Al-Wāqidī relates: Ibn Abī Ḥabībah transmitted to us, from Dāwūd ibn al-Ḥuṣayn, from ʿIkrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbās; Mūsā ibn Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Tamīmī also informed me, from his father; and ʿĀʾidh ibn Yaḥyā narrated to me, from Abū al-Ḥuwayrith, from ʿUmārah ibn Ukaymah al-Laythī, from ʿIkrimah, from Ḥakīm ibn Ḥizām. They said:
When the fighting commenced, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ raised his hands, pleading with Allah for the victory He had promised, and prayed:
“O Allah, should this small band be overcome today, idolatry will prevail and Your religion will no longer stand.”
Abū Bakr kept assuring him, “By Allah, Allah will surely grant you victory and brighten your face!” Thereupon Allah sent a thousand angels, arriving rank upon rank at the enemy’s flank. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said:
“Be of good cheer, Abū Bakr! Here is Gabriel, wrapped in a yellow turban, holding the reins of his horse between heaven and earth. When he descended to the ground he disappeared from my sight for a moment; then he re-appeared, dust upon his teeth, saying: ‘Your Lord’s help has come to you the instant you called upon Him.’ ”
Al-Bayhaqī transmits—from Abū Umāmah ibn Sahl, from his father—who said:
“My son, I recall the Day of Badr: one of us would merely point toward a polytheist’s head and it would fall from his body before the sword even reached him.”
Ibn Isḥāq reports: my father told me, and men of Banū Māzin informed me, that Abū Wāqid al-Laythī said:
“I pursued a man from the idolaters to strike him, but his head dropped before my sword reached him, and I realised that someone other than I had slain him.”
Yūnus ibn Bukayr relates, from ʿĪsā ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Tamīmī, from al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas, who said:
“The people could recognise those killed by the angels: they were struck above the necks and on the fingertips, leaving a mark like a brand of fire.”
Ibn Isḥāq also transmits, from an unimpeachable source, through Maqsim, from Ibn ʿAbbās:
“The distinguishing sign of the angels on the Day of Badr was white turbans that they let trail down their backs—except for Gabriel, who wore a yellow turban.”
Ibn ʿAbbās further said:
“The angels fought on no day other than the Day of Badr. On all other occasions they were present only as numbers and reinforcements; they did not strike.”