed warning:¹ many among the rabbis and the religious scholars consume the wealth of men in vanity, and turn away from² the path of God. And those who amass gold and silver and spend it not in the cause of God: give thou them tidings³ of a painful punishment: —

³⁵ The day it¹ will be heated in the fire of Gehenna, then therewith will be branded their foreheads and their sides and their backs: “This is what you amassed for your souls; so taste what you amassed!”

³⁶ The count of months¹ is with God;² twelve months³ were in the Writ⁴ of God⁵ the day⁶ He created the heavens and the earth;⁷ from it⁸ are four⁹ inviolable.¹⁰ That is the right doctrine,¹¹ so wrong not your souls concerning them:¹² — and fight the idolaters¹³ altogether¹⁴ as they fight you altogether, and know that God is with those of prudent fear¹⁵ —

³⁷ Postponement¹ is but an increase in denial whereby those who ignore warning² are led astray; they make it³ lawful one year and make it unlawful another year,⁴ that the count might agree with what God made unlawful⁵ — so they make lawful what God made unlawful; made fair to them is the evil of their deeds; and God guides not the people of the false claimers of guidance.⁶

³⁸ O you who heed warning:¹ what ails you that when it is said to you: “Go forth in the cause of God,” you cling to the earth? Are you content with the life of this world over the Hereafter? But the enjoyment of the life of this world in the Hereafter is only small.

³⁹ Save you go forth, He will punish you with a painful punishment and replace you with a people other than you — and you will not harm Him at all; and God is over all things powerful —

⁴⁰ Save you help him.¹ And God helped him when those who ignore warning² turned him out, the second of two, when they³ were in the cave, when he said to his companion: “Grieve thou not; God is with us.”⁴ Then God sent down His tranquillity upon him, and strengthened him with forces you did not see, and made the word of those who ignore warning⁵ the lowest; and the word of God, it is the uppermost; and God is exalted in might and wise.

⁴¹ Go forth, light or¹ heavy, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the cause of God; that is best for you, if you would know.

⁴² Had it been goods¹ nearby and a short journey, they would have followed thee; but far for them was the destination. And they will swear by God: “Had we been able, we would have gone forth with you,” destroying their souls;² and God knows that they are liars.

⁴³ God pardon thee! Why grantedst thou them leave¹ until it was clear to thee who spoke the truth, and thou knewest the liars?

⁴⁴ No leave do those who believe in¹ God and the Last Day ask of thee from striving with their wealth and their lives;² and God knows those of prudent fear.³

⁴⁵ There but ask leave of thee those who believe not in¹ God and the Last Day, and whose hearts doubt, so they in their doubt are wavering.

⁴⁶ And had they wished to go forth, they would have made preparation for it.¹ But God was averse to their being sent forth, and held them back, and it was said: “Sit with those that sit.”²

⁴⁷ Had they gone forth with you, they would have increased you only in ruin, and been active in your midst seeking means of denial¹ for you; and among you are eager listeners to them; and God knows the wrongdoers.²

⁴⁸ They sought the means of denial¹ before, and overturned matters² for thee, until the truth³ came and the command of God was made manifest when they were averse.⁴

⁴⁹ And among them is he who says: “Grant thou me leave,¹ and subject thou me not to means of denial.”² Save into the means of denial³ have they fallen; and Gehenna encompasses the false claimers of guidance.⁴

⁵⁰ If good befalls thee, it vexes them; but if calamity befalls thee, they say: “We took our command¹ before,”² and they turn away, exulting.