وَلَا يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا سَبَقُوا إِنَّهُمْ لَا يُعْجِزُونَ ﴿۵۹﴾ وَأَعِدُّوا لَهُمْ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ قُوَّةٍ وَمِنْ رِبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ تُرْهِبُونَ بِهِ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ وَعَدُوَّكُمْ وَآخَرِينَ مِنْ دُونِهِمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَهُمُ اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُهُمْ وَمَا تُنْفِقُوا مِنْ شَيْءٍ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ يُوَفَّ إِلَيْكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تُظْلَمُونَ ﴿۶۰﴾ وَإِنْ جَنَحُوا لِلسَّلْمِ فَاجْنَحْ لَهَا وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ ﴿۶۱﴾
﴾59﴿ Wa laa yahsabannal lazeena kafaroo sabaqooo; innahum laa yu'jizoon
﴾60﴿ Wa a'iddoo lahum mastata'tum min quwwatinw wa mirribaatil khaili turhiboona bihee 'aduwwal laahi wa 'aduwwakum wa aakhareena min doonihim laa ta'lamoo nahum Allaahu ya'lamuhum; wa maa tunfiqoo min shai'in fee sabeelil laahi yuwaffa ilaikum wa antum laa tuzlamoon
﴾61﴿ Wa in janahoo lissalmi fajnah lahaa wa tawakkal 'alal laah; innahoo Huwas Samee'ul 'Aleem
﴾59﴿ And let not the disbelievers think that they will escape. Surely, they cannot frustrate (the plan of) Allah.
﴾60﴿ And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war, by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy, and others besides them whom you do not know—Allah knows them. And whatever you spend in the way of Allah will be repaid to you in full, and you will not be wronged.
﴾61﴿ And if they incline towards peace, then you too incline towards it and put your trust in Allah. Surely, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing over all things.
[59] This is a warning for the deniers: when they break the covenant, they will not be able to escape the punishment of Allah, the Exalted.
The word "سبقوا" means "that they can get ahead of Us" or escape Us.
The phrase "إِنَّهُمْ" is the reason for the verb "لَا يَحْسَبَنَّ"—meaning, do not let them think (they can escape), because indeed they cannot.
[60] This is the eighth rule for the fighters. Its purpose is to prepare the tools of war, including foot soldiers and cavalry.
Even before actual combat, this preparation has the benefit of casting fear upon the polytheists and hypocrites.
The phrase "from strength" (مِنْ قُوَّةٍ) refers to every type of weapon and military tool, suitable to the time.
In the hadith of archery, "throwing" (الرمی) is mentioned—this is just one example of strength. In today’s context, this includes bombs, missiles, and other such projectiles and their production.
The phrase "and whatever you spend" (وَمَا تُنْفِقُوا) indicates that any amount of money spent on war tools with the intention of jihad will be rewarded.
The phrase "from the tethering of horses" (مِنْ رِبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ) means that horses are needed in every era. The Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) clearly said:
"Goodness is tied to the forelocks of horses until the Day of Judgment."
Here, "goodness" refers to jihad and the spoils of war—thus, it's a proof that jihad will continue until the Day of Judgment.
The phrase "you do not know them" (لَا تَعْلَمُونَهُمُ) also appears in verse 101 of Surah At-Tawbah.
[61] This is the ninth rule regarding jihad. The main point is that the believers themselves do not initiate a call for peace toward the disbelievers.
However, if the disbelievers themselves request peace, then making peace is permissible.
The command "then incline (toward it)" (فَاجْنَحْ) is not obligatory; it is conditional—only if they request it.
If they have not asked for it, then initiating peace is prohibited, and doing so is considered weakness (wahn), as mentioned in verse 35 of Surah Muhammad.