سُوْرَةُ اٰلِ عِمْرٰنَ
Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3) — Ayah 125
بَلَىٰٓ ۚ إِن تَصْبِرُوا۟ وَتَتَّقُوا۟ وَيَأْتُوكُم مِّن فَوْرِهِمْ هَـٰذَا يُمْدِدْكُمْ رَبُّكُم بِخَمْسَةِ ءَالَـٰفٍ مِّنَ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ مُسَوِّمِينَ ﴿125﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
"Yes, if you hold on to patience and piety, and the enemy comes rushing at you; your Lord will help you with five thousand angels having marks (of distinction)."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
بَلَىٰٓ ۚ
balā
Yes
إِن
in
if
تَصْبِرُوا۟
taṣbirū
you are patient
وَتَتَّقُوا۟
watattaqū
and fear (Allah)
وَيَأْتُوكُم
wayatūkum
and they come upon you
مِّن
min
[of]
فَوْرِهِمْ
fawrihim
suddenly
هَـٰذَا
hādhā
[this]
يُمْدِدْكُمْ
yum'did'kum
will reinforce you
رَبُّكُم
rabbukum
your Lord
بِخَمْسَةِ
bikhamsati
with five
ءَالَـٰفٍۢ
ālāfin
thousand[s]
مِّنَ
mina
[of]
ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ
l-malāikati
[the] Angels
مُسَوِّمِينَ
musawwimīna
[the ones] having marks
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
125. Yes, indeed! If you remain patient and fear Allah, and the enemy comes upon you suddenly, your Lord will help you with five thousand specially marked angels. [114]
[114] The battle had not even begun when a rumor spread that Kurz bin Jabir was coming with a large reinforcement to aid the polytheists. This rumor caused further anxiety among the Muslims. At that time, Allah Almighty said to the Muslims: If you fear that the disbelievers might receive sudden reinforcements, then Allah can also increase His help through angels. Therefore, act with patience and steadfastness, and fear Allah, not the disbelievers. Some commentators have related the promise of help with three thousand and five thousand angels to the Battle of Badr. In this regard, this statement is continuous with the statement of verse number 123. What happened was that, in order to encourage the small, weak, and unarmed group of Muslims at Badr, Allah sent a thousand angels to the battlefield of Badr, as is evident from the verse of Surah Anfal:
﴿ فَاسْتَجَابَ لَكُمْ اَنِّيْ مُمِدُّكُمْ بِاَلْفٍ مِّنَ الْمَلٰيِٕكَةِ مُرْدِفِيْنَ﴾
Then, when it became widely rumored during the Battle of Badr that further reinforcements were arriving from Mecca, Allah Almighty said that in such a case, We would send three thousand or five thousand angels. But since no further reinforcements reached the disbelievers from Mecca, no additional angels were sent. However, the participation of one thousand angels in the field of Badr is established from the Holy Quran. Moreover, there are so many narrations in the Sahihain and other books of hadith regarding this that they reach the level of tawatur (mass transmission). But the help of angels in the Battle of Uhud is not established from authentic narrations. Therefore, this explanation seems more correct.
The Denial of the Descent of Angels at Badr by the Mu'tazilah and Their Interpretations:
Despite all this, the Mu'tazilah and their successors have denied the coming of angels at Badr. These people do not consider hadiths worthy of attention at all, and they interpret the verses of the Quran in such a way that nowhere in the Quran does it say that Allah actually sent angels; rather, it quotes the statement of the Messenger ﷺ that, at the time of battle, the Messenger told the Muslims, in order to place their trust in Allah, that Allah could do such a thing. Then, the rational arguments they present are of this kind: that to destroy a nation, even one angel would suffice, so what was the need for thousands? Or that if the work was to be done by angels, then only the Angel of Death would have sufficed, who could seize all souls; in fact, if this was the case, then why did Allah create disbelievers at all? Or that if the angels were dense bodies, then everyone would have seen them, whereas this did not happen, and if they were subtle bodies, then what strength did they have to kill anyone, and so on—such superstitions. You can see for yourself how much weight these arguments carry. Therefore, we should not waste time responding to them, as they are contrary to Allah's perfect wisdom, and such objections can be raised against every single matter of the Shari'ah. It is not known what kind of faith these people have in Allah and His Word.
[114] The battle had not even begun when a rumor spread that Kurz bin Jabir was coming with a large reinforcement to aid the polytheists. This rumor caused further anxiety among the Muslims. At that time, Allah Almighty said to the Muslims: If you fear that the disbelievers might receive sudden reinforcements, then Allah can also increase His help through angels. Therefore, act with patience and steadfastness, and fear Allah, not the disbelievers. Some commentators have related the promise of help with three thousand and five thousand angels to the Battle of Badr. In this regard, this statement is continuous with the statement of verse number 123. What happened was that, in order to encourage the small, weak, and unarmed group of Muslims at Badr, Allah sent a thousand angels to the battlefield of Badr, as is evident from the verse of Surah Anfal:
﴿ فَاسْتَجَابَ لَكُمْ اَنِّيْ مُمِدُّكُمْ بِاَلْفٍ مِّنَ الْمَلٰيِٕكَةِ مُرْدِفِيْنَ﴾
Then, when it became widely rumored during the Battle of Badr that further reinforcements were arriving from Mecca, Allah Almighty said that in such a case, We would send three thousand or five thousand angels. But since no further reinforcements reached the disbelievers from Mecca, no additional angels were sent. However, the participation of one thousand angels in the field of Badr is established from the Holy Quran. Moreover, there are so many narrations in the Sahihain and other books of hadith regarding this that they reach the level of tawatur (mass transmission). But the help of angels in the Battle of Uhud is not established from authentic narrations. Therefore, this explanation seems more correct.
The Denial of the Descent of Angels at Badr by the Mu'tazilah and Their Interpretations:
Despite all this, the Mu'tazilah and their successors have denied the coming of angels at Badr. These people do not consider hadiths worthy of attention at all, and they interpret the verses of the Quran in such a way that nowhere in the Quran does it say that Allah actually sent angels; rather, it quotes the statement of the Messenger ﷺ that, at the time of battle, the Messenger told the Muslims, in order to place their trust in Allah, that Allah could do such a thing. Then, the rational arguments they present are of this kind: that to destroy a nation, even one angel would suffice, so what was the need for thousands? Or that if the work was to be done by angels, then only the Angel of Death would have sufficed, who could seize all souls; in fact, if this was the case, then why did Allah create disbelievers at all? Or that if the angels were dense bodies, then everyone would have seen them, whereas this did not happen, and if they were subtle bodies, then what strength did they have to kill anyone, and so on—such superstitions. You can see for yourself how much weight these arguments carry. Therefore, we should not waste time responding to them, as they are contrary to Allah's perfect wisdom, and such objections can be raised against every single matter of the Shari'ah. It is not known what kind of faith these people have in Allah and His Word.
