“Indeed, those of you who turned back on the day the two armies met—it was Satan who caused them to slip because of some of what they had earned; but Allah has pardoned them” (Aal Imran 3:155). Then, when the day of Hunayn came after that, He said: “Then you turned back, fleeing” (al-Tawbah 9:25), “Then Allah accepts repentance after that from whom He wills” (al-Tawbah 9:27).
Abdullah ibn Umar said: “We were in an army sent out by the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. The people recoiled in confusion, and we fled. We said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, we are the fugitives.’ He said, ‘Rather, you are those who return to the attack. I am the company of the Muslims.’” (1) (2)
Muhammad ibn Sirin said: “When Abu Ubaydah was killed, the news reached Umar, and he said: ‘Had he withdrawn to me, I would have been his company. I am the company of every Muslim.’” (3)
Others said: The ruling of the verse is general and applies to everyone who turns away in flight. It is stated in the hadith: “Among the major sins is fleeing from the battlefield.” (4)
Ata ibn Abi Rabah said: This verse was abrogated by His saying, exalted is He: “Now Allah has lightened your burden” (al-Anfal 8:66). Thus, it is not permissible for a group to flee from twice their number. (5) The earlier ruling was therefore abrogated except at this ratio. (6) This is the view of most scholars: if the Muslims are at least half the number of their enemy, it is not permissible for them to flee or turn their backs, unless manoeuvring for battle or joining a company. If they are fewer than this, they may turn their backs and withdraw from them. (7) Ibn Abbas said: “Whoever flees from three has not fled, but whoever flees from two has indeed fled.” (8)
(1) In manuscript “A”: “the fleeing ones.”
(2) Narrated by al-Tirmidhi in Kitab al-Jihad, chapter: “What Has Been Related concerning Fleeing from the Battlefield,” 5:378. He said: “This is a hasan gharib hadith; we know it only through the hadith of Yazid ibn Abi Ziyad.” It was also narrated by Abu Dawud in Kitab al-Jihad, chapter: “Turning One’s Back on the Day of Battle,” 3:438; Sa'id ibn Mansur in al-Sunan, 2:209-210; al-Shafi'i in al-Musnad, 2:116; and al-Humaydi in al-Musnad, 2:302. The expression hasu haysatan means that they wheeled about in a maneuver that was predominantly a flight.
(3) Narrated by al-Tabari in his Tafsir, 13:439, 440. It states that when Umar received news of Abu Ubayd’s death, he said: ...
(4) Al-Suyuti attributed it to Ibn Abi Shaybah (al-Durr al-Manthur, 4:38). Numerous hadiths likewise identify fleeing from the battlefield as one of the major sins.
(5) In manuscript “B”: “twice their number.”
(6) Narrated by al-Tabari, 13:439.
(7) See Ibn al-Arabi, Ahkam al-Quran, 2:843-844; al-Jassas, Ahkam al-Quran, 4:226-228; al-Sarakhsi, Sharh al-Siyar al-Kabir, 1:123-125. See also Uthman Jumu'ah, Manhaj al-Islam fi al-Harb wa al-Salam, pp. 150-154.
(8) Narrated by al-Tabari, 13:440; al-Shafi'i, 2:116; and Sa'id ibn Mansur in al-Sunan, 2:209. Al-Haythami said: “Al-Tabarani narrated it in marfu form, and its narrators are trustworthy.” (Majma al-Zawa'id, 5:328). We reproduce here al-Tabari’s judgment that the verse is definitive and not abrogated. He said in his Tafsir, 13:440-441: “The soundest of the two interpretations of this verse, in my view, is that of those who hold that its ruling is definitive: it was revealed concerning the people of Badr, yet its ruling remains in force for all believers. Allah has forbidden believers, when they encounter the enemy, from turning their backs in defeat, except when maneuvering for battle or withdrawing to a body of believers, wherever they may be within Islamic territory. Whoever turns his back after advancing to battle, fleeing without intending either of the two courses for which Allah has permitted withdrawal, has incurred Allah’s warning, unless Allah graciously pardons him. We have held that it is definitive and not abrogated because, as we have explained elsewhere in this book and in other works, it is not permissible to rule that the injunction of a verse has been abrogated when an interpretation other than abrogation remains possible, except on the basis of evidence that must be accepted: a decisive report or rational proof. Neither of these forms of evidence indicates the abrogation of the ruling in Allah’s statement: ‘Whoever turns his back to them on that day, unless maneuvering for battle or withdrawing to a company...’”