In Sura 4:95, it states that God promises salvation for the sedentary, yet in 9:84, it states they are irredeemable and disbelievers. So, how do we reconcile this?
4:95 Not equal are the sedentary among the believers who are not handicapped, and those who strive in the cause of GOD with their money and their lives. GOD exalts the strivers with their money and their lives above the sedentary. For both, GOD promises salvation, but GOD exalts the strivers over the sedentary with a great recompense.
If GOD returns you to a situation where they ask your permission to mobilize with you, you shall say, “You will never again mobilize with me, nor will you ever fight with me against any enemy. For you have chosen to be with the sedentary in the first place. Therefore, you must stay with the sedentary.”
You shall not observe the funeral prayer for any of them when he dies, nor shall you stand at his grave. They have disbelieved in GOD and His messenger, and died in a state of wickedness.
We can reconcile these two instances mentioned above by understanding their context. Regarding Sura 4, the sedentary are the ones who do not emigrate for the cause of God during times of war and choose to stay under the occupation of their oppressors. We can see this by understanding the verses surrounding 4:95.
Context 4:83: Rumor affecting security.
Context 4:84: Fight in the cause of God
Context 4:88: Dividing due to hypocrites
Context 4:89: Fighting and killing the hypocrites who turn against the believers that are encountered in war
Context 4:90: Exmpted are those with whom there is a peace treaty
Context 4:91: If war erupts and they fight the believers, the believers are authorized to respond
Context 4:92: believers shouldn’t kill believers
Context 4:93: Killing a believer on purpose is an unforgivable offense
Context 4:94: A believer must be absolutely sure before they strike
Context 4:95: Sedentary compared to strivers
Context 4:96: Higher ranks for the strivers
Context 4:97: Apathy condemned: sedentary cannot use the excuse of being oppressed if their lives are terminated in this state
Context 4:98: exempted weak men, women, and children
Context 4:100: anyone who emigrates in the cause of God will find great bounties and richness
Context 4:101: traveling during wartime
Context 4:102: How to do Salat during wartime
Context 4:103: Go back to regular Salat after the war is over
Context 4:104: Do not waver in pursuing the enemy
Therefore, from the above verses, we can see that the context of the sedentary mentioned in Sura 4:95 is the ones who do not emigrate for the cause of God during times of war, even when they can and persist in staying under the rule of their oppressors. However, the verse informs us that if they die under such conditions, they will be condemned to Hell.
4:97 Those whose lives are terminated by the angels, while in a state of wronging their souls, the angels will ask them, “What was the matter with you?” They will say, “We were oppressed on earth.” They will say, “Was GOD’s earth not spacious enough for you to emigrate therein?” For these, the final abode is Hell, and a miserable destiny.
This indicates that their decision to be sedentary can only be temporary, that at some point, they must mobilize if they can if they want to ever obtain God’s promise of salvation, assuming they have the means to. This gives leeway for anyone who is being oppressed to be able to temporarily hide their belief and even profess disbelief to avoid persecution, but this does not allow them to perpetually persist in that state when they can emigrate in the cause of God. We see this clause specified in the following verse.
16:106 Those who disbelieve in GOD, after having acquired faith, and become fully content with disbelief, have incurred wrath from GOD. The only ones to be excused are those who are forced to profess disbelief, while their hearts are full of faith.
In his footnote for verse 16:106, Dr. Rashad Khalifa explains it in the following way.
*16:106 God’s wisdom decrees that if someone holds a gun to your head and orders you to declare that you disbelieve in God, you may grant him his wish. What the heart harbors is what counts.
When we contextualize 9:83, we see that this does not regard people being asked to emigrate and move their homes in the cause of God like it did in 4:95. Instead, it has to do with the people who have already emigrated. Because of this, God gave them great bounties and richness (4:100), and when they are asked to mobilize, they become sedentary, and they rejoice in their decision.
Context 9:73: Be stern against the disbelievers and the hypocrites.
