—with all manner of trials, both religious and worldly: abandoning obligations and perpetrating prohibitions, whether these pertain to the rights of Allah or (1) to the rights of His servants—such as forsaking the prayer, drinking intoxicants, reviling the early generations, insulting the Muslim troops, spying for the enemy against the Muslims, guiding them to the Muslims’ wealth and womenfolk, seizing people’s property and torturing them, bolstering that accursed regime, and striking fear into the hearts of the believers (2)—and many other kinds of tribulation besides.
Then the Most High said: “Indeed they had already (3) pledged to Allah beforehand that they would not turn their backs, and a pledge made to Allah will be asked about” (al-Ahzab 33:15).
- This (4) is precisely the state of those who pledged and then broke their word, both in former times and in this ⦗61⦘ expedition. Last year—and again this year at the outset—there were people (5) from every class who vowed to fight and not to flee; yet when the affair grew intense they turned and ran.
Then He, exalted, said: “Say: Your fleeing will never benefit you; should you escape from death or killing, you would enjoy life only for a little while” (al-Ahzab 33:16).
Allah has thus informed us that flight is of no avail—neither (6) from death nor from being killed—so fleeing