Issues of Ijtihad

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Prophet heard this, he corrected this wrong impression by telling them that those people had not fled but had simply withdrawn in order to advance again at some future date, God willing.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. The Policy of Gradualness in Reform Aisha, the Prophet’s wife, has been recorded as saying that “the first chapters of the Quran to be revealed, those making mention of heaven and hell, were short ones. It was only when people became conditioned to accept