28 Preface يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنوا إِنَّمَا المُشرِكونَ نَجَسٌ فَلا يَقرَبُوا المَسجِدَ الحَرامَ بَعدَ عامِهِم هٰذا ۚ وَإِن خِفتُم عَيلَةً فَسَوفَ يُغنيكُمُ اللَّهُ مِن فَضلِهِ إِن شاءَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَليمٌ حَكيمٌYusuf AliO ye who believe! Truly the Pagans are unclean;1 so let them not, after this year of theirs,2 approach the Sacred Mosque. And if ye fear poverty,3 soon will God enrich you, if He wills, out of His bounty, for God is All-knowing, Allwise.Unclean: both literally and metaphorically; because Muslims are enjoined to be strict in ablutions and physical cleanliness, as well as in purity of mind and heart, so that their word can be relied upon.This year of theirs: there is a two-fold meaning: (1) now that you have complete control of Mecca, and are charged with the purity of worship there, shut out all impurity from this year; (2) you have seen how the Pagans have behaved this year; their year of power and misuse of that power may be called their year, it is over, and now you Muslims are responsible.The concourse in Mecca added to the profits of trade and commerce. “But fear not,” we are told; “the Pagans are a waning power, bound to disappear, and you should strengthen your own community, that they may more than counterbalance the apparent loss of custom; and God has other means of improving your economic position.” This actually happened. The Pagans were extinguished from Arabia, and the concourse of Pilgrims from all parts of the world increased the numbers more than a hundredfold. Here is common-sense, wisdom, and statesmanship, even if we look at it from a purely human point of view.