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Sura 8
Aya 15
15
يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنوا إِذا لَقيتُمُ الَّذينَ كَفَروا زَحفًا فَلا تُوَلّوهُمُ الأَدبارَ

Muhammad Asad

O YOU who have attained to faith! When you meet in battle those who are bent on denying the truth, advancing in great force, do not turn your backs on them:1
  • I.e., in flight: the implication being that in view of God's promise of victory no retreat is permissible. Since this verse (like the whole of this surah) relates predominantly to the battle of Badr, it may well be presumed that the above admonition forms part of the message of encouragement beginning with the words, "I am with you" (verse 12), which God commanded the angels to convey to the believers before the battle. In accordance with the didactic method of the Qur'an, however, the moral lesson contained in this verse is not confined to the historical occasion to which it refers, but has the validity of a permanent law.