An-Nisa 135: Oh you believers! Be upholders of justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it is against yourselves, your parents or your relatives. Whether they (the ones whom you testify against) are wealthy or poor, Allah is closer to them (than you are). Do not deviate from justice by following your desires. If you distort (the testimony) or turn away from bearing witness, (know that) Allah is aware of what you are doing.

O you who believe! Uphold justice meticulously.

Uphold justice meticulously.

Justice is truly very important. If you want to make people enemies of one another, commit injustice. If you want to cool people toward one another, commit injustice. If you want to drive people apart from one another, commit injustice. Justice binds people firmly to one another. In justice. Yes.

Let there be among you, He says, those who speak of truth and justice, says Allah Almighty. O you who believe! Uphold justice meticulously. Even if it is against yourselves, your parents and your relatives, be those who bear witness for Allah. For Allah. 'My mother was like this. My father was a person I loved very much.' Never say that. In the face of justice. Keep Allah before your eyes. Since you are to love no one more than Allah, stand by Allah's word. Yes. 'You are my father.

I would carry you on my back. But here you are wrong, father' — you will say. To whom? Even if he is your enemy, you will say this to him. You will say it to your father. That enemy's heart warming to you, your feelings toward your father changing — all of it lies within justice. So be just. Never lie. Lying is the source of every kind of evil. Yes.

Those about whom you bear witness — whether they be rich or poor, Allah is closer to them than you. Of course. Our Lord is closer to us than anything. I am closer to you than your own jugular vein, He says. Yes.

Do not follow your (?) and swerve from justice. If you twist or bend your testimony, do not testify truly, or simply refrain from testifying, know that Allah is aware of what we do. Our Lord is surely aware of what we do.

O you who believe! Uphold justice meticulously, keep it alive. Do not conceal right and truth among you; do not lie. Lying drags people into disaster. Right and truth, however, place love, goodwill, forgiveness and mercy among people into the human heart. They increase people's love for Allah and His Messenger.

Truthfulness. The more truthfully you speak, the more your faith in your Lord grows. Especially if you have told the truth against your nearest, first of all Allah gives you a feeling like this.

'My nearest one was my maternal uncle, my paternal uncle, my father. I spoke about them, against them. Against them, but I spoke the truth. So I love Allah more.' And this situation, besides your speaking rightly to your relative, so increases your love for your Lord that you cannot separate yourself from Allah, cannot pull away. So, whoever acts with justice and truthfulness — Allah places His light like this in their heart. He grants them feelings that will draw them closer to Him. So avoid lying. Tell the truth even if it is against you. When you tell that truth against yourselves, if you were to examine your love for your Lord in your heart and show your love for Him, if only you could become aware of those feelings your Lord gives your heart.

When a wrong is committed, even if it concerns yourselves, even if it is your nearest, your mother or father — if you speak the truth with justice, the person before you will be moved by your truthfulness. Mercy toward you enters his heart. His angry and selfish behaviour is broken. He begins to feel love for you. Since Allah knows the state of mind of the people He created, the aspects of people that will be (?), He makes known to people with His verses. With His verses. What people are affected by, what moves them — by commanding us to behave in this way, He binds us to one another firmly, Allah Almighty.

Yes.

Since people — isn't it so — will fear Allah and tell the truth, they will not be able to do evil either. He will tell the truth. What does he say? 'If I do this, if I stir up such strife against so-and-so, tomorrow, when they investigate who caused that strife, and come to me and ask, and I say I did it, what will become of me? Then I will give up that evil.' See, since we will tell the truth. What are we saying? Since people will always fear Allah and tell the truth, they will not be able to do evil either. Close relatives, even among themselves, when they set out to harm someone else, since among them there will be those who fear Allah and tell the truth, they too will not be able to do evil.

What do they do? They gather. 'Tomorrow, to this man — he did this to us — let us set a trap for him; let us kill him on such-and-such road, or burn his property, or cause his property damage,' they will say. They gather. But the one in their affairs who will tell the truth. 'Ah, but we are wary of Ahmet, wary of Mehmet,' they will say. And so they will not be able to do these evils.

In this way the evils of those who would harm people are prevented, and people will live together like a family, in peace. In peace. Because I did harm to so-and-so. I did. So-and-so will harm me in return. I am already expecting it. But I see that he treats me well. I am human, after all.

Would I not feel shame for the harm I did him, because of his treating me so kindly? And one day I go to him and say: 'You truly are a very happy person. Even though I did such-and-such to you, you did nothing to me. And you did not lessen your love for me at all; shame on me, forgive me' — doesn't one say that? I am human. So look: people giving up the harm they would do to others, and still loving those people, and even not doing any harm they were about to do — this stirs the human feelings of the person facing them too. Yes. And this binds people firmly to one another. It brings about their unity and togetherness.

Since a kindness done to people is accepted in Allah's religion, they attain Allah's mercy. So do not refrain from bearing witness. Whether they be rich or poor, bear witness about them with justice. Say: 'This one is poor. What happens if I testify against him? What can he do to me?' — when you say that, Allah is closer to you than he is. Or: 'This one is rich. He may harm me later. Let me side with him.' When you say that, Allah is closer to you than he is. Closer to you than you are yourself. Do not fear him. Fear Allah. So tell the truth. In testimony. So what does He say? Do not refrain from bearing witness.

Whether they be rich or poor, bear witness about them with justice. Do not be among those who, wary of people, conceal right and truth. Do not, fearing people's power and strength, siding with injustice, make statements that would mislead justice. Do not take on the sins of innocent people. Because Allah knows what we do not know and sees everything truly. In such matters of testimony, Allah is closer to them and to us than we are ourselves. 'I' — what does He say to you? Closer than your jugular vein. Yes. People (?) their feelings and say, 'An opportunity has come into my hands.' In a way that wrongs people, that makes them suffer injustice, if one testifies about them, lies or does not testify, know that Allah is aware of what we do.

There is no place, hidden or open, where — know this — Allah is not aware of what we do. So if Allah is aware of all events, to those who submit to Allah, to those who fear Allah, Allah calls out with His verses. 'O people' — 'O you who believe' is how He addresses them. He does not address them with 'O people.' 'O you who believe' — because had He said 'O people,' there are people who never listen to Allah. But Allah Almighty calls out to those who will listen to His word. He calls out to those who believe. Yes. O you who believe! Allah has completed His light through the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

He sent His Holy Quran to all mankind. Whoever among people submits to Allah and His Messenger, whoever accepts Islam, has gained the light sent by Allah. These have become Muslims.

And people who accept Islam, because the light of Islam is in them, are close to Allah. And Allah addresses these bearers of light, that is, calling out to that light of His. His light. 'O you who believe,' that is, 'O bearers of light' — so He continues His verse. Then He makes His command known. Whether you keep His command or not is left to your will and your covenant. Since He sent the Holy Quran to mankind, in a sense, by calling out to the people of faith, He is calling out to all mankind, making His verses known.