Tafsir of Al-Anfal 8:10

"And Allah did not make it..."

If you ask: To what does the pronoun in "And Allah did not make it" (wa-mā jaʿalahu) refer?

I say: It refers to His saying: "That I am reinforcing you" (annī mumiddukum), because the meaning is: He responded to you by reinforcing you.

If you ask: What about the one who reads it with a kasra (innī - "Indeed, I am...")?

I say: It refers to the same saying, because it is the object of an implied verb of "saying," thus it carries the meaning of a statement. It is also permissible that it refers to the "reinforcement" (imdād) which is indicated by the word "reinforcing you" (mumiddukum).

"Except as glad tidings" (illā bushrā): Except as a message of victory for you, just as the Sakīnah (tranquility) was for the Children of Israel. This means: You sought aid and supplicated due to your small numbers and weakness, so the reinforcement by the angels was a glad tiding of victory for you, a means of calming you, and a way to strengthen your hearts.

"And victory is not but from Allah" (wa-mā al-naṣru illā min ʿindi Allāh): He means: Do not attribute the victory to the angels, for the One who grants victory is Allah—to you and to the angels. Or, it means: Victory—whether by the angels or other means—is not but from Allah, and the one who is truly victorious is the one whom Allah grants victory.