His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "To establish the truth and to abolish falsehood, even if the criminals dislike it." "When you sought help from your Lord, He answered you: 'Indeed, I am sending you a thousand angels in succession.'" "And Allah made it only a glad tidings, and so that your hearts may be assured by it. And victory is only from Allah. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might, Wise."

(p-142) "To establish the truth" means: to manifest what must be manifested, which is Islam. "And to abolish falsehood" means: disbelief. "Even if they dislike it" means: and their dislike is a reality, so it is a clause in the position of a state.

And His saying, exalted is He: "When you sought help from your Lord," the verse. "When" is related to an action, its estimation is: and remember when, and it is the first action that occurred in His saying: "And when He promised you" [Al-Anfal: 7]. Al-Tabari said: It is related to "To establish the truth" and "And to abolish falsehood."

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: It is valid that it relates to "He promised you" for the promise was at the time of seeking help. Abu Amr read with the dhāl merged into the tā, and Abu Hatim found it good. And "You sought help" means: you requested.

And it is not evident from the words of this verse that the believers knew before the battle that the angels were with them, for "He answered" can occur in His unseen, and it has been narrated that they knew that before the battle. The meaning of reassurance and strengthening of hearts necessitates that.

The majority of people read "Indeed, I" with the alif opened. Abu Amr read - in some of what has been narrated from him - and 'Isa ibn Umar - with a difference from him - "Indeed, I" with the alif broken, meaning: he said, "Indeed, I." And "I am sending you" means: I am increasing you and strengthening you, from amdadtu.

The majority of people read "with a thousand," and Asim al-Jahdari read "with thousands," like the plural of fals and aflūs, so it is the plural of "thousand," and the reference is to the thousands mentioned in Al-Imran. Asim al-Jahdari also read "with thousands."

And the meaning of ﴿مُرْدِفِينَ﴾ is: following. It is possible that what is meant by the مُرْدَفِينَ is the believers, meaning: they were followed by the angels. So "مُرْدَفِينَ" - on this - is a state of the pronoun in His saying: ﴿مُمِدُّكُمْ﴾. It is also possible that it refers to the angels, meaning: some of them were followed by others. This reading is with the opening of the دال, and it is the reading of Nafi' and a group from the people of Medina and others. The rest of the seven reciters, except for Nafi', read it with the kasra of the دال, which is the reading of Al-Hasan, and Mujahid. The meaning in it is: some of them follow one another. It has been narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "Behind every angel is another angel." This indicates the succession. It is said: رَدَفَ and أرْدَفَ if he followed and came after something. It is possible that it is meant: مُرْدِفِينَ the believers. It is also possible that it is meant: مُرْدِفِينَ some of them by some. Whoever said: "مُرْدِفِينَ meaning that every angel followed another angel behind him" has a weak statement, as there is no narration that supports it. A man from the people of Mecca - narrated by Al-Khalil - read "مُرَدِّفِينَ" with the opening of the راء and the kasra of the دال and its shadda. It has also been narrated from Al-Khalil that it is with the damma of the راء like the one before it and in other than that. Some people read it with the kasra of the راء like them in other than that, as Abu Amr narrated from Sibawayh, and Abu Hatim said: It is as if he meant: "مُرْتَدِفِينَ" and he idghamed and followed the movement, and it is good with this reading to have the kasra of the ميم, but I do not remember it as a reading.

And Al-Tabari quoted a witness that "أرْدَفَ" means: "came following" the poet's saying:

If Al-Jawzaa followed Al-Thurayya, I thought of the family of Fatimah the thoughts.

And Al-Thurayya rises before Al-Jawzaa.

And it has been narrated more famously that the angels fought on the day of Badr, and there is a difference - in other than that - from the witness of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him), and it was said: They did not fight on the day of Badr, but rather they stood and were present, and this is weak. Al-Tabari narrated from Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: Gabriel descended with a thousand angels on the right flank of the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) and among them was Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and Michael descended with a thousand angels on the left flank and I was among them. Ibn Abbas said: They were in five hundred five hundred, and Al-Zajjaj said: Some of them said: The angels were five thousand, and some said: nine thousand, and in this meaning there are hadiths that are documented in the book of Sirah.

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿وَمَا جَعَلَهُ اللهُ﴾. The pronoun in (جَعَلَهُ) refers back to the promise. The judge Abu Muhammad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: This is, in my view, the most plausible of the sayings from the perspective of meaning. Al-Zajjaj said: "The pronoun refers back to the support, and it is possible that it refers back to the assistance, and this is good with the saying of those who say: The angels did not fight, but rather they were present with the Muslims."

The judge Abu Muhammad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: This, in my view, is weak, as the narrations regarding the fighting of the angels refute it, and what the companions of the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) saw of that, like Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) and others.

It is possible that it refers to 'the following', which is the saying of al-Tabari. This also aligns with the previous saying. It is also possible that it refers to 'the thousand', and this is likewise because the good news of something is what has not yet occurred. The good news is the source of 'I gave good news', and tranquility is calmness and stability.

And His saying, 'And victory is only from Allah' indicates that the entire matter belongs to Allah. The efforts of a person do not suffice if destiny does not assist him, even if he is required to strive, just as the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, appeared between two shields.

And this entire story - from the story of the disbelievers and the triumph of the believers over them - is fitting with the attributes of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, which are might and wisdom when one reflects on that.