3:124 Aal-i-Imraan (The Family of Imraan)

{ ألن يكفيكم أن يمدكم ربكم بثلاثة آلاف من الملائكة منزلين بلى إن تصبروا وتتقوا ويأتوكم من فورهم هذا } أي: من مقصدهم هذا، وهو وقعة بدر { يمددكم ربكم بخمسة آلاف من الملائكة مسومين } أي: معلمين بعلامة الشجعان، فشرط الله لإمدادهم ثلاثة شروط: الصبر، والتقوى، وإتيان المشركين من فورهم هذا، فهذا الوعد بإنزال الملائكة المذكورين وإمدادهم بهم، وأما وعد النصر وقمع كيد الأعداء فشرط الله له الشرطين الأولين كما تقدم في قوله: { وإن تصبروا وتتقوا لا يضركم كيدهم شيئا }

اختلف المفسرون في هذا الوعد هل كان يوم بدر أو يوم أحد؟ على قولين " أحدهما" أن قوله "إذ تقول للمؤمنين" متعلق بقوله "ولقد نصركم الله ببدر" وهذا عن الحسن البصري وعامر الشعبي والربيع بن أنس وغيرهم واختاره ابن جرير قال عباد بن منصور عن الحسن في قوله "إذ تقول للمؤمنين ألن يكفيكم أن يمدكم ربكم بثلاثة آلاف من الملائكة" قال: هذا يوم بدر رواه ابن أبي حاتم. ثم قال: حدثنا أبي حدثنا موسى بن إسماعيل حدثنا وهيب حدثنا داود عن عامر يعني الشعبي أن المسلمين بلغهم يوم بدر أن كرز بن جابر يمد المشركين فشق ذلك عليهم فأنزل الله تعالى "ألن يكفيكم أن يمدكم ربكم بثلاثة آلاف من الملائكة منزلين - إلى قوله - مسومين" قال: فبلغت كرزا الهزيمة فلم يمد المشركين ولم يمد اللّه المسلمين بالخمسة. وقال الربيع بن أنس:أمد الله المسلمين بألف ثم صاروا ثلاثة آلاف ثم صاروا خمسة آلاف فإن قيل فما الجمع بين هذه الآية على هذا القول وبين قوله في قصة بدر "إذ تستغيثون ربكم فاستجاب لكم أني ممدكم بألف من الملائكة مردفين - إلى قوله - إن الله عزيز حكيم"؟ فالجواب أن التنصيص على الألف ههنا لا ينافي الثلاثة الآلاف فما فوقها لقوله "مردفين" بمعنى يردفهم غيرهم ويتبعهم ألوف أخر مثلهم. وهذا السياق شبيه بهذا السياق في سورة آل عمران فالظاهر أن ذلك كان يوم بدر كما هو المعروف من أن قتال الملائكة إنما كان يوم بدر والله أعلم. وقال سعيد بن أبي عروبة أمد اللّه المسلمين يوم بدر بخمسة آلاف "القول الثاني" أن هذا الوعد متعلق بقوله "وإذ غدوت من أهلك تبوئ المؤمنين مقاعد للقتال" وذلك يوم أحد وهو قول مجاهد وعكرمة والضحاك والزهري وموسى بن عقبة وغيرهم. لكن قالوا لم يحصل الإمداد بالخمسة الآلاف لأن المسلمين فروا يومئذ زاد عكرمة ولا بالثلاثة الآلاف لقوله تعالى "إن تصبروا وتتقوا" فلم يصبروا بل فروا فلم يمدوا بملك واحد.

The Support of the Angels

The scholars of Tafsir differ over whether the promise contained in these Ayat referred to the battle of Badr or Uhud. The First View

There are two opinions about this, one of them saying that Allah's statement,

إِذْ تَقُولُ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

((Remember) when you said to the believers) 3:124, is related to His statement,

وَلَقَدْ نَصَرَكُمُ اللَّهُ بِبَدْرٍ

(And Allah has already made you victorious at Badr) 3:123.

This was reported from Al-Hasan Al-Basri, `Amr Ash-Sha`bi, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas and several others, Ibn Jarir also agreed with this opinion. `Abbad bin Mansur said that Al-Hasan said that Allah's statement,

إِذْ تَقُولُ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَلَنْ يَكْفِيكُمْ أَن يُمِدَّكُمْ رَبُّكُمْ بِثَلاَثَةِ ءَالاَفٍ مِّنَ الْمَلَـئِكَةِ

((Remember) when you said to the believers, "Is it not enough for you that your Lord should help you with three thousand angels") 3:124, is about the battle of Badr; Ibn Abi Hatim also recorded this statement.

Ibn Abi Hatim then reported that `Amr Ash-Sha`bi said, "On the day of Badr, the Muslims received information that Kurz bin Jabir (a prominent tribe chief) was aiding the idolators, and this news was hard on them, so Allah revealed;

أَلَنْ يَكْفِيكُمْ أَن يُمِدَّكُمْ رَبُّكُمْ بِثَلاَثَةِ ءَالاَفٍ مِّنَ الْمَلَـئِكَةِ مُنزَلِينَ

("Is it not enough for you that your Lord (Allah) should help you with three thousand angels sent down"), until,

مُسَوِّمِينَ

(having marks (of distinction)) 3:124,125.

