The Quran

وَلَو أَنَّهُم رَضوا ما آتاهُمُ اللَّهُ وَرَسولُهُ وَقالوا حَسبُنَا اللَّهُ سَيُؤتينَا اللَّهُ مِن فَضلِهِ وَرَسولُهُ إِنّا إِلَى اللَّهِ راغِبونَ

Muhammad Asad

And yet, [it would be but for their own good] if they were to content themselves with what God has given them and [caused] His Apostle [to give them],¹ and would say, "God is enough for us! God will give us [whatever He wills] out of His bounty, and [will cause] His Apostle [to give us, too]: verily, unto God alone do we turn with hope!"

Lit., "what God has given them, and His Apostle": a typically Qur'anic construction meant to bring out the fact that the real giver is God, and that the Apostle is His instrument. Although this passage relates, primarily, to the hypocrites at Medina and the historical situation obtaining at the time of the expedition to Tabuk, the import of these verses goes beyond the historical occasion of their revelation, describing as it does "the attitude and mentality of hypocrites of all times, and everywhere" (Manor X, 567). Consequently, we may assume that the reference, in this context, to "God's Apostle" is not confined to the person of the Prophet Muhammad but implies, metonymically, the Law of Islam as revealed through him - and, thus, to every government that holds authority by virtue of that Law and rules in accordance with it.