۞ 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 People who Believe! Have faith in Allah and His Noble Messenger and the Book He has sent down upon this Noble Messenger of His, and the Book He sent down before; and whoever does not accept faith in Allah and His angels and His Books and His Noble Messengers and the Last Day, has undoubtedly wandered far astray. 136 Those who believe, and then disbelieve, and then believe, and then disbelieve, and increase in disbelief Allah is not to forgive them nor guide them on a way. 137 Give to the hypocrites the tidings that there is for them a painful torment. 138 Do those who take unbelievers as their friends in preference to the faithful seek power from them? But all power belongs to God. 139 And indeed, He has enjoined upon you in this divine writ that whenever you hear people deny the truth of God's messages and mock at them, you shall avoid their company until they begin to talk of other things - or else, verily, you will become like them. Behold, together with those who deny the truth God will gather in hell the hypocrites, 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