Al-Qur'an Surah An-Nisa Verse 91

Mufti Taqi Usmani

You will find others who want to be secure from you, and secure from their own people. (But) whenever they are called back to the mischief, they are plunged into it. So, if they do not stay away from you, and do not offer peace to you, and do not restrain their hands, then seize them, and kill them wherever you find them, and, We have given you an open authority against them.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

You will find others who wish to be safe from you and their own people. Yet they cannot resist the temptation ˹of disbelief or hostility˺. If they do not keep away, offer you peace, or refrain from attacking you, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them. We have given you full permission over such people.

Ruwwad Translation Center

You will find others who wish to be secure from you and from their own people. Whenever they are tempted back to disbelief, they fall into it. Therefore if they do not withdraw, or offer you peace, or restrain their hands from you, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them; they are those against whom We have given you a clear authority.

A. J. Arberry

You will find others desiring to be secure from you, and secure from their people, yet whenever they are returned to temptation, they are overthrown in it. If they withdraw not from you, and offer you peace, and restrain their hands, take them, and slay them wherever you come on them; against them We have given you a clear authority.

Abdul Haleem

You will find others who wish to be safe from you, and from their own people, but whenever they are back in a situation where they are tempted [to fight you], they succumb to it. So if they neither withdraw, nor offer you peace, nor restrain themselves from fighting you, seize and kill them wherever you encounter them: We give you clear authority against such people.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Surely ye will find others desiring, that they may be secure from you and may be secure from their people; and yet so oft as they are brought back into the temptation, they revert thereto. Wherefore if they withdraw not from you, nor offer you peace, nor restrain their hands, lay hold of them and slay them wheresoever ye find them. These: against them We have given you a clear warranty.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Others you will find that wish to gain your confidence as well as that of their people; Every time they are sent back to temptation, they succumb thereto; if they withdraw not from you nor give you (guarantees) of peace besides restraining their hands, seize them and slay them wherever ye get them; In their case We have provided you with a clear argument against them.

Abul Ala Maududi

You will also find others who wish to be secure from you, and secure from their people, but who, whenever they have any opportunity to cause mischief, plunge into it headlong. If such people neither leave you alone nor offer you peace nor restrain their hands from hurting you, then seize them and slay them wherever you come upon them. It is against these that We have granted you a clear sanction.

Ahmed Ali

You will also find persons who, while wishing to live in peace with you as well as with their own people, turn to civil war the moment they are called to it. If they do not keep away from you, nor offer you peace nor restrain their hands, seize them and kill them wherever they are. We have given you a clear sanction against them.

Ahmed Raza Khan

You will now find others who desire that they should be safe from you and also safe from their own people; whenever their people turn them towards war, they fall headlong into it; so if they do not avoid (confronting) you nor submit an offer of peace nor restrain their hands, seize them and kill them wherever you find them; and they are the ones against whom We have given you clear authority.

Ali Quli Qarai

You will find others desiring to be secure from you, and secure from their own people; yet whenever they are called back to polytheism, they relapse into it. So if they do not keep out of your way, nor offer you peace, nor keep their hands off [from fighting], then seize them and kill them wherever you confront them, and it is such against whom We have given you a clear sanction.

Ali Ünal

You will find others who wish to be secure from you (by signing treaty with you) and to be secure from their people (by breaking their treaty with you and joining them): every time they are called back to conspiracy and hostility against you, they plunge into it headlong. Hence, if they do not withdraw from you, nor offer you peace, nor restrain their hands (from hurting you), then seize them and kill them wherever you come upon them. It is against such that We have given you a clear sanction.

Amatul Rahman Omar

You will find others (among these hypocrites) who desire to be secure from you as well as safe from their own people. But whenever they are made to have a recourse to hostility (towards the Muslims) they fall headlong into it (as if under compulsion). Therefore if they do not leave you alone, nor make an offer of peace to you nor withhold their hands (from being hostile), then capture them and kill them wherever you find them. And it is these against whom We have given you absolute authority.

English Literal

You will find others, they want that they (be) secured by you (have peace with you), and they be trusted/secured (by) their nation, whenever they are returned to the treason , they were made to be set back/replaced in it, so if they did not separate/ isolate/withdraw themselves from you , and they (did not) throw (offer) to you the peace/surrender , and (nor) they stop their hands, so take them and58fight/kill them where/when you defeated them/caught up with them, and those, We made for you on them a clear/evident power .

Faridul Haque

You will now find others who desire that they should be safe from you and also safe from their own people; whenever their people turn them towards war, they fall headlong into it; so if they do not avoid (confronting) you nor submit an offer of peace nor restrain their hands, seize them and kill them wherever you find them; and they are the ones against whom We have given you clear authority.

Hamid S. Aziz

And whoever kills a believer purposely, his reward is hell for ever. Allah will be wrath with him, and curse him, and prepare for him a mighty woe.

