Surah Ali 'Imran, Ayah 128

Allah said "Allah made it not but as a message of good news for you and as an assurance to your hearts". This Ayah means, "Allah sent down angels and told you about their descent to encourage you and to comfort and reassure your hearts. You should know that victory only comes from Allah and that if He willed, He would have defeated your enemy without you having to fight them." For instance, Allah said after commanding the believers to fight,

ذلِكَ وَلَوْ يَشَآء اللَّهُ لاَنْتَصَرَ مِنْهُمْ وَلَـكِن لّيَبْلُوَ بَعْضَكُمْ بِبَعْضٍ وَالَّذِينَ قُتِلُواْ فِى سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَلَن يُضِلَّ أَعْمَـلَهُمْ سَيَهْدِيهِمْ وَيُصْلِحُ بَالَهُمْ وَيُدْخِلُهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ عَرَّفَهَا لَهُمْ

Commentary

In the previous verses, the battle of Badr was cited in relation to the battle of Uhud. Briefly stated there was the unseen support from Allah Almighty given to Muslims. In the present verses, some details of that support have been mentioned. Also stated is the wisdom behind the sending of angels.

One may naturally ask a question here. When Allah Almighty has endowed His angels with such power that just one of them could over-turn an entire habitation, very much like what happened with the land of the people of Lut (علیہ السلام) which was overturned single-handedly by the angel Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) ، why was it necessary to send out an army of angels? In addition to that, given the introduction of angels onto the battlefield, the obvious result should have been the total annihilation of every single infidel.

These verses were revealed after the Battle of Uhud which took place in the third year after hijrah. The enemy forces numbered three thousand, while the Muslims who rose in defence were initially only one thousand in number. When three hundred hypocritical Muslims, led by ‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy, deserted, some of the Madinan Muslims were disheartened at this, so the Prophet reminded them that they had come forth to defend themselves, relying on God rather than only on themselves. If, due to the severity of circumstances, believers show some temporary weakness, God does not leave them to fend for themselves. He sends His special succour to restore their faith. This special succour of God was sent to the whole group of believers at a time when, by exploiting the weakness of the Muslims, the enemies had overcome them, and had every opportunity to crush the Muslim forces completely. But the enemy army, in spite of being victorious, retreated from the battlefield. This astonishing event in military history took place because of the special divine succour, which diverted the enemy towards ‘Makkah’ rather than ‘Madinah’ (the Muslim area). It was the defeated who pursued the victorious.