Quran Universe
17:73

وَإِن كَادُواْ لَيَفۡتِنُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلَّذِيٓ أَوۡحَيۡنَآ إِلَيۡكَ لِتَفۡتَرِيَ عَلَيۡنَا غَيۡرَهُۥۖ وَإِذٗا لَّٱتَّخَذُوكَ خَلِيلٗا

Wain kadoo layaftinoonaka AAani allathee awhayna ilayka litaftariya AAalayna ghayrahu waithan laittakhathooka khaleelan

And indeed, they were about to tempt you away from that which We revealed to you in order to [make] you invent about Us something else; and then they would have taken you as a friend.

Word by word
  1. وَإِنAnd indeed
  2. كَادُواْthey were about (to)
  3. لَيَفۡتِنُونَكَtempt you away
  4. عَنِfrom
  5. ٱلَّذِيٓthat which
  6. أَوۡحَيۡنَآWe revealed
  7. إِلَيۡكَto you
  8. لِتَفۡتَرِيَthat you invent
  9. عَلَيۡنَاabout Us
  10. غَيۡرَهُۥۖother (than) it
  11. وَإِذٗاAnd then
  12. لَّٱتَّخَذُوكَsurely they would take you
  13. خَلِيلٗا(as) a friend
Al-Isra · 17:73Makkah

They almost pulled him away from the revelation.

The pressure to soften the message

The pressure
the opponentsthe evil plotters
push
change the messagesay something else
offering
friendshipas the reward
What they offered
acceptancebe our friend
a trapat the cost of truth

This passage speaks of the opponents' attempts to sway the Prophet ﷺ. Ibn Kathir says it shows how Allah supported His Prophet ﷺ, protected him, and kept him safe from the plots of the wicked. He would not leave him to any of His creation.

Your friends say you would fit in better if you relaxed a bit. Your colleagues joke about the prayer break. The offer is always friendship in exchange for a little less. Real friends do not ask you to change what Allah said.

To be accepted, I need to bend my values a little.

Friendship bought by giving up the truth is not worth having.

Try this

Next time you feel pressure to hide your faith, do one small thing openly, calmly.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Verily, they were about to tempt you away from that which We have revealed to you, to fabricate something other than it against Us, and then they would certainly have taken you as an intimate frien (73)And had We not made you stand firm, you would nearly have inclined to them a little (74)In that case We would have made you taste a double portion in this life and a double portion after death. And then you would have found none to help you against Us (75)

How the Prophet (ﷺ) would have been punished if He had given in at all to the Disbelievers' Demands that He change some of the Revelation

Allah tells us how He supported His Prophet ﷺ and protected him and kept him safe from the evil plots of the wicked transgressors. Allah is the One Who took care of him and helped him, and would not leave him to any of His creation. He is the One Who is His Helper, Supporter and Protector, the One Who is to help him achieve victory and make His religion prevail over those who resist him and oppose him and fight him in the east and in the west. May Allah send peace and blessings upon him until the Day of Judgement.