Al-Anfal: (15-16) O you who believe...

In this verse, there are several issues:

Issue 1: The Meaning of Zahfan (زحفاً)

Al-Azhari said: The origin of zahf (crawling/advancing) is for a baby who crawls on his buttocks before he can stand. The movement of the two groups advancing toward each other for battle is likened to the baby's crawl, where each faction moves slowly toward the other before closing in for striking.

Tha'lab said: Zahf is moving little by little toward something. From this is zihāf (a metrical defect) in poetry, where a letter drops out between two letters, causing one to "crawl" toward the other.

Knowing this, we say: His statement, {When you meet those who disbelieve, advancing in array} (zuhfan), means they are advancing together (as a circumstantial adverb, hāl). It could be a circumstantial adverb describing the disbelievers, or it could describe the addressees (the believers). Zahf is a verbal noun used descriptively, like ‘adl (justice) or riḍā (contentment), which is why it is not pluralized.

The meaning is: When you go forth to fight them, do not flee. His statement, {then do not turn your backs to them}, means do not let your backs face them.

Furthermore, after forbidding this fleeing, the Almighty clarified that this retreat is forbidden except in two situations:

1. {unless maneuvering for battle} (mutaḥarrifan li-l-qitāl): This means deceiving the enemy into thinking one is retreating, and then turning back upon them. This is one of the tactics and stratagems of war. It is said: taḥarrafa and inḥarafa when one deviates from the straight path.
2. {or falling back to join a company} (aw mutaḥayyizan ilā fa’atin): Abu ‘Ubaydah said: Taḥayyuz means withdrawing. There are two pronunciations: taḥayyuz and taḥawwuz. Al-Wahidi said: The origin of this is ḥawz, which means gathering. It is said: ḥaztuhu fa-nḥāza wa-taḥawwaza wa-taḥayyaza (I gathered it, so it gathered/retreated/withdrew), meaning it joined and assembled. Then, withdrawing was termed taḥayyuz because the one who withdraws separates from one side and leans toward another.

Knowing this, we say: Fa’ah (company/troop) means a group. If this withdrawing person is like an individual facing a large number of disbelievers, and he strongly suspects that if he stands firm he will be killed without benefit, but if he withdraws to a group he hopes for salvation and anticipates overwhelming the enemy by their numbers—then withdrawing to this group may become obligatory upon him, let alone being permissible. The essence is that fleeing from the enemy is forbidden except in these two cases.

Then the Almighty said: {And whoever turns his back to them that day}—except in these two cases—{except for maneuvering for battle or falling back to join a company}—{he has incurred the wrath of Allah, and his refuge will be Hell, and wretched is the destination.}

Issue 2: The Ruling on Sinners Among the Prayerful

The Judge used this verse as evidence to definitively affirm the threat of punishment for the sinful among the people of prayer (Muslims). This is because the verse indicates that whoever flees, except in these two situations, deserves the wrath of Allah and the Fire of Hell. He argued that the Murji’ah cannot claim this verse applies only to the disbelievers and not to the people of prayer, as they do with other verses of threat, because this specific threat is restricted to the people of prayer.

Know that we have discussed this issue exhaustively in Surah Al-Baqarah. We mentioned that drawing definitive conclusions from such apparent texts yields only conjecture (ẓann). We also mentioned that these verses are contradicted by the general promises of reward. We further explained that giving precedence to the general promises of reward is supported by many arguments, so there is no benefit in repeating it here.

Issue 3: Specificity to the Battle of Badr

The commentators differed on whether this ruling is specific to the Day of Badr or is generally applicable to all battles.

It is narrated from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, and Al-Dahhak that this ruling is specific to those who fled on the Day of Badr. They argued that the reason for this specificity to Badr includes:

1. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was present on the Day of Badr. In his presence, no one else is considered equal to him, either because no other group equals him in status, or because Allah had promised him victory, so they had no need to retreat to another company.
2. Allah severely enjoined this matter upon the people of Badr because it was the first major battle. If the Muslims had fled from it, it would have resulted in a great calamity. Therefore, strictness and exaggeration were necessary for them. This is also why Allah forbade taking ransom from the captives on that day.

The second opinion is that the ruling mentioned in this verse is general for all wars. The evidence is that His statement, {O you who believe, when you meet those who disbelieve}, is general and encompasses all situations. The most that can be said is that it was revealed concerning the incident of Badr, but the lesson is derived from the generality of the wording, not the specificity of the occasion.

Issue 4: The Size of the Army and Permissibility of Retreat

They differed on whether the permission to retreat to a company is prohibited if the army is large, or if it is only valid when the army is small. Some said that if the army is large, they do not have this permission to retreat. Others said that all situations are equal, and this latter view is more consistent with the apparent meaning because the verse did not make a distinction.

{So you did not kill them, but it was Allah who killed them. And you did not throw, when you threw, but it was Allah who threw, and that He might test the believers with a good test. Indeed, Allah is Hearing and Knowing.}