He commanded them not to rely on anyone except Him and not to entrust their affairs to anyone but Him. Then He reminded them of what necessitates reliance on Him, from the victory He granted them on the Day of Badr while they were in a state of weakness and humiliation. The term 'humiliation' is the plural of 'fewness,' and 'weakness' is the plural of 'greatness.' He used the plural of 'fewness' to indicate that despite their humiliation, they were few in number. Their humiliation refers to their state of weakness, lack of weapons, money, and mounts. They set out on their camels, with a few of them sharing one camel, and they had only one horse among them. Their number was three hundred and a few more. Their enemy was in a state of great numbers, around a thousand fighters, with them a hundred horses and strength and might. Badr is the name of a water source between Mecca and Medina, named after a man called Badr. So, fear Allah in your steadfastness with His Messenger, that perhaps you may be grateful for the favor He has bestowed upon you through His support. Or perhaps Allah will grant you another blessing that you will be grateful for. He placed gratitude in the place of favor because it is the cause of it. When you say 'when you say' it serves as a context for your victory, as if to say to them on the Day of Badr, or as a second alternative to 'when you set out' as if to say to them on the Day of Uhud. If you say, how can it be correct to say to them on the Day of Uhud when the angels did not descend? I say: He said it to them with the condition of patience and piety. They did not remain patient regarding the spoils and did not have piety, as they disobeyed the command of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. Therefore, the angels did not descend. If they had adhered to what was required of them, the angels would have descended. He presented them with the promise of the descent of the angels to strengthen their hearts, so they would resolve to remain steadfast and trust in Allah's victory. The meaning of 'will it not suffice you' indicates that it would not be enough for them to receive support with three thousand angels. The use of 'will it not' serves to emphasize the negation, indicating that due to their fewness, weakness, and the great number of their enemy, they were like those who had lost hope in victory. And 'yes' is an affirmation for what follows 'not,' meaning: rather, it will suffice you with their support. Thus, He affirmed sufficiency and then said, 'if you are patient and have piety, He will support you with more than that number, marked for battle.' 'And they will come to you' refers to the polytheists coming from their sudden attack, from the saying: he returned from his raid and went out from his sudden attack to another raid. So-and-so came and returned from his sudden attack. From this, Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, said: the matter is urgent, not delayed. It is a source from 'the pot boiled,' meaning it boiled, and it was borrowed for speed. Then it was named for a state in which there is no delay or diversion from anything related to it, so it was said: he left from his sudden attack, as you say: he left from his hour, he did not linger. The meaning is: if they come to you from this hour, your Lord will support you with angels at the time of their coming; their descent will not be delayed from their coming. He intends: that Allah will hasten your victory and facilitate your opening if you are patient and have piety. And it was read as 'descending' with emphasis. And 'descending' with a broken zay, meaning: the descent of victory. And 'marked for battle' with a fatha on the waw and a kasra, meaning: those who are marked. And those who mark themselves or their horses. Al-Kalbi said: marked with yellow turbans hanging on their shoulders. And from Al-Dahhak: marked with white wool on the forelocks and tails of the animals. And from Mujahid: their horses had their tails cut. And from Qatadah: they were in a state of alertness. And from Urwah ibn Al-Zubair: Al-Zubair's turban on the Day of Badr was yellow, and the angels descended likewise. And the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said to his companions: 'Mark yourselves, for the angels have marked themselves.'

Muhammad bin Salih narrated to me from Asim bin Umar, from Mahmoud bin Labid, and he mentioned it. He said: "So inform them with wool in their helmets." He did not mention the addition. Ibn Sa'd narrated it through various chains in the story, and in it he said to his companions that day: "Take care, for the angels have taken care." He said: "So inform them with wool in their helmets and caps." And what Allah has made the pronoun for is to provide you. That is: And what Allah has made your support with the angels is only a glad tidings for you that you will be aided, and so that your hearts may find tranquility with it, just as tranquility was for the Children of Israel, a glad tidings of victory and reassurance for their hearts. And victory is only from Allah. It is not from the fighters when they are numerous, nor from the angels and tranquility. But that is what Allah strengthens with hope for victory and desire for mercy, and He ties the hearts of the fighters with it. The Almighty, who cannot be overcome in His judgment, the Wise, who grants victory and withholds it according to what He sees of the benefit, to cut off a portion of those who disbelieved, to destroy a group of them by killing and capturing. This is what happened on the day of Badr, with the killing of seventy and the capturing of seventy from the leaders of Quraysh and their prominent figures. Or He may humiliate them or disgrace them and provoke them with defeat, so they return disappointed, not achieving their desire. And similarly (And Allah returned those who disbelieved with their rage; they did not attain any good). It is said: He humiliated them, meaning He struck their liver with rage and bitterness. And it was said in the saying of Abu al-Tayyib: "To humiliate a jealous one and to see an enemy." [Take it easy, O noble king... Be patient, and let your promise be what you bestow. Your generosity in staying, even if little... For what you bestow is not little. To humiliate a jealous one and to see an enemy... As if they were both bidding you farewell and departing.] By Abu al-Tayyib. He says: Take it easy, O king, about traveling, and make that patience a means of kindness towards us. Your generosity to us in staying, even if it is little in your view or in itself, is much to us, for there is nothing little in what you bestow. And his saying "to humiliate" is related to patience. Its origin is: to strike the liver, the dal was changed to ta because of the proximity of their exits, meaning to strike the liver of the jealous one with rage. And to see means: to strike the lung of the enemy with it as well, as if they were both, the jealous one and the enemy, likened the first to farewell and the second to departure, in that both cause him sorrow. And he specified the second with the second because it is more hated. And in it is an arrangement of words, which is good. It is from the liver and the lung, and the lam related to his saying: (And indeed Allah has aided you) or to his saying: (And victory is only from Allah). Or He may forgive, which is connected to what came before.