Repentance
[9:117]
INDEED, God has turned in His mercy unto the Prophet, as well as unto those who have forsaken the domain of evil and those who have sheltered and succoured the Faith – [all] those who followed him in the hour of distress, when the hearts of some of the other believers had well-nigh swerved from faith.
And once again: He has turned unto them in His mercy – for, behold, He is compassionate towards them, a dispenser of grace.

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* v.117 : See note 132 above.
* Lit., “after the hearts of a group of them had well-nigh swerved [from faith]”: a reference to the believers who – without valid excuse – failed to respond to the Prophet’s call when he was setting out on the expedition to Tabūk, and who afterwards repented.
* See sūrah 6, note 31. According to Zamakhsharī and Rāzī, the particle thumma has here the meaning given in my rendering, and serves to emphasize the statement that “God has turned in His mercy unto the Prophet...and all those who followed him in the hour of distress.”