مَّن

ذَا

ٱلَّذِي

يُقۡرِضُ

ٱللَّهَ

قَرۡضًا

حَسَنٗا

فَيُضَٰعِفَهُۥ

لَهُۥٓ

أَضۡعَافٗا

كَثِيرَةٗۚ

وَٱللَّهُ

يَقۡبِضُ

وَيَبۡصُۜطُ

وَإِلَيۡهِ

تُرۡجَعُونَ

٢٤٥

Who will lend to Allah a good loan which Allah will multiply many times over? It is Allah ˹alone˺ who decreases and increases ˹wealth˺. And to Him you will ˹all˺ be returned.

Have you not seen those chiefs of the Children of Israel after Moses? They said to one of their prophets, “Appoint for us a king, ˹and˺ we will fight in the cause of Allah.” He said, “Are you not going to cower if ordered to fight?” They replied, “How could we refuse to fight in the cause of Allah, while we were driven out of our homes and ˹separated from˺ our children?” But when they were ordered to fight, they fled, except for a few of them. And Allah has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of the wrongdoers.

Their prophet told them, “Allah has appointed Saul¹ to be your king.” They protested, “How can he be our king when some of us are more deserving of kingship than he, and he has not been blessed with vast riches?” He replied, “Allah has chosen him over you and blessed him with knowledge and stature. Allah grants kingship to whoever He wills. And Allah is All-Bountiful, All-Knowing.”

Their prophet further told them, “The sign of Saul’s kingship is that the Ark will come to you—containing reassurance¹ from your Lord and relics of the family of Moses and the family of Aaron,² which will be carried by the angels. Surely in this is a sign for you, if you ˹truly˺ believe.”

When Saul marched forth with his army, he cautioned: “Allah will test you with a river. So whoever drinks ˹his fill˺ from it is not with me, and whoever does not taste it—except a sip from the hollow of his hands—is definitely with me.” They all drank ˹their fill˺ except for a few! When he and the ˹remaining˺ faithful with him crossed the river, they said, “Now we are no match for Goliath and his warriors.” But those ˹believers˺ who were certain they would meet Allah reasoned, “How many times has a small force vanquished a mighty army by the Will of Allah! And Allah is ˹always˺ with the steadfast.”

When they advanced to face Goliath and his warriors, they prayed, “Our Lord! Shower us with perseverance, make our steps firm, and give us victory over the disbelieving people.”

So they defeated them by Allah’s Will, and David killed Goliath. And Allah blessed David with kingship and wisdom and taught him what He willed. Had Allah not repelled a group of people by ˹the might of˺ another, corruption would have dominated the earth, but Allah is Gracious to all.

These are Allah’s revelations which We recite to you ˹O Prophet˺ in truth. And you are truly one of the messengers.

We have chosen some of those messengers above others.¹ Allah spoke directly to some, and raised some high in rank. To Jesus, son of Mary, We gave clear proofs and supported him with the holy spirit.² If Allah had willed, succeeding generations would not have fought ˹among themselves˺ after receiving the clear proofs. But they differed—some believed while others disbelieved. Yet if Allah had willed, they would not have fought one another. But Allah does what He wills.