The angels at Badr

The Qur'an speaks of the reinforcement of angels on the day of Badr. In his commentary on Al-Anfal 9 to 14, Rida sets out the exegetes' disagreement: did the angels fight, or was their reinforcement good news and a comfort to hearts? ¹

Rida states that the careful scholars were certain the angels did not fight at Badr, and that God's words in Al-Anfal 10 about the reinforcement being good news and reassurance for hearts show this. He holds that the address throughout the surah is to the believers, and that the mention of revelation to the angels came in passing. ¹

Rida mentions another view: God commanded the angels to cast meaning into the hearts of the believers by inspiration, just as Satan cast whisperings. He answers the difficulty by noting that the surah was revealed after the battle, because the good news of reinforcement had come earlier and the Prophet ﷺ had told his companions of it, so the revelation of the surah was a reminder of the favour. ¹

Rida relates from al-Alusi and others an interpretation of the verse as referring to the angels fighting, and says that Ibn Jarir did not turn to these reports nor mention them. He notes that Ibn Kathir cited only the statement of al-Rabi' ibn Anas about the marks on the slain angels, and Rida comments that this report has no sound chain, and that reading the verse as the angels fighting contradicts the text, which makes the reinforcement good news. ^{1 2}

Rida states that what is attributed to Ibn Abbas about the angels fighting is a disconnected report without a chain that establishes anything, and that Ibn Abbas did not attend Badr because of his youth, so his reports on it are disconnected, even if they appear in the Sahih collections. ²

The academic view on these reports has not yet been added, nor the view of non-Sunni scholars, where it exists. The battle itself has its own page at the Battle of Badr. ²