Have you also marked those to whom it was said, "Withhold your hands (a while from war) and establish the Salat and pay the Zakat.? Now that they have been commanded to fight, some of them fear the people as they should fear Allah, or even more than that;108 they say, `Our Lord, why have You prescribed fighting for us? Why have You not given us further respite?" Say to them, "The pleasures of this worldly life are trifling and the life of the Hereafter is much better for a man who fears Allah, and you shall not be wronged in the least.109 As to death, it will overtake you wherever you may be, even though you be in fortified towers" If they have good fortune, they say, "This is from Allah," and if they suffer a loss, they say, "This is because of you."110 Say, "Everything is from Allah." What then has gone wrong with these people that they do not understand anything? Whatever good comes to you, O man, it is by Allah's grace, and whatever evil befalls you, it is the result of your own doings. We have sent you, O Muhammad, as a Messenger to mankind, and Allah's witness suffices for this. Whoever obeys the Messenger, in fact, obeys Allah and whoever turns away from him (is accountable for his deeds); anyhow We have not sent you to be keeper over them.111 In your presence, they say, "We are obedient to you," but when they leave you, some of them meet together secretly at night to plot against what you say; Allah writes down all their secret talks; so leave them alone and trust in Allah; Allah alone suffices for trust. Do they not ponder over the Qur'an? Had it been from any other than Allah, surely there would have been many contradictions in it.112 Whenever these people hear any news concerning peace or danger, they make it known to all and sundry; instead of this, if they should convey it to the Messenger and to the responsible people of the Community, it would come to the knowledge of such people who among them are capable of sifting it and drawing right conclusions from it.113 (Your weaknesses were such that) had it not been for Allah's grace and mercy towards you, all of you except a few, would have followed Satan. O Prophet, fight in the way of Allah: you are accountable for none but your own person; you should, however, urge on the Believers to fight: it may be that Allah will soon break the strength of the disbelievers, for Allah is the strongest in might and His punishment is most severe. Whoever pleads a good cause, will get a share from it, and whoever pleads an evil cause also shall get a share from it;114 for Allah keeps strict watch over everything. And when anyone greets you in a respectful manner, greet him with a better salutation than his or at least return the same;115 indeed Allah takes count of everything. Allah: there is no deity but He. He will gather you all together on the Day of Resurrection, the coming of which is beyond all doubt: and whose word can be truer than Allah's.116