Context 9:74: God showered them with His grace and provisions, yet they uttered the word of disbelief.
Context 9:75: Some even pledged: “If GOD showered us with His grace, we would be charitable and lead a righteous life.”
Context 9:76: But when He did shower them with His provisions, they became stingy and turned away in aversion.
Context 9:79: They criticize the generous believers for giving too much and ridicule poor believers for giving too little.
Context 9:80: God will never forgive them
Context 9:81: Sedentary rejoiced in staying behind the messenger and hated to strive with their money and lives.
Context 9:83: If they ask you permission to mobilize, you should disown them
Context 9:84: Do not observe the funeral prayer for them
Context 9:85: Do not be impressed by their money or their children
Context 9:86: The sedentary refuse to strive
Context 9:87: Chose to be with the sedentary
Context 9:88: Believers eagerly strive
Context 9:90: The Arabs made up excuses and came to you seeking permission to stay behind. This is indicative of their rejection of GOD and His messenger—they stay behind
Context 9:91: Not to be blamed are the weak or ill
Context 9:92: Ones who want to strive but have no room for them to do so
Context 9:93: Blame on those with no excuse
Context 9:94: Don’t accept their apologies
Context 9:95: Disregard them
Context 9:96: God does not pardon such wicked people.
Why the Two Standards
As we see above, the group in Sura 4 is already living in a location where they are being oppressed, yet they are too fearful to emigrate in the cause of God. God informs them if they emigrate, they will be showered with provisions (4:100), but if they stay and end up dying in this state, then their destiny will be Hell (4:97). This group is already suffering their punishment for their inaction having to live in such situations. I believe for this, God informs such people that they can still obtain God’s promise of salvation. However, this decision has a caveat: if their life ends before the victory, they will have no excuse for spending their life not growing their souls.
Now contrast this with the sedentary in Sura 9. These people have already been blessed with their homes and wealth (9:76). They are not being asked to emigrate like the group in Sura 4. All that was asked of them was to contribute to the cause of God. Yet, this group refused and rejoiced in their decision (9:81). These people had no excuse (9:90), and wanted to only freeload from the effort of the believers. There is no redemption for this group because they opted in for this world over the Hereafter.
11:15 Those who pursue this worldly life and its material vanities, we will pay them for their works in this life; without the least reduction.
11:16 It is they who gave up their share in the Hereafter, and, consequently, Hell is their lot. All their works are in vain; everything they have done is nullified.
So, one group is suffering in this world for their inaction, and God leaves them the opportunity for redemption, with the contingency that if they miss their window, then their destiny will be Hell. The other group relished in their worldly provisions and refused to strive when they were called upon; therefore, no opportunity for redemption was left for them, and they were condemned to Hell.
This suggests that failing to strive when one is weak and oppressed may be forgivable by God under certain circumstances, but failing to do so in a state of affluence is not. The reason appears to be that for the already downtrodden, the failure to strive is its own punishment—they remain trapped in hardship, paralyzed by fear, and must endure the harshness of their condition. That suffering becomes the natural consequence of inaction. In contrast, those blessed with luxury and comfort have no such excuse. Their failure to act, despite having the means, reflects a deeper neglect—and for that, there is no forgiveness. This further reveals that the trial of affluence carries a greater responsibility upon the soul than the trial of poverty.
4:74 Those who readily fight in the cause of GOD are those who forsake this world in favor of the Hereafter. Whoever fights in the cause of GOD, then gets killed, or attains victory, we will surely grant him a great recompense.
4:77 Have you noted those who were told, “You do not have to fight; all you need to do is observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) and give the obligatory charity (Zakat),” then, when fighting was decreed for them, they feared the people as much as they feared GOD, or even more? They said, “Our Lord, why did You force this fighting on us? If only You respite us for awhile!” Say, “The materials of this world are nil, while the Hereafter is far better for the righteous, and you never suffer the slightest injustice.”