The Qur'an repeatedly says that there is no authority...

The Qur'an repeatedly says that there is no authority, no proof, which could prove any partner or colleague for Allah. Among many types of polytheism is the rejection of the Creator by saying that some thing other than Allah - like time or matter - has caused the creation and goes on managing it. QUR'AN: And certainly Allah made good to you His promise, . . . and Allah is Gracious to the believers: "al-Hass" (to extirpate by slaying).

The traditions unanimously say, and history records, that on the day of Uhud, at first the believers overpowered the enemy and defeated them; they started slaughtering them and plundering their goods. But then most of the archers left their position at the mountain-pass, and Khalid ibn Walid with his group attacked and slaughtered 'Abdullah ibn Jubayr and the few archers who had remained with him. Now the way was clear for them to attack the believers from the rear — which they did.

Seeing this, the fleeing seventy of the companions and bringing utter defeat upon them. Accordingly, the words, "And certainly Allah made good to you His promise", affirms that Allah's promise of help — on the condition that they should remain on guard and be patient — was certainly fulfilled; the, clause, "when you were extirpating them by His permission ", is applicable to the victory which Allah gave to them to begin with on the day of Uhud; and the next clause, "until when you became weak-willed and disputed about the affair and disobeyed after He had shown you that which you loved ", may be pointing to what the archers had done; they disputed one with the other, an overwhelming majority of them left their position and ran away to join those companions who were busy in gathering the booty.

In this way they showed their lack of will-power; they differed among themselves end' disobeyed the Prophet's order not to leave their place no matter what happened to the others.

Accordingly, al-fashal (generally translated as 'to lose heart', 'to be weak-hearted'), would imply here, weakness or lack of will-power; obviously the meaning of weak-heartedness or cowardice would not be appropriate in this context, because they had not left their position because of any fear; rather it was because of the avarice of war-booty.

If we take al-fashal for cowardice, then it would apply to the whole 'army'; and in that case, the adverb, "then", in the clause, "then He turned you away from them", would denote ordinal sequel, not sequence of time.