Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 6.djvu/208

82 with those God has been pleased with, of prophets and confessors and martyrs and the righteous ; — a fair company are they.

That is grace from God, and God knows well enough.

O ye who believe ! take your precautions and sally in detachments or altogether. Verily, there is of you who tarries behind, and, if a mischance befalls you, says, ‘ God has been gracious to me, since I am not with them a martyr.’

But if there befalls you grace from God, he would say — as though there were no friendship between you and him — ‘ O would that I had been with thee to attain this mighty happiness! ’ Let those then fight in God's way who sell this life of the world for the next ; and whoso fights in God's way, then, be he killed or be he victorious, we will give him a mighty hire.

What ails you that ye do not fight in God's way, and for the weak men and women and children, who say, ‘ Lord, bring us out of this town of oppressive folk, and make for us from Thee a patron, and make for us from Thee a help ? ’

Those who believe fight in the way of God ; and those who disbelieve fight in the way of Tâghût ; fight ye then against the friends of Satan, verily, Satan's tricks are weak.

Do ye not see those to whom it is said, ‘ Restrain your hands, and be steadfast in prayer and give alms ;’ and when it is prescribed for them to fight then a band of them fear men, as though it were the fear of God or a still stronger fear, and they say, ‘ O our Lord! why hast thou prescribed for us to fight,