and the spear; they charged (1) before him on the fields of contest with the vigor (2) of matched contenders, and they lavished (3) for his victory their very lives and wealth—their costliest treasures—in fulfillment of the sale concluded at the hands of the Truthful, the Trustworthy, with the Purchaser Himself guaranteeing the deal: “Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their wealth in exchange for Paradise. They fight in the path of Allah; they kill and are killed—a promise binding upon Him in the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur’an” (At-Tawbah 9:111).

Blessed is He who sent His messengers with clear proofs, sent down with them the Book and the Balance, and sent down iron, in which there is stern might and benefits for people—by which human interests are perfected (4). He taught horsemanship and made courage a noble character trait that He bestows upon whom He wills, and He perfected it for His party and supporters (5), the people of faith. Thus He made love obligatory for the generous and the brave, and detestation for the miserly coward (6).

I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone, without partner: Lord of the first and the last, God of all worlds (7), Sustainer of the heavens and the earth, who has poured favor upon His creation, inscribed mercy upon Himself, and guaranteed in the Book He wrote that