STRATEGIC RETREAT

During the life of the Prophet, in 8 A.H. the battle of Muta took place on the border of Syria, which at that time was under Byzantine rule. The Muslim army, totalling only three thousand, was greatly outnumbered by the enemy forces. Many commanders from the Muslim side fell in the battle. In the last stage Khalid bin Walid, having great military experience, reorganized the Muslim ranks in such a way as to give the impression that massive reinforcements from Madinah had arrived to join the battle. Awed at this, the Romans decided to abandon the battlefield. Finding it pointless to continue the battle, Khalid decided to withdraw, on the principle of tactical retreat, and left for Madinah.

The brave Arabs, always ready to fight to the finish, saw the retreat as a dishonour to them. They failed to understand the wisdom of tactical retreat and accused the Muslims of fleeing in the face of the enemy. They called them O Furrar, that is, those who take flight. When the Prophet heard this, he corrected this wrong impression by telling them that those people had not fled but had simply withdrawn in order to advance again at some future date, God willing. (Sirah ibn Hisham, Vol. 3, p. 438)

This saying of the Prophet teaches us that the right step is that which is result-oriented. Fighting to die for honour and prestige is not a desirable act in Islam. If the enemy’s numbers are so great as to turn the tide of battle in their favour, hostilities should not be engaged in. Even if a confrontation does take place, tactical retreat should be resorted to, so that preparations may be made for taking the next result-oriented steps.