His saying, exalted is He:

"So let those fight in the cause of Allah who sell the worldly life for the Hereafter. And whoever fights in the cause of Allah and is killed or overcomes, We will give him a great reward." "And what is [the matter] with you that you do not fight in the cause of Allah and for the oppressed among the men, women, and children who say, 'Our Lord, take us out of this city of oppressive people and appoint for us from Yourself a protector and appoint for us from Yourself a helper.'"

This is a command from Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, to the believers whom He described as striving in the cause of Allah.

And "they sell" means: they buy in this context, and although it has been mentioned in other contexts as "they buy," the meaning here indicates that it is meant as: they sell.

Then Allah described the reward of the fighter in the cause of Allah, mentioning the two outcomes of his situation, and He sufficed with these two outcomes regarding what is between them. This is because the ultimate outcome of the defeated in battle is to be killed, and the ultimate outcome of the one who kills and gains is that he is described as victorious absolutely. The great reward is Paradise. And a group said: "So let him fight" with the lam of command being silent, while another group read "So let him fight" with it being broken. And Muḥārib ibn Dithār read "and he is killed or overcomes" based on the two verbs being for the subject, while the majority read "We will give him" with the noon, and Al-Amash and Ṭalḥah ibn Muṣarif read "So he will be given" with the ya.

And His saying, exalted is He: "And what is [the matter] with you" the lam is related to what is related to the interrogative about the meaning of the action, its estimation being: and what is there that exists or is present or something like that for you? And "do not fight" is in the accusative position as a state, its estimation being: abandoning, or neglecting. And His saying: "and for the oppressed" is conjoined to the name of Allah, exalted is He, meaning: and in the cause of the oppressed, and it was said: it is conjoined to the cause, meaning: and in the oppressed for their rescue. And by the oppressed, He means those in Makkah from the believers under the humiliation of the disbelievers of Quraysh and their harm; they cannot go out, nor is it pleasant for them - due to the harm - to remain. And concerning these, the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, used to say: "O Allah, save Salamah ibn Hishām, and 'Ayāsh ibn Abī Rabī'ah. O Allah, save the oppressed among the believers."

"And the children" refers to the plural of walīd, and it may also be the plural of walad like waral and wirlan, so it is in both ways a reference to the young ones, and the city here - by consensus of the interpreters - is Makkah.

Qādī Abū Muḥammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And the verse encompasses the believers and the captives and the centers of polytheism until the Day of Resurrection, and He unified the oppressor because it is the place of the action being taken. Do you not see that the action is only estimated as: the one who wronged its people? And since the oppressed have no means except for supplication, they called for rescue, and for what is related to them from the help of Allah, exalted is He, and what will support them against those oppressors from the victory of Allah, blessed and exalted is He.