Tafseer of The Night Journey · Al-Israa · 17:76
And indeed, they were about to drive you from the land to evict you therefrom. And then [when they do], they will not remain [there] after you, except for 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.
Allah, exalted and mighty, says: And indeed, these people had nearly succeeded in startling you, O Muhammad, out of the land — that is to say: they had nearly succeeded in driving you out of the land in which you were, in order to expel you from it. وَإِذًا لَّا يَلْبَثُونَ خِلَافَكَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا (and then they would have tarried after you only a little): that is, had they driven you out of it, they would have remained therein after you only a short time before the chastisement of Allah descended upon them.
And in like manner to how we have explained this, the exegetes of the Qurʾān spoke.
Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words وَإِن كَادُوا لَيَسْتَفِزُّونَكَ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ (And they had nearly succeeded in startling you out of the land): they had nearly succeeded in driving you out of Mecca. وَإِذًا لَّا يَلْبَثُونَ خِلَافَكَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا (and then they would have tarried after you only a little): this is a law of Allah which He has established for His prophets: when they expel anyone, the chastisement then swiftly strikes those responsible.
Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muhammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: وَإِن كَادُوا لَيَسْتَفِزُّونَكَ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ — they had nearly succeeded in driving you out of Mecca. وَإِذًا لَّا يَلْبَثُونَ خِلَافَكَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا: this is a law of Allah which He has established for His prophets: the community that expels its prophet is swiftly destroyed. Allah destroyed them at Badr after the Prophet ﷺ had emigrated to Medina.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salamah related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās related to me that the Quraysh gathered together in the Dār al-Nadwa, and that Iblīs was with them in the form of an old shaykh. They deliberated concerning the Prophet ﷺ, and one man among them said: "Confine him in a chamber and lock him up therein." But the old shaykh — that is, Iblīs — said: "No, by Allah, that is not good. He will reach his companions while he is imprisoned." A man said: "Then drive him out of your land, so that he can no longer do harm among you." The old shaykh said: "That too is not good. His eloquence is sweet and his tongue is skillful; he will go to an Arab people and win them over, then he will bring them against you and destroy you by means of them." Abū Jahl said: "I have an opinion concerning him: choose from each clan a brave young man and give each of them a sharp sword. Then they shall all fall upon him together and kill him. In this way his blood will be dispersed among the tribes, and the Banū ʿAbd Manāf will not be able to fight the whole people. Then we shall pay them the blood-money (diya)." The old shaykh said: "This is what the man says; this is the correct opinion." And Allah informed His prophet of their plan.
Muhammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Thaqafī related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima, who said: The Quraysh wished to kill the Prophet ﷺ, or to take him captive, or to expel him. Allah revealed وَإِذًا لَّا يَلْبَثُونَ خِلَافَكَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا: and he went forth, and they were killed at Badr.