۞ 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 O Ye who believe, believe in Allah and His apostle and the Book He hath sent down unto His apostle and the Book He sent down aforetime; and whosoever disbelieveth in Allah and His angels and His Books and His Apostles and the Last Day, hath surely strayed away a far straying. 136 Lo! those who believe, then disbelieve and then (again) believe, then disbelieve, and then increase in disbelief, Allah will never pardon them, nor will He guide them unto a way. 137 Bear unto the hypocrites the tidings that for them there is a painful doom; 138 Those who take disbelievers for Auliya' (protectors or helpers or friends) instead of believers, do they seek honour, power and glory with them? Verily, then to Allah belongs all honour, power and glory. 139 God has told you (believers) in the Book that when you hear people disbelieving and mocking God's revelations, do not sit with them unless they change the subject. You will become like them. God will gather all the hypocrites and the disbelievers together in hell fire. 140 who but wait to see what betides you: thus, if triumph comes to you from God, they say: "Were we not on your side?" - whereas if those who deny the truth are in luck, they say [to them,] "Have we not earned your affection by defending you against those believers?'' But God will judge between you all on the Day of Resurrection; and never will God allow those who deny the truth to harm the believers. 141