Tafsir of Al Imran 3:125

Bala (Indeed) is an affirmation of what follows lan (negation), meaning: "Indeed, He will suffice you with that." Then He promised them an increase, conditional upon certain criteria, as the Almighty said: “If you remain patient”—regarding the distress of Jihad and what you have been commanded to do—“and fear your Lord”—by avoiding His acts of disobedience and refraining from opposing Him—“and they come to you”—that is, the polytheists or the followers of Kurz, as Al-Sha'bi stated—“in this, their immediate state (fawrihim).”

The root fawr is a verbal noun derived from fārat al-qidr (the pot boiled over) when its bubbling becomes intense. From this comes the expression that intense heat is from the fawr (vapor/heat) of Hell. It is also applied to anger because it resembles the boiling of a pot, and to the beginning of any matter. Furthermore, it was borrowed to signify speed, and subsequently applied to a state in which there is no delay or procrastination. The meaning is: "and they come to you immediately." This was described in such a way to emphasize the speed through the additional specificity and proximity.

The arrival of the enemy with such speed is placed in the same context as the conditions for the reinforcements, and the reinforcements are the pivot upon which this revolves—inevitably occurring, whether they hasten or delay—as a notification of the certainty of the arrival of the reinforcements, not to confirm the occurrence of the enemy's speed itself. Or, it is a declaration of the inevitability of the reinforcements' arrival in any assumed scenario, in the most eloquent and emphatic manner, by linking it to the most remote possibilities, so that its occurrence in all other scenarios might be known a fortiori. For the sudden attack of enemies is, by custom, a circumstance in which reinforcements are unlikely to arrive. Therefore, when the arrival of reinforcements is linked to it, despite the contradiction, it indicates its inevitability in cases that do not present such contradiction.

This is what has been said, and it is perhaps understood from this that the reinforcements arranged upon the condition in His saying, "Your Lord will reinforce you with five thousand of the angels," did occur to them. There is a dispute and hesitation regarding this: if this speech pertains to the Battle of Uhud, there is no doubt that it did not occur—not even with a single angel—because the condition was not met, which is why the defeat occurred. If it pertains to the Battle of Badr, as is the relied-upon view, then a disagreement has occurred as to whether they were reinforced with these five thousand or not. Al-Sha'bi held that they were reinforced with others, but not with these, based on the fact that the reinforcements were contingent upon the sum of three things: patience, fear of God (taqwa), and the arrival of the followers of Kurz. Since the third requirement was missing, the sum did not exist due to the lack of one of its parts, and thus the aforementioned reinforcement did not occur, as Al-Sha'bi explicitly stated. Yes, a group held the contrary view, which is perhaps what the one who proposed the former view relied upon. However, the interpretation of fawr as given is not definitive; indeed, it is not explicitly found in the speech of the predecessors.

What Ikrimah, Mujahid, and Abu Salih (the freed slave of Umm Hani) inclined toward is that it means "anger." Thus, min (from) is for causality, meaning: "They will come to you because of their anger toward you." The reference is either to magnify that anger, in that it is intense and firmly rooted in their hearts, or to belittle it, in that it was not in a proper or praiseworthy manner, as it was only due to the Muslims opposing them in religion, mocking their views, and disparaging their idols, or because of what the Muslims had inflicted upon them and how they had crushed their leaders on the day of Badr. To the second view inclined Ikrimah, and it is based on the premise that this statement occurred at Uhud.

Ibn Abbas, according to what Ibn Jarir recorded from him, interpreted it as "journey," meaning: "And they come to you from this journey of theirs." It is said that this is also based on the premise mentioned earlier, as the disbelievers in the Battle of Uhud regretted it after they had departed, for they had not crossed into Medina, and they intended to return. Allah Almighty revealed to His Prophet (peace be upon him) to order his companions to prepare for them, then said: "If you remain patient in Jihad and fear God, and they return to you from this journey of theirs, Allah will reinforce you with five thousand angels." So they engaged in Jihad and set out, following the disbelievers despite their wounds. The polytheists were informed by those who passed by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) that he had set out following them. The polytheists feared that if they returned, the victory would belong to the Muslims, and that those who had lagged behind would have joined them, and others would have joined them as well. They sent Nu'aym al-Ashja'i to deter them by magnifying the stature of Quraish, and they hastened to Mecca, and Allah Almighty spared the Muslims from their trouble. The story is well known.

Furthermore, interpreting fawr as "journey" is something we have not encountered in the linguistic books available to us. Perhaps fawr refers to the state in which there is no delay, and this interpretation is an explanation of the resulting meaning. Al-Hasan, Al-Rabi', Al-Suddi, Qatadah, and others held that min fawrihim means "from their direction." This is not definitive regarding what the later commentators who proposed the former view held, as it is possible that the intention is the direction intended by the traveler, or it could be from the "beginning of time" (wajh al-dahr). Unless it is said: even if it is not definitive, it is a literal interpretation close to the definitive, because while "direction" (wajh) as the meaning is found in the language, the usage of fawr in that sense is restricted. The possibility that it is from "the beginning of time" returns to what they have already said, so reflect upon this.

Know that this reinforcement occurred gradually. It was first a thousand, then they became two thousand, then three thousand, and then they became five thousand, not more. Thus, the meaning of "He will reinforce you with five thousand" is "He will reinforce you with the completion of five thousand." Al-Hasan held this view. Others said: The angels were eight thousand, so the meaning is "He will reinforce you with five thousand more."

“Musawwimīn” comes from taswīm, which is the manifestation of a mark on something. The intent is that they marked themselves or their horses. There are conflicting narrations regarding this. From Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr, it is reported that Al-Zubayr had a yellow turban which he wore, and the angels descended wearing yellow turbans. Ibn Ishaq and Al-Tabarani reported from Ibn Abbas that he said: "The mark of the angels on the day of Badr was white turbans that they had let down over their backs, and on the day of Hunayn, red turbans." In another narration from him, but with a weak chain of transmission, it states that on the day of Badr they had black turbans, and on the day of Uhud, red turbans.

Ibn Abi Shaybah and others reported from Ali (may Allah be pleased with his countenance) that he said: "The mark of the angels on the day of Badr was white wool on the forelocks and tails of the horses," and they were, as Al-Rabi' said, on piebald horses. Ibn Abi Hatim reported from Abu Hurayrah that they were marked with red wool ('ahn). Ibn Jarir and others reported from Mujahid that he said: "They were marked; the tails and forelocks of their horses were clipped, and in them was wool." You know that there is no obstacle to them being marked themselves and their horses as well. This is according to the reading of Ibn Kathir, Abu 'Amr, and 'Asim: musawwimīn (with a kasrah on the waw). As for the reading of the others (musawwamīn with a fat-hah on the waw), as a passive participle, it is said: the meaning is "marked by Allah Almighty." It is also said: "released/sent forth" (as in the expression "a grazing camel is sā'imah," meaning released to pasture). Al-Suddi held this view. The most obvious interpretation for this reading is that the marking was theirs. As for it being for their horses, it is not apparent.