His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿That is because they opposed Allah and His Messenger. And whoever opposes Allah and His Messenger, then indeed, Allah is Severe in punishment.﴾ ﴿So taste it, and indeed, for the disbelievers is the punishment of the Fire.﴾ ﴿O you who have believed, when you meet those who disbelieve advancing in a rush, do not turn to them your backs.﴾ ﴿And whoever turns his back to them on that day, except for taking a maneuver for battle or joining a company, has certainly brought upon himself anger from Allah, and his refuge is Hell, and wretched is the destination.﴾

This address is to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and the believers are included in it by meaning. The pronoun in "because they" refers back to those who disbelieved. And "opposed" means: they contradicted, fought against, and severed. It is derived from "shiq" which means cutting and separating between two things. This is a mutual action, as if when Allah legislated a law and commanded with commands, they denied them and obstructed, they distanced themselves and separated, and thus they split. The interpreters expressed His saying, exalted is He: ﴿opposed﴾ as meaning: they became in a side other than His side.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And although its meaning is correct, the clarification of the derivation is what we have mentioned. The first example is indeed "shiq" with the opening of the shīn. They all agreed on the clarity in "opposes" following the script of the mushaf. And His saying: ﴿Indeed, Allah is Severe in punishment.﴾ is the response to the condition, containing a warning and a threat.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So taste it.﴾ The address is to the disbelievers, meaning: that is the strike and killing and what Allah inflicted upon them on the day of Badr. It is as if He said: the matter is that, so taste it. This is how Sibawayh interpreted it. Some of them said: it is possible that ﴿So taste it.﴾ is in the accusative case, like His saying: "Zayd, strike him." And the majority of people read: "And indeed" with the opening of the alif, either on the estimation of: "And it is certain that," so it is estimated as an omitted beginning, making "that" its news, or on the estimation of "and know that," so it is - on this - in the accusative case. And Sulaiman narrated from Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan: "And indeed" is on the cutting and the beginning.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿O you who have believed, when you meet those who disbelieve advancing in a rush﴾ the verse. "Advancing in a rush" refers to: facing each other in ranks and individuals, meaning: some of them advance towards each other. The origin of "advancing in a rush" is the pushing forward on the buttocks, then every one who walks towards another in war slowly is called an advancing in a rush, as in his walking there is from the slowness and delay what is in the walk of the advancing in a rush. And from the advancing in a rush which is the pushing forward is their saying about the fire of the burning and what has occurred in its course in the speed of ignition: the fire of the two advances. And from the delay in walking is the saying of the poet:

Like they are in the hands of the people in hardship,∗∗∗ birds revealing from a dark place.

And from it is the saying of Al-Farazdaq:

Upon our turbans is cast, and our feet∗∗∗ upon the advances we lead with our swords.

And from it is the saying of another:

To whom the travelers, their march is advancing in a rush∗∗∗..............

And from the advancing in a rush meaning the pushing forward is the saying of Al-Hudhali:

Like the tracks of the snakes in it∗∗∗∗∗ before dawn, the marks of the whips.

And Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, commanded in this verse that the believers should not turn their backs to the disbelievers. This command is conditioned by the stipulation mentioned regarding the believers. If a group of believers encounters a group that is double their number from the polytheists, then it is obligatory that they do not flee before them. Fleeing in that situation is a great sin according to the apparent meaning of the Qur'an, the hadith, and the consensus of most of the ummah. The number is to be considered according to what is in the Book of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic. This is the opinion of the majority of the ummah. A group among them, including Ibn al-Majishun in 'Al-Wadihah', said that weakness, strength, and numbers should also be taken into account. According to their statement, it is permissible for a hundred horsemen to flee if they know that the polytheists have double their number in terms of equipment, strength, and bravery. And they may flee before fewer or more based on that. However, according to the opinion of the majority, it is not permissible for a hundred to flee except before more than two hundred.

The expression 'from behind' in this verse is a clear indication of eloquence, as it is disgraceful for the one fleeing. The majority read 'dubruhu' with a dammah on the ba, while Hasan ibn Abi Hasan read 'dubrahu' with a sukoon on the ba.

The interpreters differed regarding what is referred to by His saying: 'on that Day'. A group said that the reference is to the Day of Badr and what followed it. On that day, the warning of anger was pronounced against those who fled. The ruling of the verse was abrogated later by the verse of weakness, and fleeing from the battle is not a great sin. People fled on the Day of Uhud, and Allah forgave them. He mentioned them on the Day of Hunayn: 'Then you turned your backs' [At-Tawbah: 25], and there was no reprimand for that.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The majority of the ummah stated that the reference of 'on that Day' is to the Day of meeting, which is included in His saying: 'When you meet'. The ruling of the verse remains until the Day of Resurrection, conditioned by the weakness that Allah, the Exalted, mentioned in another verse. There is no abrogation in the verse. As for the Day of Uhud, the people fled from more than their weakness, and despite that, they were reprimanded for the presence of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, among them and their fleeing from him. As for the Day of Hunayn, likewise, those who fled were exposed before the multitude. It is possible that Allah's forgiveness for those who fled on the Day of Uhud was forgiveness for a great sin.

And 'turning aside for battle' refers to one who sees that his action is more harmful to the enemy and more effective against them. It is in the accusative case, and likewise 'taking a position'. As for the exception, it is from those who turn away, which includes 'whoever'. Some said that the exception is from the types of turning away.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: If that were the case, it should be: 'except for turning aside and taking a position'.

And 'the group' here refers to the assembly of people present for battle. This is according to the opinion of the majority that fleeing from the battle is a great sin. However, according to the other opinion, 'the group' could refer to the city, the imam, and the assembly of Muslims wherever they may be. This saying has been narrated from Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: I am your group, O Muslims.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is from him in regard to the protection of the believers, as they were in that time repeatedly affirming for their weak ones. In the Musnad of Ibn Abi Shaybah, from the route of Abdullah ibn Umar, it is reported that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said to a group that fled in one of his expeditions: "I am the faction of the Muslims" when they came to him. In Sahih al-Bukhari, from the hadith of Abu Huraira, he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, say: "Beware of the seven destructive sins," and he counted among them fleeing from the battle. And "baa" means to rise up, bearing the mentioned burden in anger or something similar. Anger is one of the attributes of Allah, glorified and exalted is He; if taken in the sense of will, it is an attribute of essence, and if taken in the sense of manifesting the actions of the angry one upon the servant, it is an attribute of action. This meaning is more similar to this verse. And the refuge is the place to which a person turns for shelter.