۞ O YOU who have attained to faith! Be ever steadfast in upholding equity, bearing witness to the truth for the sake of God, even though it be against your own selves or your parents and kinsfolk. Whether the person concerned be rich or poor, God's claim takes precedence over [the claims of] either of them. Do not, then, follow your own desires, lest you swerve from justice: for if you distort [the truth,] behold, God is indeed aware of all that you do! 135 Believers! Believe in Allah and His Messenger and in the Book He has revealed to His Messenger, and in the Book He revealed before. And whoever disbelieves in Allah, in His angels, in His Books, in His Messengers and in the Last Day, has indeed strayed far away. 136 Those who believe, then reject faith, then believe (again) and (again) reject faith, and go on increasing in unbelief,- Allah will not forgive them nor guide them nor guide them on the way. 137 Announce to the hypocrites that they shall have a painful chastisement: 138 Those who take infidels for friends, instead of the believers; seek they honour with them? verily then honour is Allah's altogether. 139 He has sent down upon you in the Book: "When you hear His verses being disbelieved or mocked, do not sit with them until they engage in other talk, or else you will surely be like them. Allah will surely gather the hypocrites and unbelievers altogether in Gehenna (Hell). 140 (The hypocrites) wait and watch. If God grants you victory, they say, "Did we not help you?" If the unbelievers are victorious, they say, "Did we not encourage you not to surrender to the believers and did we not protect you from them?" God will judge among you on the Day of Judgment. He will never help the disbelievers against the believers. 141