Tafseer of The Night Journey · Al-Israa · 17:74
And if We had not strengthened you, you would have almost inclined to them a little.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: And had We not strengthened you, O Muḥammad (the Prophet ﷺ), by protecting you against that to which these polytheists (mushrikīn) were calling you of temptation (fitna) — لَقَدْ كِدْتَ تَرْكَنُ إِلَيْهِمْ شَيْئًا قَلِيلا ("you would indeed have nearly inclined toward them a little") — He says: then you would indeed have nearly inclined toward them and come a little to rest with them. And that refers to what the Prophet ﷺ had intended, namely that he would do part of what they had asked him to do.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, according to what has been related, when this verse was revealed, that which Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Sulaymān related to us, he said: Abū Hilāl related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word وَلَوْلا أَنْ ثَبَّتْنَاكَ لَقَدْ كِدْتَ تَرْكَنُ إِلَيْهِمْ شَيْئًا قَلِيلا ("And had We not strengthened you, you would indeed have nearly inclined toward them a little"): the Messenger of Allah ﷺ then said: "Do not leave me to myself, even for the blink of an eye."
