in the lands close-by; yet it is they who, notwithstanding this their defeat, shall be victorious

and gardens dense with foliage,

Thereupon he called out to his Sustainer, “Verily, I am defeated; come Thou, then, to my succour!"

If God succours you, none can ever overcome you; but if He should forsake you, who could succour you thereafter? In God, then, let the believers place their trust!

[Whereupon] two men from among those who feared [God, and] whom God had blessed, said: "Enter upon them through the gate'* -for as soon as you enter it, behold, you shall be victorious! And in God you must place your trust if you are [truly] believers!"

for, all who ally themselves with God and His Apostle and those who have attained to faith - behold, it is they, the partisans of God, who shall be victorious!

And the sorcerers came unto Pharaoh [and] said: "Verily, we ought to have a great reward* if it is we who prevail."

And, lo, Satan made all their doings seem goodly to them, and said, "No one can overcome you this day, for, behold, I shall be your protector !"* but as soon as the two hosts came within sight of one another, he turned on his heels and said, "Behold, I am not responsible for you: behold, I see something that you do not see: behold, I fear God-for God is severe in retribution !"*

And the man from Egypt who bought him* said to his wife: "Make his stay [with us] honourable; he may well be of use to us, or we may adopt him as a son. And thus We gave unto Joseph a firm place on earth; and [We did this] so that We might impart unto him some understanding of the inner meaning of happenings.* For, God always prevails in whatever be His purpose: but most people know it not.

Nay, We have allowed these [sinners] – as [We allowed] their forebears – to enjoy the good things of life for a great length of time:* but then – have they never yet seen how We visit the earth [with Our punishment], gradually depriving it of all that is best thereon?* Can they, then, [hope to] be the winners?

so that we might follow [in the footsteps of] the sorcerers if it is they who prevail?"*

Now when the sorcerers came, they said unto Pharaoh: “Verily, we ought to have a great reward if it is we who prevail.*

Thereupon they threw their [magic ropes and their staffs, and said: “By Pharaoh's might, behold, it is we indeed who have prevailed!"*

Said He: “We shall strengthen thine arm through thy brother, and endow both of you with power, so that they will not be able to touch you:* by virtue of Our messages shall you two, and all who follow you, prevail!"

and succoured them, so that [in the end] it was they who achieved victory.

and that, verily, Our hosts - they indeed - would [in the end] be victorious!

And when Saul set out with his forces, he said: "Behold, God will now try you by a river: he who shall drink of it will not belong to me, whereas he who shall refrain from tasting it - he, indeed, will belong to me; but forgiven shall be he* who shall scoop up but a single handful." However, save for a few of them, they all drank [their fill] of it. And as soon as he and those who had kept faith with him had crossed the river, the others said: "No strength have we today [to stand up] against Goliath and his forces!" [Yet] those who knew with certainty that they were destined to meet God, replied: "How often has a small host overcome a great host by God's leave! For God is with those who are patient in adversity."

Say unto those who are bent on denying the truth: "You shall be overcome and gathered unto hell - and how evil a resting-place!"

Hence, let them fight in God's cause - all who are willing to barter the life of this world for the life to come: for unto him who fights in God's cause, whether he be slain or be victorious, We shall in time grant a mighty reward.

And thus were they vanquished there and then, and became utterly humiliated.

Behold, those who are bent on denying the truth are spending their riches in order to turn others away from the path of God; and they will go on spending them until they become [a source of] intense regret for them; and then they will be overcome! And those who [until their death] have denied the truth shall be gathered unto hell,

O Prophet! Inspire the believers to conquer all fear of death when fighting,* [so that,] if there be twenty of you who are patient in adversity, they might overcome two hundred; and [that,] if there be one hundred of you, they might overcome one thousand of those who are bent on denying the truth, because they are people who cannot grasp it.*

For the time being, [however,] God has lightened your burden. for He knows that you are weak: and so, if there be one hundred of you who are patient in adversity, they should [be able to]' overcome two hundred; and if there be one thousand of you, they should [be able to] overcome two thousand by God's leave: for God is with those who are patient in adversity.*

AND IN THIS way* have We drawn [people's] attention to their story,* so that they might know - whenever they debate among themselves as to what happened to those [Men of the Cave]* that God's promise [of resurrection] is true, and that there can be no doubt as to [the coming of] the Last Hour. And so, some [people] said: "Erect a building in their memory;* God knows best what happened to them." Said they whose opinion prevailed in the end: "Indeed, we must surely raise a house of worship in their memory!"

They will exclaim: “O our Sustainer! Our bad luck has overwhelmed us, and so we went astray!*

Defeated have been the Byzantines

in the lands close-by; yet it is they who, notwithstanding this their defeat, shall be victorious

NOW THOSE who are bent on denying the truth say [unto one another]: “Do not listen to this Qur'an, but rather talk frivolously about it, so that you might gain the upper hand!"*

[For] God has thus ordained: “I shall most certainly prevail, I and My apostles!" Verily, God is powerful, almighty!