intoxicating drinks, reviling the righteous predecessors and the Muslim troops, spying on the Muslims for them, directing them to the Muslims’ wealth and womenfolk, seizing people’s property and torturing them, strengthening their accursed state, and filling the Muslims’ hearts with fear of them, along with other forms of turmoil.

Then Allah Most High says:

“They had already pledged to Allah before that they would not turn their backs, and a pledge to Allah must be answered for.”

Such is the condition of people who made pledges and then broke them, both in the past and recently during this campaign. Both last year and this year, there were people from various groups who initially pledged to fight and not flee, but then fled in defeat when the situation became grave.

Then Allah Most High says:

“Say: ‘Fleeing will never benefit you if you flee from death or killing, and then you would be allowed to enjoy life only for a little while.’”

Allah thus states that fleeing avails nothing, whether from death or from being killed. Fleeing from death is like fleeing from the plague. Hence the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“If it breaks out in a land while you are there, do not leave to flee from it.”

Fleeing from being killed is like fleeing from jihad. The particle “lan” (“will not”) negates an action in the future. The verb is indefinite, and an indefinite expression in a negative context encompasses all its instances. It therefore follows that fleeing from death or from being killed brings no benefit whatsoever. This is Allah’s truthful statement. Whoever believes that such flight will benefit him has accused Allah of lying in what He has stated.