70 Preface يا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُل لِمَن في أَيديكُم مِنَ الأَسرىٰ إِن يَعلَمِ اللَّهُ في قُلوبِكُم خَيرًا يُؤتِكُم خَيرًا مِمّا أُخِذَ مِنكُم وَيَغفِر لَكُم ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَفورٌ رَحيمٌYusuf AliO Messenger. say to those who are captives in your hands: “If God findeth any good1 in your hearts, He will give you something better than what has been taken from you, and He will forgive you: for God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.”This is a consolation to the prisoners of war. In spite of their previous hostility, God will forgive them in His mercy if there was any good in their hearts, and confer upon them a far higher gift than anything they have ever lost. This gift in its highest sense would be the blessing of Islam, but even in a material sense, there was great good fortune awaiting them, e.g., in the case of al 'Abbas, (see n. 1235). Note how comprehensive is God’s care. He encourages and strengthens the Muslims, at the same time condemning any baser motives that may have entered their minds. He consoles the prisoners of war and promises them better things if there is any good in them at all. And He offers comfort to those who have left their homes in His Cause, and knits them into closer fellowship with those who have helped them and sympathised with them.