۞ 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 Believers, believe in Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad), in the Book He has sent down to His Messenger, and in the Book He sent down before. Whosoever disbelieves in Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Last Day, has surely gone astray into far error. 136 Those who believe, then reject faith, then believe (again) and (again) reject faith, and go on increasing in unbelief,- Allah will not forgive them nor guide them nor guide them on the way. 137 Tell the hypocrites that for them there will be a painful torment. 138 Those who take unbelievers for their friends instead of believers -- do they seek glory in them? But glory altogether 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 Those who keep watching your circumstances; so if a victory comes to you from Allah, they say, “Were we not with you?”; and if victory is for disbelievers, they say, “Did we not have control over you, and protect you from the Muslims?” Allah will judge between you all on the Day of Resurrection; and Allah will not provide the disbelievers any way over the Muslims. 141