ٱلنِّسَاء : ٩٧

  • إِنَّ Indeed
  • ٱلَّذِينَ those whom
  • تَوَفَّىٰهُمُ take them (in death)
  • ٱلۡمَلَٰٓئِكَةُ the Angels
  • ظَالِمِيٓ (while) they (were) wronging
  • أَنفُسِهِمۡ themselves
  • قَالُواْ they say
  • فِيمَ In what (condition)
  • كُنتُمۡۖ were you
  • قَالُواْ They said
  • كُنَّا We were
  • مُسۡتَضۡعَفِينَ oppressed
  • فِي in
  • ٱلۡأَرۡضِۚ the earth
  • قَالُوٓاْ They said
  • أَلَمۡ Not
  • تَكُنۡ was
  • أَرۡضُ (the) earth
  • ٱللَّهِ (of) Allah
  • وَٰسِعَةٗ spacious (enough)
  • فَتُهَاجِرُواْ so that you (could) emigrate
  • فِيهَاۚ in it
  • فَأُوْلَٰٓئِكَ Then those
  • مَأۡوَىٰهُمۡ (will have) their abode
  • جَهَنَّمُۖ (in) Hell
  • وَسَآءَتۡ and it is an evil
  • مَصِيرًا destination
Indeed, those whom the angels take [in death] while wronging themselves1 - [the angels] will say, "In what [condition] were you?" They will say, "We were oppressed in the land." They [the angels] will say, "Was not the earth of Allāh spacious [enough] for you to emigrate therein?" For those, their refuge is Hell - and evil it is as a destination.
Footnotes
1 - By preferring to remain among the disbelievers, although they have the means to emigrate, in an environment where a Muslim is unable to practice his religion freely.
The following was revealed regarding a group of people who submitted to Islam but did not emigrate and were then slain in the battle of Badr alongside the disbelievers: And those whom the angels take [in death], while they are wronging their souls, having remained among the disbelievers and neglected to emigrate, the angels will say, to them in rebuke: 'What was your predicament?', in other words, 'in what circumstances were you with regard to your religion'. They will say, giving excuses, 'We were oppressed, unable to establish religion, in the land', the land of Mecca. The angels will say, to them in rebuke: 'But was not God's earth spacious that you might have emigrated therein?', from the land of unbelief to another land, as others did? God, exalted be He, says: as for such, their abode shall be Hell - an evil journey's end, it is!