وَمَا جَعَلَهُ ٱللَّهُ إِلَّا بُشْرَىٰ لَكُمْ وَلِتَطْمَئِنَّ قُلُوبُكُم بِهِۦ ۗ وَمَا ٱلنَّصْرُ إِلَّا مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْحَكِيمِ
8:11.
Commentary:
The verse is intended to warn Muslims against treating angels as gods or even as an independent source of help. Help comes from Allah alone; angels are entirely subservient to Him and do nothing by their own will. They come only by the command of God and do only what God commands them. The way in which angels help men is that they strengthen their hearts and fill their enemies with awe and fear. If God had so willed, a single angel would have been enough to help the Muslims, but He promised to send as many as five thousand angels in order to cheer and strengthen their hearts and to hint that a very large number of the hidden forces of nature were working in their favour. For the work and duties of angels, see 2:31.
It may incidentally be noted here that some believers, and even some disbelievers, are reported to have actually seen the angels at the Battle of Badr (Jarir, iv. 47). See also 8:11.
8:11.
The angels helped Muslims on the one hand, by strengthening their hearts, and, on the other, by filling the hearts of their enemies with awe and fear. If God had so willed, a single angel would have been enough to help the Muslims at Uhud, but He promised to send as many as five thousand of them. This constituted a veiled hint that a large number of the hidden forces of nature would work in their favour. It may incidentally be noted that some believers, and even some disbelievers, are reported to have actually seen angels in the Battle of Badr (Jarir, iv. 47). See also 8:10.