The Test (Al-Mumtahanah)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
O ye who believe! Take not my enemies and yours as friends (or protectors),- offering them (your) love, even though they have rejected the Truth that has come to you, and have (on the contrary) driven out the Prophet and yourselves (from your homes), (simply) because ye believe in Allah your Lord! If ye have come out to strive in My Way and to seek My Good Pleasure, (take them not as friends), holding secret converse of love (and friendship) with them: for I know full well all that ye conceal and all that ye reveal. And any of you that does this has strayed from the Straight Path. 1 If they gain dominance over you they will be your enemies, and will extend their hands and their tongues towards you with evil, and they wish that in some way you turn disbelievers. 2 But [bear in mind that] neither your kinsfolk nor [even] your own children will be of any benefit to you on Resurrection Day, [for then] He will decide between you [on your merit alone]: and God sees all that you do. 3 You have an excellent model in Abraham and those who were with him, when he said to his people: "We are through with you, and those you worship other than God. We reject you. Enmity and hate have come between you and us for ever, unless you believe in God the One," -- except for what he said to his father: "I shall ask forgiveness for you, but I have no power to prevail with God for you." "O Lord, we place our trust in You, and turn to You in penitence, and to You is our returning. 4 Our Lord! Make us not a prey for those who disbelieve, and forgive us, our Lord! Lo! Thou, only Thou, are the Mighty, the Wise. 5 Verily ye have in them a goodly pattern for everyone who looketh to Allah and the Last Day. And whosoever may turn away, lo! still Allah, He is the Absolute, the Owner of Praise. 6