سُوْرَةُ الْاَنْفَالِ
Surah Al-Anfaal (8) — Ayah 9
إِذْ تَسْتَغِيثُونَ رَبَّكُمْ فَٱسْتَجَابَ لَكُمْ أَنِّى مُمِدُّكُم بِأَلْفٍ مِّنَ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ مُرْدِفِينَ ﴿9﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
(Remember) when you sought help of your Lord and He answered you (saying): "I will help you with a thousand of the angels each behind the other (following one another) in succession."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
إِذْ
idh
When
تَسْتَغِيثُونَ
tastaghīthūna
you were seeking help
رَبَّكُمْ
rabbakum
(of) your Lord
فَٱسْتَجَابَ
fa-is'tajāba
and He answered
لَكُمْ
lakum
[to] you
أَنِّى
annī
Indeed, I am
مُمِدُّكُم
mumiddukum
going to reinforce you
بِأَلْفٍۢ
bi-alfin
with a thousand
مِّنَ
mina
of
ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ
l-malāikati
the Angels
مُرْدِفِينَ
mur'difīna
one after another
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.
9. When you were calling upon your Lord for help [10], He responded to you, "I will reinforce you with a thousand angels, coming one after another [11]."
[10]
The Prophet’s ﷺ Supplication in the ‘Arish:
When both armies encamped face to face at Badr, and you ﷺ saw that the Muslims were less than a third of the disbelievers, unarmed, and lacking supplies, you ﷺ ordered a tent to be set up for yourself, which is called ‘Arish. In it, you ﷺ spent the whole night in supplication and lamentation before Allah, as is clear from the following hadith. Sayyiduna Umar ؓ says that on the day of Badr, when the Prophet ﷺ looked at the polytheists, they were one thousand, and the Muslims were 319. You ﷺ faced the Qiblah and stretched out both hands, then began to implore your Lord. You ﷺ supplicated in this way: “O Allah! Fulfill what You have promised me. O Allah, if You destroy this group of Muslims, then there will be none left on earth to worship You.” You ﷺ remained facing the Qiblah with hands outstretched for a long time, until your cloak fell from your shoulders. Then Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq ؓ came, picked up the cloak, and placed it on your shoulders. Then he clung to you ﷺ from behind and said: O Prophet of Allah ﷺ, you have pleaded with your Lord enough. Surely Allah will fulfill His promise to you. Then Allah the Exalted revealed this verse.
[مسلم، کتاب الجہاد، باب الامداد بالملائکۃ فی غزوۃ بدر]
[11]
The Descent of the Angels:
Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas ؓ says that a Muslim was chasing a disbeliever when he heard the sound of a whip above him and also the voice of a rider, who was saying, “Hayzum” (apparently the name of his horse), “go forward.” Suddenly, that Muslim saw that the disbeliever had fallen flat before him. There was a mark on his nose and his head was split open, as if someone had struck him with a whip. Then his whole body turned green. That Ansari came to the Prophet ﷺ and related the whole incident. You ﷺ said, “You speak the truth. These angels had come from the third heaven to help.”
[مسلم، کتاب الجہاد، باب الامداد بالملائکۃ فی غزوۃ بدر]
Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas ؓ says that you ﷺ said: “This is Jibreel Amin, holding the head of his horse, and upon him are the weapons of war.”
[بخاری، کتاب المغازی، باب شھود الملائکۃ بدرا]
It is also narrated from him that the Muslims killed seventy disbelievers and captured seventy. [مسلم، كتاب الجهاد، باب الامداد بالملائكة فى غزوة بدر] Also see Surah Al-Imran, verse 125.
[10]
The Prophet’s ﷺ Supplication in the ‘Arish:
When both armies encamped face to face at Badr, and you ﷺ saw that the Muslims were less than a third of the disbelievers, unarmed, and lacking supplies, you ﷺ ordered a tent to be set up for yourself, which is called ‘Arish. In it, you ﷺ spent the whole night in supplication and lamentation before Allah, as is clear from the following hadith. Sayyiduna Umar ؓ says that on the day of Badr, when the Prophet ﷺ looked at the polytheists, they were one thousand, and the Muslims were 319. You ﷺ faced the Qiblah and stretched out both hands, then began to implore your Lord. You ﷺ supplicated in this way: “O Allah! Fulfill what You have promised me. O Allah, if You destroy this group of Muslims, then there will be none left on earth to worship You.” You ﷺ remained facing the Qiblah with hands outstretched for a long time, until your cloak fell from your shoulders. Then Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq ؓ came, picked up the cloak, and placed it on your shoulders. Then he clung to you ﷺ from behind and said: O Prophet of Allah ﷺ, you have pleaded with your Lord enough. Surely Allah will fulfill His promise to you. Then Allah the Exalted revealed this verse.
[مسلم، کتاب الجہاد، باب الامداد بالملائکۃ فی غزوۃ بدر]
[11]
The Descent of the Angels:
Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas ؓ says that a Muslim was chasing a disbeliever when he heard the sound of a whip above him and also the voice of a rider, who was saying, “Hayzum” (apparently the name of his horse), “go forward.” Suddenly, that Muslim saw that the disbeliever had fallen flat before him. There was a mark on his nose and his head was split open, as if someone had struck him with a whip. Then his whole body turned green. That Ansari came to the Prophet ﷺ and related the whole incident. You ﷺ said, “You speak the truth. These angels had come from the third heaven to help.”
[مسلم، کتاب الجہاد، باب الامداد بالملائکۃ فی غزوۃ بدر]
Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas ؓ says that you ﷺ said: “This is Jibreel Amin, holding the head of his horse, and upon him are the weapons of war.”
[بخاری، کتاب المغازی، باب شھود الملائکۃ بدرا]
It is also narrated from him that the Muslims killed seventy disbelievers and captured seventy. [مسلم، كتاب الجهاد، باب الامداد بالملائكة فى غزوة بدر] Also see Surah Al-Imran, verse 125.