The news of the defeat of the idolators at Badr reached Kurz and he did not reinforce them, and thus, Allah did not reinforce the Muslims with the five (thousands of angels)."

As for Ar-Rabi` bin Anas, he said, "Allah supported the Muslims with one thousand (angels), then the number reached three thousand, then five thousand." If one asks, according to this opinion, how can we combine between this Ayah and Allah's statement about Badr,

إِذْ تَسْتَغِيثُونَ رَبَّكُمْ فَاسْتَجَابَ لَكُمْ أَنِّي مُمِدُّكُمْ بِأَلْفٍ مِّنَ الْمَلَـئِكَةِ مُرْدِفِينَ

((Remember) when you sought help of your Lord and He answered you (saying): "I will help you with a thousand angels, each behind the other (following one another) in succession.") 8:9, until,

أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ

(Verily! Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise) We say that the one thousand mentioned here does not contradict the three thousand mentioned in the above Ayah 3:124. The word "in succession" means they follow each other and thus indicates that thousands more will follow them. The two Ayat above 8:9 and 3:124 are similar in meaning and it appears that they both were about the battle of Badr, because the angels did fight in the battle of Badr, as the evidence indicates. Allah knows best. Allah's statement,

بَلَى إِن تَصْبِرُواْ وَتَتَّقُواْ

(But if you hold on to patience and have Taqwa,) 3:125 means, if you observe patience while fighting the enemy, all the while fearing Me and obeying My command. Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Ar-Rabi` and As-Suddi said that Allah's statement,

وَيَأْتُوكُمْ مِّن فَوْرِهِمْ هَـذَا

(and they will come rushing) means, they (angels) will rush to you instantaneously. Al-`Awfi said that Ibn `Abbas said that the Ayah means, "All at once". It is also said that it means, before their anger subsides (against the disbelievers). The Second View

The second opinion stipulates that the promise mentioned here concerning the angels participating in battle is related to Allah's statement,

وَإِذْ غَدَوْتَ مِنْ أَهْلِكَ تُبَوِّىءُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مَقَاعِدَ لِلْقِتَالِ

(And (remember) when you left your household in the morning to post the believers at their stations for the battle) of Uhud. However, we should add, the angels did not come to the aid of Muslims at Uhud, because Allah made it conditional,

بَلَى إِن تَصْبِرُواْ وَتَتَّقُواْ

(But if you hold on to patience and have Taqwa) 3: 125.

The Muslims were not patient at Uhud. Rather, they ran away and, consequently, did not receive the support of even one angel.

Allah's statement,

يُمْدِدْكُمْ رَبُّكُمْ بِخَمْسَةِ ءَالافٍ مِّنَ الْمَلَـئِكَةِ مُسَوِّمِينَ

(your Lord will help you with five thousand angels having marks), of distinction.

Abu Ishaq As-Subay`i said; from Harithah bin Mudarrib said that `Ali bin Abi Talib said, "The angels were distinguished by wearing white wool at Badr." The angels also had special markings distinguishing their horses.

When idh an adverbial qualifier of nasarakum ‘He gave you victory’ in the previous verse you were saying to the believers promising them as reassurance for them ‘Is it not sufficient for you that your Lord should reinforce you that He should succour you with three thousand angels sent down? read munzalīn or munazzalīn ‘sent down’.

وَلَقَدْ نَصَرَ‌كُمُ اللَّـهُ بِبَدْرٍ‌ وَأَنتُمْ أَذِلَّةٌ

And Allah certainly supported you at Badr when you were weak. (123)

Badr : Location and Importance

Badr is located about eighty miles south-west of Madinah and used to be a halting-place while travelling between Makkah and Madinah, before the modern Tariq al-Hijrah was commissioned into service which by passes it.

At that time, Badr was known for its abundance of water, something very important in the desert zones of Arabia. The first armed encounter between believers and disbelievers came to pass at this spot on Friday, Ramadan al-Mubarak, Hijrah year 2 which fell on March 11, 624 A.D. On a superficial view, this battle appears to be a local tribal war, but the truth is that it has charted a revolutionary course in the history of the world, therefore, the Holy Qur'an calls it Yawm al-Furgan یوم الفرقان (a day of distinction). According to Professor Philip Hitti, this was Islam's first clear victory.

The expression وَأَنتُمْ أَذِلَّةٌ translated as 'when you were weak' means that 'you were, at that time, few in numbers and materials'. According to strong and authentic narrations, the number of Muslims was 313. This 'army' had two horses and seventy camels. On these, they took their turns while riding.

The verse ends with the statement: فَاتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُ‌ونَ (So, fear Allah, that you may be grateful). This may remind one of the many places in the Holy Qur'an where Taqwa (fear of Allah) and Sabr (patience) have been prescribed as a security shield against the machinations of the hypocrites and the harmful effects of hostile enemies. Right here, in these two behaviour models, there lies the secret of an entire organized struggle, and clear victory, that comes in its wake. As mentioned elsewhere, Taqwa and Sabr have not been mentioned here, in conjunction. Instead, Taqwa has been considered sufficient for, in reality, Taqwa is such a comprehensive human attribute that صبر Sabr too gets to be included therein.