يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاءَ لِلَّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَى أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَوِ الْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالْأَقْرَبِينَ إِنْ يَكُنْ غَنِيًّا أَوْ فَقِيرًا فَاللَّهُ أَوْلَى بِهِمَا فَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا الْهَوَى أَنْ تَعْدِلُوا وَإِنْ تَلْوُوا أَوْ تُعْرِضُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا ﴿۱۳۵﴾ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا آمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا بَعِيدًا ﴿۱۳۶﴾ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ثُمَّ كَفَرُوا ثُمَّ آمَنُوا ثُمَّ كَفَرُوا ثُمَّ ازْدَادُوا كُفْرًا لَمْ يَكُنِ اللَّهُ لِيَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ وَلَا لِيَهْدِيَهُمْ سَبِيلًا ﴿۱۳۷﴾
﴾135﴿ Yaa aiyuhal lazeena aamanoo koonoo qawwa ameena bilqisti shuhadaaa'a lillaahi wa law 'alaa anfusikum awil waalidaini wal aqrabeen iny yakun ghaniyyan aw faqeeran fallaahu awlaa bihimaa falaaa tattabi'ul hawaaa an ta'diloo; wa in talwooo aw tu'ridoo fa innal laaha kaana bimaa ta'maloona Khabeera
﴾136﴿ Yaaa aiyuhal lazeena aamanooo aaminoo billaahi wa Rasoolihee wal Kitaabil lazee nazzala 'alaa Rasoolihee wal Kitaabil lazeee anzala min qabl; wa mai yakfur billaahi wa Malaaa'ikatihee wa Kutubihee wa Rusulihee wal Yawmil Aakhiri faqad dalla dalaalam ba'eedaa
﴾137﴿ Innal lazeena aamanoo summa kafaroo summa aamanoo summa kafaroo summaz daado kufral lam yakunil laahu liyaghfira lahum wa laa liyahdiyahum sabeelaa
﴾135﴿ O believers! Stand firmly for justice, bearing true witness for Allah, even if it is against yourselves, your parents, or your close relatives.
Whether they are rich or poor, Allah is more caring toward them both.
So do not follow (your own) desires, lest you swerve from justice.
And if you distort (your words) or turn away (from the truth), then surely Allah is All-Aware of what you do.
﴾136﴿ O believers! Believe with certainty (in your hearts) in Allah and His Messenger and the Book which He has sent down upon His Messenger, and in the Books which He sent down before.
And whoever disbelieves in Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Last Day has certainly gone far astray.
﴾137﴿ Surely those who believed, then disbelieved, then believed again, then disbelieved again, and then increased in disbelief (and died in that state) — Allah will never forgive them, nor guide them to the right path.
[135] This verse is the completion of this section.
It answers the question: if someone were to ask, regarding the previous divine rulings, whether a person might show favoritism for himself, his parents, or relatives — or favor the wealth of the rich, or the poverty of the poor — and thereby conceal the truth, the answer is given in this verse that following desires and neglecting justice is not permissible.
Rather, twisting one's tongue to avoid stating the truth or turning away from it — both are forbidden.
(Bil-qisṭ) — refers to giving every right its due, whether in beliefs and actions, in worship, or in dealings; it includes all matters.
(Shuhadā’) — bearing witness means stating the truth and giving testimony in any claim; it is general.
(Ta‘dilū) — the negative particle “lā” is implied out of caution (not to commit injustice).
[136] From this verse until the end of the third section, there are three parts.
The first part continues until verse (149), which begins with a mention of matters of faith, inviting the hypocrites to true faith, then warning them, listing their evil qualities, their punishment, and describing the conditions of their repentance.
(Āminū) — here, faith in the heart is intended.
(Malāʾikatihi, wa-l-yawm al-ākhir) — the mention of these indicates that denying the Resurrection or the Hereafter contradicts true faith.
[137] This is the first characteristic of the hypocrites.
What is meant here is repeatedly switching between disbelief and faith; it does not refer only to doing so twice.
(Azdādū kufran) — this means dying upon disbelief.
Two evil qualities of the hypocrites are mentioned here.