"One of the Two Best Things"

Allah (ʿazza wa jall) says about the munāfiqūn: if good befalls you, it distresses them; but if disaster strikes you, they say: we took our matter in hand before; and they turn away while they are rejoicing. This is another habit of the munāfiqūn: they are happy when disaster befalls the Muslims; and when that happens, and they had stayed behind, they say: see, we told you; why did you go out? And they think that they are wise because they avoided trouble; and it is actually the opposite: they are falling into trouble.

And then Allah (ʿazza wa jall) says: do you await for us except one of the two best things? What are the two best things? Either victory or martyrdom. While we await for you that Allah will afflict you with punishment from Himself or at our hands; so wait; indeed we, along with you, are waiting. So the Muslim should tell the munāfiqūn: whatever happens to us — even if we are defeated, even if we lose, and you think you are wise and smart because you stayed behind — you need to understand that our objective is one of two things, either victory or martyrdom, and these are the best things to wait for; while we are waiting for two things to happen to you as well: either a punishment from Allah, or a punishment from us. These are some of the āyāt speaking about those who stayed behind from the Battle of Tabūk.