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? If they get the better of you, they will not observe towards you any bond or treaty, giving you satisfaction with their mouths but in their hearts refusing; and the most of them are ungodly. 8 They have sold the signs of God for a small price, and have barred from His way; truly evil is that they have been doing, 9 They respect not either kinship or agreement in a believer: those! they are the transgressors! 10 But if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, they are your brethren in faith; and We make the communications clear for a people who know. 11 And if they break their promises after making a treaty and malign your religion, then fight the leaders of disbelief – indeed their promises are nothing – in the hope that they may desist. 12 Will ye not fight a people who have violated their oaths and resolved the expulsion of the apostle and who began against you for the first time? Fear ye them? Allah is more worthy that ye should fear Him, if ye are believers. 13 Fight them, Allah will punish them by your hands and bring them to disgrace, and assist you against them and heal the hearts of a believing people. 14 and will remove the wrath that is in their hearts. And God will turn in His mercy unto whom He wills: for, God is all-knowing, wise. 15 Are you under the illusion that you would be left just like this, whereas Allah has not yet made known those of you who will fight and not confide their secrets with anyone except Allah and His Noble Messenger and the Muslims? And Allah is Well Aware of your deeds. 16