Tafsir of Al-Isra 17:76

{And indeed, they were about to startle you} Meaning, the people of Mecca were about to disturb you with their enmity and plotting {from the land}, meaning from the land of Mecca.

{And then they would not remain} They would not stay after expelling you {except} for a {little} while. For God would destroy them. And it was as He said; they were destroyed at Badr shortly after his departure.

It is also said: The meaning is that if they had expelled you, they would have been eradicated, every last one of them. But they did not expel him; rather, he emigrated by the command of his Lord. Others say: [It means] from the land of the Arabs. Others say: From the land of Medina.

The Context of Revelation When the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) emigrated, the Jews envied him and disliked his proximity to them. They gathered to him and said: "O Abu al-Qasim, the prophets were only sent in the Levant, which is a holy land and the place of Abraham’s migration. If you were to go to the Levant, we would believe in you and follow you. We know that nothing prevents you from leaving except fear of the Romans; if you are the Messenger of God, God will protect you from them."

The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) camped a few miles outside Medina—it is said at Dhu al-Hulayfah—until his companions gathered to him and people saw him determined to leave for the Levant, due to his eagerness for people to enter the religion of God. Then this [verse] was revealed, so he returned.

Grammatical Notes It is read as la yalbathuna (they will not remain). In the reading of Ubayy, it is la yalbathu (they would not remain), treating idha (then) as operative.

If you ask: What is the basis for the two readings? I say: As for the common reading, the verb is conjoined to the verb [before it]. It is in the nominative case because it occurs as the predicate of kada (they were about to), and the verb in the predicate of kada functions as a noun. As for the reading of Ubayy, the entire clause—which is idha la yalbathu—is conjoined to the clause of His saying: {And indeed, they were about to startle you}.

It is also read as khilafaka (after you/in your absence). The poet said: "The dwellings were effaced after them (khilafahum), as if the weavers had spread a mat between them." Meaning: after them.

{A practice of those We sent before you} Meaning that every people who expelled their messenger from among them, it is the practice of God to destroy them. It is in the accusative case as an emphatic verbal noun (masdar), meaning: God established that as a practice.

{Establish prayer at the decline of the sun until the darkness of the night, and the recitation of dawn. Indeed, the recitation of dawn is witnessed. And from the night, pray with it as an additional [duty] for you; it is expected that your Lord will raise you to a praised station.}