Surah Al-Anfaal (8) — Ayah 10

(Ayah 10) ➊ From the words of {وَ مَا جَعَلَهُ اللّٰهُ اِلَّا بُشْرٰى … :} some people have misunderstood that the angels themselves did not take part in the fighting, but Allah sent them to help the Muslims only so that their spirits would be lifted and they would have reassurance that angels were present to help them. However, this idea is not correct. In Sahih Muslim, it is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) that during this time, a Muslim was chasing a man from among the polytheists when he heard the sound of a whip striking and the voice of a rider saying, "Hayzum! Go forward." He saw that the polytheist had fallen flat on his back, and saw that there was a mark on his nose, his face was split open as if struck by a whip, and the whole area had turned green. The Ansari came and related this to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: "You have spoken the truth, this was help from the third heaven." [ مسلم، الجھاد، باب الامداد بالملائکۃ فی غزوۃ بدر… : ۱۷۶۳ ] Even after Badr, Allah helped the Muslims in many battles with the angels. I have heard from many trustworthy people that in united India, on the order of Hafiz Abdullah Roopri (may Allah have mercy on him), Muslims slaughtered cows on the day of Eid al-Adha, so Hindus and Sikhs attacked the Muslims. Despite being few in number, the Muslims fought back, and many disbelievers were killed and fled. When the case was brought to court, the Muslims and disbelievers who participated in the battle appeared. The disbelievers were asked to identify, and they said, "Those who fought us were dressed in white and mounted on horses," even though none of the Muslims were in such a state. During operations against the disbelievers in Kashmir, there have also been many incidents of help from the angels, which have been published in various issues of Majalla al-Da'wah and Ghazwah. The poet has spoken the truth:
Create the atmosphere of Badr, so that angels may come to your aid,
They can still descend from the heavens, rank upon rank.

➋ {وَ مَا النَّصْرُ اِلَّا مِنْ عِنْدِ اللّٰهِ … :} That is, do not think that the victory you achieved was because of these angels; rather, in reality, help is from Allah. If He had willed, He could have granted you victory without the angels, but by making jihad a part of the religion, it was intended to test your faith, to humiliate the disbelievers at your hands, and to honor some of you with martyrdom. In the previous nations, whenever a nation denied its prophet, some form of punishment from Allah would descend upon them—drowning in water, a terrifying cry, an earthquake, a rain of stones, or transformation of their forms, etc. From the drowning of the people of Noah (peace be upon him) to the drowning of Pharaoh, this pattern continued. Eventually, when the Torah was revealed to Moses (peace be upon him), jihad began, and after that, this method has continued. Now Allah wants to punish the disbelievers at the hands of the Muslims. He said: «{ قَاتِلُوْهُمْ يُعَذِّبْهُمُ اللّٰهُ بِاَيْدِيْكُمْ وَ يُخْزِهِمْ … }» [ التوبۃ : ۱۴، ۱۵ ] In these verses, Allah has mentioned six benefits of jihad; for details, see the commentary of these verses in Surah At-Tawbah. Although after Moses (peace be upon him), there were still some incidents of punishment from the heavens, such as the incident of the People of the Elephant, and according to the prophecy of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), in his ummah, those who make wine, adultery, silk, and musical instruments lawful will be punished by being swallowed by the earth and being transformed into monkeys and pigs. [ بخاری، الأشربۃ، باب ما جاء فیمن یستحل الخمر… : ۵۵۹۰، عن أبی مالک الأشعری رضی اللہ عنہ ] However, those will be for admonition and partial, that is, they will occur here and there. The responsibility to stop the disbelievers from disbelief and to end their rebellion and bring them under the authority of Islam now lies with the Muslims through jihad, in which surely the help of Allah will also be included.