The man who ran, then turned around
Everyone around him had already fled.
انْظُرُوا إِلَى عَبْدِي رَجَعَ رَغْبَةً فِيمَا عِنْدِي وَشَفَقَةً مِمَّا عِنْدِي
Unẓurū ilā ʿabdī rajaʿa raghbatan fīmā ʿindī wa shafaqatan mimmā ʿindī
“Look at My servant. He went back, wanting what is with Me and fearing what is with Me.”
Where this comes from
His companions broke and ran. He ran with them. Then he understood what running meant, and he turned around and went back alone, and his blood was spilled. Allah says to the angels: look at him. The praise is not for never having run. It is for the turn.
The full narration
Narrated Abdullah ibn Mas'ud: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Our Lord Most High is pleased with a man who fights in the path of Allah, the Exalted; then his companions fled away (i.e. retreated). But he knew that it was a sin (to flee away from the battlefield), so he returned, and his blood was shed. Thereupon Allah, the Exalted, says to His angels: Look at My servant; he returned seeking what I have for him (i.e. the reward), and fearing (the punishment) I have, until his blood was shed
Source
Sunan Abī Dāwūd · 2536
- Al-Albani: Hasan
- Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul Hamid: Hasan
- Zubair Ali Zai: Isnaad Hasan