do not be like those who disbelieved and said of their brothers when they travelled through the land or went out to fight, ‘Had they stayed with us, they would not have died or been killed,’ so that Allah may make this a source of regret in their hearts. Allah gives life and causes death, and Allah sees all that you do.”

The point is this: death is inevitable. How many have stood in the battle lines and survived, and how many have fled death only to meet it! As Khālid ibn al-Walīd said when he was dying:

“I have stood in so many battle lines, and my body bears more than eighty wounds from sword blows, spear thrusts, and arrows. Yet here I am, dying in my bed as a camel dies. May the eyes of cowards never sleep!”

Then Allah Most High says:

“Allah surely knows those among you who hold others back and those who say to their brothers, ‘Come to us.’”

The scholars said:

Some of the hypocrites would return from the trench and enter Medina. Whenever someone came to them, they would say, “Woe to you! Stay here; do not go out.” They would also write to their brothers in the army: “Come to us in Medina; we are waiting for you,” discouraging them from fighting. They would only go to the army when they had no alternative, and then only so that people would see their faces. Once no one was watching them, they would return to Medina.

One man left the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and found his full brother with roast meat and nabīdh (an infused drink) before him. He said, “You are here while the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is amid spears and swords?”

His brother replied, “Come here to me, for you and your companion have been surrounded.”