۞ 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 Ye who believe, believe in Allah and His apostle and the Book He hath sent down unto His apostle and the Book He sent down aforetime; and whosoever disbelieveth in Allah and His angels and His Books and His Apostles and the Last Day, hath surely strayed away a far straying. 136 Those who believe, and then disbelieve, and then believe, and then disbelieve, and then increase in unbelief-God is not likely to forgive them, neither to guide them on any way. 137 Announce to the hypocrites that they shall have a painful chastisement: 138 Those who take disbelievers as allies instead of the believers. Do they seek with them honor [through power]? But indeed, honor belongs to Allah entirely. 139 And it has already come down to you in the Book that when you hear the verses of Allah [recited], they are denied [by them] and ridiculed; so do not sit with them until they enter into another conversation. Indeed, you would then be like them. Indeed Allah will gather the hypocrites and disbelievers in Hell all together - 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