Hilali & Khan

You will find others that wish to have security from you and security from their people. Every time they are sent back to temptation, they yield thereto. If they withdraw not from you, nor offer you peace, nor restrain their hands, take (hold) of them and kill them wherever you find them. In their case, We have provided you with a clear warrant against them.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

Except those who join a people between whom and you there is an alliance, or who come to you, their hearts shrinking from fighting you or fighting their own people. And if Allah had pleased, He would have given them power over you, so that they would have fought you. So if they withdraw from you and fight you not and offer you peace, then Allah allows you no way against them.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

You will find others who desire that they should be safe from you and secure from their own people; as often as they are sent back to the mischief they get thrown into it headlong; therefore if they do not withdraw from you, and (do not) offer you peace and restrain their hands, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them; and against these We have given you a clear authority.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

Ye will find others who desire that they should have security from you, and security from their own folk. So often as they are returned to hostility they are plunged therein. If they keep not aloof from you nor offer you peace nor hold their hands, then take them and kill them wherever ye find them. Against such We have given you clear warrant.

Muhammad Sarwar

You will soon find others who seek security from you as well as from their own people, but when they are invited to return to idol worship, they do so enthusiastically. Thus, if they do not keep away from you nor come forward with a peace proposal nor desist from harming you, apprehend and slay them wherever you find them, for We have given you full control over them.

Qaribullah & Darwish

You will find others desiring to be secure from you, and secure from their own nation. Whenever they are called back to sedition, they plunge into it. If they do not keep away from you and offer you peace, and restrain their hands, take them and kill them wherever you find them. Those, over them, We give you clear authority.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

You will find others that wish to have security from you and security from their people. Every time they are sent back to Fitnah, they yield thereto. If they withdraw not from you, nor offer you peace, nor restrain their hands, take (hold of) them and kill them wherever you Thaqiftumuhum. In their case, We have provided you with a clear warrant against them.

Wahiduddin Khan

You will find others who wish to be safe from you, and from their own people, yet whenever they find an opportunity of inflicting harm, they plunge into it. So if they neither withdraw, nor offer you peace, nor restrain themselves from fighting you, seize and kill them wherever you encounter them. Over such people We have given you clear authority.

Talal Itani

You will find others who want security from you, and security from their own people. But whenever they are tempted into civil discord, they plunge into it. So if they do not withdraw from you, nor offer you peace, nor restrain their hands, seize them and execute them wherever you find them. Against these, We have given you clear authorization.

Tafsir jalalayn

You will find others desiring to have security from you, by manifesting belief before you, and security from their own people, through unbelief, when they return to them, and these were [the tribes of] Asad and Ghatafn; yet whenever they are returned to sedition, [whenever] they are summoned to idolatry, they are overwhelmed by it, falling into it in the worst of ways. So, if they do not stay away from you, by refraining from fighting you, and, do not, offer you peace, and, do not, restrain their hands, from you, then take them, as captives, and slay them wherever you come upon them, [wherever] you find them; against them We have given you clear warrant, a clear and manifest proof for you to slay them and capture them, on account of their treachery.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

سَتَجِدُونَ اخَرِينَ يُرِيدُونَ أَن يَأْمَنُوكُمْ وَيَأْمَنُواْ قَوْمَهُمْ

You will find others that wish to have security from you and security from their people.

refers to a type of people who on the surface appear to be like the type we just mentioned. However, the intention of each type is different, for the latter are hypocrites. They pretend to be Muslims with the Prophet and his Companions, so that they could attain safety with the Muslims for their blood, property and families. However, they support the idolators in secret and worship what they worship, so that they are at peace with them also. These people have secretly sided with the idolators, just as Allah described them,

وَإِذَا خَلَوْاْ إِلَى شَيَـطِينِهِمْ قَالُواْ إِنَّا مَعَكُمْ

But when they are alone with their Shayatin, they say;"Truly, we are with you." (2;14)

In this Ayah, Allah said,

كُلَّ مَا رُدُّوَاْ إِلَى الْفِتْنِةِ أُرْكِسُواْ فِيِهَا

Every time they are sent back to Fitnah, they yield thereto.

meaning, they dwell in Fitnah.

As-Suddi said that;

the Fitnah mentioned here refers to Shirk.

Ibn Jarir recorded that Mujahid said that;

the Ayah was revealed about a group from Makkah who used to go to the Prophet (in Al-Madinah) pretending to be Muslims. However, when they went back to Quraysh, they reverted to worshipping idols. They wanted to be at peace with both sides. Allah commanded they should be fought against, unless they withdraw from combat and resort to peace.

This is why Allah said,

فَإِن لَّمْ يَعْتَزِلُوكُمْ وَيُلْقُواْ إِلَيْكُمُ السَّلَمَ

If they withdraw not from you, nor offer you peace,

meaning, revert to peaceful and complacent behavior.

وَيَكُفُّوَاْ أَيْدِيَهُمْ

nor restrain their hands,

refrain from fighting you,

فَخُذُوهُمْ

take (hold of) them,

capture them.

وَاقْتُلُوهُمْ حَيْثُ ثِقِفْتُمُوهُمْ

and kill them wherever you Thaqiftumuhum.

wherever you find them.

وَأُوْلَـيِكُمْ جَعَلْنَا لَكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ سُلْطَانًا مُّبِينًا



In their case, We have provided you with a clear warrant against them,

meaning an unequivocal and plain warrant