HOW COULD they who ascribe divinity to aught beside God be granted a covenant by God and His Apostle, unless it be those [of them] with whom you [O believers] have made a covenant in the vicinity of the Inviolable House of Worship? [As for the latter,] so long as they remain true to you, be true to them: for, verily, God loves those who are conscious of Him. 7 How indeed! whereas if they get the better of you they respect not regarding you either kinship or agreement. They please you with their mouths, the while their hearts refuse; and most of them are ungodly. 8 They have exchanged the signs of Allah for a small price and averted [people] from His way. Indeed, it was evil that they were doing. 9 observing neither bond nor treaty towards a believer; they are the transgressors. 10 Then if they repent and keep the prayer established and pay the charity, they are your brothers in religion; and we explain Our verses in detail for the people of knowledge. 11 But if they violate their oaths after their covenant, and taunt you for your Faith,- fight ye the chiefs of Unfaith: for their oaths are nothing to them: that thus they may be restrained. 12 Will you not fight a people who broke their oaths and purposed to expel the Messenger, beginning the first time against you? Are you afraid of them? You would do better to be afraid of God, if you are believers. 13 Fight them! Allah will chastise them at your hands, and He will lay them low and give you victory over them, and He will heal the breasts of folk who are believers. 14 And remove the fury in the believers' hearts. And Allah turns in forgiveness to whom He wills; and Allah is Knowing and Wise. 15 Do you imagine that you will be spared without being subjected to any test? Know well that Allah has not yet determined who strove hard (in His cause), and has not taken any others instead of His Messenger and the believers as his trusted allies? Allah is well aware of all that you do. 16