O believers! When you struggle in the cause of Allah, be sure of who you fight. And do not say to those who offer you ˹greetings of˺ peace, “You are no believer!”—seeking a fleeting worldly gain.28 Instead, Allah has infinite bounties ˹in store˺. You were initially like them then Allah blessed you ˹with Islam˺. So be sure! Indeed, Allah is All-Aware of what you do.
O you who believe! When you go abroad 613 in the cause of Allah, investigate carefully, and say not to any one who offers you a salutation: "You are none of a believer!" Coveting the perishable goods of this life: with Allah are profits and spoils abundant. Even thus were you yourselves before, till Allah conferred on you His favours: Therefore carefully investigate. For Allah is well aware of all that you do.
613 Go abroad: daraba-to travel, to go abroad, either for jihad, or for honest trade or other service, which if done with pure motives, counts as service in the cause of Allah. The immediate occasion was in connection with jihad, but the words are general, and can be applied to all circumstances in which a man fells through spiritual pride: he thinks he is not as other men are, but forgets that, but for the grace of Allah, he is himself a sinner! In war (or in peace) we are apt to catch some worldly advantage by pluming ourselves on our superiority in Faith. In war perhaps we want to gain glory or booty by killing a supposed enemy! In peace we make light of other people in order to steal some advantage or material gain! This is wrong. The righteous man, if he is really out in Allah's service, has more abundant and richer gifts to think of in the spiritual world.
[Hence,] O you who have attained to faith, when you go forth [to war] in God's cause, use your discernment, and do not - out of a desire for the fleeting gains of this worldly life - say unto anyone who offers you the greeting of peace, "Thou art not a believer" 119 for with God there are gains abundant. You, too, were once in the same condition 120 - but God has been gracious unto you. Use, therefore, your discernment: verily, God is always aware of what you do.
119 Sc., "and therefore one of the enemies". This verse prohibits the treating of noncombatants as enemies and using their supposed unbelief as a pretext for plundering them. The injunction "use your discernment" (tabayyanu) imposes on the believers the duty of making sure, in every case, whether the persons concerned are actively engaged in hostilities or not.
120 Lit., "thus have you [too] been aforetime". Since the preceding injunction refers to the whole community, it would seem that the above clause, too, bears the same implication: namely, a reference to the time when the Muslim community was, because of its weakness and numerical insignificance, at the mercy of enemies endowed with greater power. Thus, the believers are told, as it were: "Remember your erstwhile weakness, and treat the peacefully-minded among your enemies with the same consideration with which you yourselves were once hoping to be treated."
28 i.e., spoils of war.