Al-Qur'an Surah An-Nisa Verse 98

Mufti Taqi Usmani

except the oppressed men and women and children, who cannot have means (to emigrate), nor can find a way.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Except helpless men, women, and children who cannot afford a way out—

Ruwwad Translation Center

Except the helpless men, women, and children who have no means nor do they know where to go.

A. J. Arberry

except the men, women, and children who, being abased, can devise nothing and are not guided to a way;

Abdul Haleem

but not so the truly helpless men, women, and children who have no means in their power nor any way to leave-

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Excepting the weak ones among men, women and children, unable to find a stratagem and not guided to a way.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Except those who are (really) weak and oppressed - men, women, and children - who have no means in their power, nor (a guide-post) to their way.

Abul Ala Maududi

except the men, women, and children who were indeed too feeble to be able to seek the means of escape and did not know where to go.-

Ahmed Ali

But those who are helpless, men, women and children, who can neither contrive a plan nor do they know the way,

Ahmed Raza Khan

Except those who were forcibly subdued among men, and the women and children, unable to devise a plan and unaware of the way.

Ali Quli Qarai

Except the oppressed among men, women and children, who have neither access to any means nor are guided to any way.

Ali Ünal

Except those truly oppressed among the men, and the women, and the children altogether without means and not guided to a way (to emigrate, and including those who, in their lifetime, have not had a means to be guided to faith).

Amatul Rahman Omar

Different however is the case of those (actually) weak - men, women and children, who can find no device, nor means (to emigrate).

English Literal

Except the weakened from the men, and the women, and the children, they are not able (of a) solution (means) and nor they be guided a way/path.

Faridul Haque

Except those who were forcibly subdued among men, and the women and children, unable to devise a plan and unaware of the way.

Hamid S. Aziz

Whoever flees (migrates) in the way of Allah shall find in the earth many a spacious refuge; and he who goes forth from his house, fleeing unto Allah and His prophet, and then death catches him up - his reward becomes incumbent on Allah, and Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.

Hilali & Khan

Except the weak ones among men, women and children who cannot devise a plan, nor are they able to direct their way.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

(As for) those whom the angels cause to die while they are unjust to themselves, (the angels) will say: What were you doing? They will say: We were weak in the earth. (They will) say: Was not Allah’s earth spacious, so that you could have migrated therein? So these it is whose refuge is hell -- and it is an evil resort.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

Except the weak from among the men and the children who have not in their power the means nor can they find a way (to escape);

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

Except the feeble among men, and the women, and the children, who are unable to devise a plan and are not shown a way.

Muhammad Sarwar

As for the really weak and oppressed men, women, and children who were not able to find any means of obtaining their freedom or of having the right guidance,

Qaribullah & Darwish

Except the men, women, and children, who, being abased have no means and they are unable to guide themselves to a way.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

Except the weak ones among men, women and children who cannot devise a plan, nor are they able to direct their way.

Wahiduddin Khan

except such weak ones among men, women and children, as are incapable of adopting any plan or of finding any way out.

Talal Itani

Except for the weak among men, and women, and children who have no means to act, and no means to find a way out.

Tafsir jalalayn

Except the oppressed among the men, women, and children who are unable to devise a plan, having no strength to emigrate and no substance, and are not guided to a way, a means [of going] to the land of emigration.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

Except the weak ones among men, women and children who cannot devise a plan, nor are they able to direct their way.

is an excuse that Allah gives for this type of people not to emigrate, because they are unable to free themselves from the idolators. And even if they did, they would not know which way to go.

This is why Allah said,
لَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ حِيلَةً وَلَا يَهْتَدُونَ سَبِيلاً
(Who cannot devise a plan, nor are they able to direct their way),

meaning, they do not find the way to emigrate, as Mujahid, Ikrimah and As-Suddi stated.

Allah's statement