only then did he give clear orders to launch a counter-attack. he was commanding the army, inspiring confidence among his men and exhorting them to fight manfully for the sake of their lord, reciting the words of allâh:

"and be quick for forgiveness from your lord, and for paradise as wide as are the heavens and the earth." [al-qur'an 3:133]

the spirit he infused into his men was clearly witnessed by the valour of ‘umair, a lad of sixteen, who flung away some dates he was eating crying out: "these (the dates) are holding me back from paradise." so saying he plunged into the thick of the battle and died fighting bravely. unique deeds of valour, deep devotion and full obedience to the prophet [pbuh] were exhibited in the process of the battle. the army of the faithfuls was borne forward by the power of enthusiasm which the half-hearted warriors of makkah miserably lacked. a large number of the polytheists were killed and the others began to waver. no wonder! the standard-bearers of truth were given immediate help, and supernatural agencies (the angels), were sent to their assistance by their lord to help them defeat the forces of evil.

the records of hadith speak eloquently of the fact that the angels did appear on that day and fought on the side of the muslims. ibn ‘abbas said: "while on that day a muslim was chasing a disbeliever and he heard over him the swashing of a whip and the voice of the rider saying: ‘go ahead haizum’. he glanced at the polytheist who had (now) fallen down on his back. the helper came to the messenger of allâh [pbuh] and related that event to him. the prophet [pbuh] replied: ‘you have told the truth. this was the help from the third heaven."[sahih muslim 2/93]

one of the helpers captured ‘abbas bin ‘abdul muttalib, who said: "o messenger of allâh, by allâh this man did not capture me. i was captured by a man who was bald and had the most handsome face, and who was riding a piebald horse, i cannot see him here among the people." the helper interrupted: "i captured him, o messenger of allâh." the prophet [pbuh] replied:

"be quiet, allâh the all-mighty strengthened you with the help of a noble angel."