Tafsir of Al-Isra 17:73

After He, the Almighty, enumerated His favors upon the children of Adam and then mentioned their state in the Hereafter—their division into two groups: the blessed and the wretched—He followed this by mentioning some of the evils of certain wretched ones in this world, specifically their cunning, deception, and attempts to obfuscate the master of the blessed, who is guaranteed infallibility (peace and blessings be upon him). In this, there is an indication that they are foremost among those who are blinded from guidance in this world.

Thus, He (Exalted and Almighty is He) said: “And indeed, they were about to tempt you.” It is said that this was revealed regarding the Thaqif tribe. They said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "We will not enter into your order until you grant us qualities by which we may boast over the Arabs: that we shall not be counted as ten (in charity/tithing), nor gathered, nor made to bow in prayer; that every usury owed to us remains ours, and every usury we owe is waived; that you allow us to enjoy (the idol) Al-Lat for a year; and that you declare our valley, Wajj, as sacred as you have declared Makkah. If the Arabs ask why you did this, say: 'Allah Almighty ordered me.'" Al-Tha'labi narrated this from Ibn Abbas, but did not mention a chain of authority for it. Al-Iraqi said regarding it: "We did not find it in the books of Hadith." Al-Zamakhshari narrated it with additions. Others narrated that they requested three things: to be excused from bowing in prayer, to have the Prophet break their idols with his own hands, and to enjoy the idol Al-Lat for a year—not to worship it, but to take what is offered to it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: "There is no good in a religion that has no bowing and no prostration. As for breaking your idols with your own hands, that is permissible for you. But as for the tyrant, Al-Lat, I will not grant you enjoyment of it." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up, and Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "What is the matter with you? You have harmed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him); he will not leave any idols in the land of the Arabs." They persisted until Allah Almighty revealed the verse.

Ibn Abi Ishaq, Ibn Marduyah, and others narrated from Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that Umayyah ibn Khalaf, Abu Jahl, and other men of the Quraysh came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "Come, touch our idols, and we will enter your religion with you." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) felt the separation from his people deeply and loved their conversion, so he inclined toward them. Consequently, Allah Almighty revealed this verse up to His saying: "...as a helper." Ibn Marduyah also narrated it through the path of al-Kalbi from Badhan from Jabir ibn Abdullah similarly.

Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Jubayr ibn Nufayr that the Quraysh came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said to him: "If you were sent to us, then drive away those who followed you from the common folk and their servants, so that we may be your companions." Then it was revealed.

It is also said that they said to him (peace and blessings be upon him): "Make for us a sign of mercy into a sign of torment, and a sign of torment into a sign of mercy, so that we may believe in you," and so it was revealed. There are other various accounts regarding this, and in some of them are things that cannot correctly be attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and can hardly be interpreted; this indicates that they are fabrications. Interpretation does not depend on any of these.

Regardless, the plural pronoun refers to the disbelievers—whether they are the Thaqif or the Quraysh. The 'in' (إن) is the "lightened" form of the "heavy" 'inna' (إنّ), and its noun is an implied pronoun of state (the situation/matter), while the 'lam' (لـ) is the separator between the lightened form and others. That is: The matter is that they drew near, in their estimation, to casting you into temptation, turning you away from that which We revealed to you—from the commands, prohibitions, promises, and threats—so that you might fabricate something else against Us. That is, so that you might invent against Us something other than what We revealed to you, from that which the Thaqif suggested to you, such as declaring Wajj sacred, or the Quraysh's request to turn a sign of mercy into a sign of torment and vice versa. It is said: The meaning is "so that you might take the place of one who fabricates against Us," for if you followed their desires or intended to do that—supposing that you are doing it from revelation because you are Our Messenger—you would be like a fabricator.

“And then, they would have taken you as a friend.” That is, had you done so, they would have taken you as a friend. The intent is that there would be intimacy and friendship between you and them, yet they are the enemies of Allah Almighty. Opposing them necessitates severance from His protection (Exalted and Almighty is He), as it is said: "If your friend makes peace with whom you hate, he has hated you." The speech ends here. It is also said that 'al-khalil' here comes from 'khallah' meaning "need"—that is, they would have taken you as someone poor and in need of them. This is as you can see.