۞ Virtue is not that ye turn your faces toward the east and the west, but virtue is of him who believeth in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Book and the prophets, and giveth of his substance for love of Him unto kindred and orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and the beggars and for redeeming necks, and establisheth prayer and giveth the poor-rate and is of the performers of their covenant when they have covenanted, and is of the patient in adversity and affliction and in time of violence; these are they who are proven true, and these they are the God-fearing. 177 Believers, in case of murder, the death penalty is the sanctioned retaliation: a free man for a free man, a slave for a slave, and a female for a female. However, if the convicted person receives pardon from the aggrieved party, the prescribed rules of compensation must be followed accordingly. This is a merciful alteration from your Lord. Whoever transgresses against it will face a painful punishment. 178 In [this law of] retribution there is life for you, O people of understanding, so that perhaps you will be mindful of God. 179 It is ordained that when any one of you nears death, and he owns goods and chattels, he should bequeath them equitably to his parents and next of kin. This is binding on those who are upright and fear God. 180 Anyone who alters it once he has heard it shall be accountable for his crime. Surely, God is all hearing and all knowing. 181 If, however, one has reason to fear that the testator has committed a mistake or a [deliberate] wrong, and thereupon brings about a settlement between the heirs, he will incur no sin [thereby]. Verily, God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace. 182