Not Furrar, But Kurrar

Shaykh Yasir Qadhi explains:

❧A SMEAR CAMPAIGN

Within days of the army's return, rumors and mockery began circulating against the Mu'tah veterans, perhaps from companions genuinely troubled by the retreat, perhaps stoked by hypocrites eager to sow division, likely some mixture of both. The Prophet ﷺ noticed the absence of Salamah ibn Hishām from the masjid and asked after him; his wife explained that every time he stepped outside, people jeered "you who fled, have you run from the path of Allah?", furrār, cowards who abandoned the battlefield, and so he had shut himself indoors rather than face it.

❧ONE WORD, RECAST

The Prophet ﷺ addressed the whole gathering: "hum laysū bi-furrār, hum kurrār", they are not furrār (those who flee), they are kurrār (those who withdraw only to fight again), changing a single root letter to flip an insult into a badge of honor, ending the smear campaign outright.

❧THE FIQH OF LEGITIMATE MARTYRDOM

The shaykh is careful to draw the line precisely here: seeking martyrdom is a genuine, legitimate goal for a Muslim, but that goal is never pursued by standing still and inviting death, if every fighter simply threw down his arms hoping to be killed, no battle could ever be fought properly. The companions at Mu'tah were not fleeing out of cowardice; they were making a tactical retreat explicitly permitted in the Qur'an (which forbids turning one's back in battle except to regroup for renewed fighting), preserving themselves precisely so they could fight another day, which is exactly what kurrār means.