Quran Universe
17:76

وَإِن كَادُواْ لَيَسۡتَفِزُّونَكَ مِنَ ٱلۡأَرۡضِ لِيُخۡرِجُوكَ مِنۡهَاۖ وَإِذٗا لَّا يَلۡبَثُونَ خِلَٰفَكَ إِلَّا قَلِيلٗا

Wain kadoo layastafizzoonaka mina alardi liyukhrijooka minha waithan la yalbathoona khilafaka illa qaleelan

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.

Word by word
  1. وَإِنAnd indeed
  2. كَادُواْthey were about
  3. لَيَسۡتَفِزُّونَكَ(to) scare you
  4. مِنَfrom
  5. ٱلۡأَرۡضِthe land
  6. لِيُخۡرِجُوكَthat they evict you
  7. مِنۡهَاۖfrom it
  8. وَإِذٗاBut then
  9. لَّاnot
  10. يَلۡبَثُونَthey (would) have stayed
  11. خِلَٰفَكَafter you
  12. إِلَّاexcept
  13. قَلِيلٗاa little
Al-Isra · 17:76Makkah

They nearly drove him out, but they would not last long after.

Pushing out the messenger has a cost

What followed
Qurayshwant him gone
he migrates
the Prophet ﷺto Madinah
a year and a half later
Badrtheir leaders fall
Who loses
the one pushed out
those who push out truth

Ibn Kathir says this was revealed about Quraysh, who wanted to expel the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. After the persecution forced him to migrate, only about a year and a half later Allah brought them together at Badr without any appointment, and the Prophet ﷺ prevailed.

You push the reminders out of your life. Unfollow the friend who posts about prayer. Stop going to the masjid because it makes you feel guilty. It feels like relief. But pushing out what is true usually costs the one who pushes.

If I remove what makes me uncomfortable, I will feel better.

Pushing truth out of my life hurts me more than it hurts the truth.

Try this

Bring back one reminder you pushed away: a talk, a friend, a habit of reading.

Related8:33
Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

And verily, they were about to frighten you so much as to drive you out from the land. But in that case, they would not have stayed (therein) after you, except for a little while (76)A Sunnah with which We sent Our Messengers before you and you will not find any alteration in Our Sunnah (77)

The Reason why these Ayat were revealed

This was revealed concerning the disbelievers among the Quraysh, when they wanted to expel the Messenger of Allah ﷺ from among themselves. So Allah issued a warning to them in this Ayah, telling them that if they expelled him, they would not stay in Makkah for very long after that. And this is what happened after he migrated from them when their persecution became so intense. Only a year and a half after that, Allah brought him and them together on the battlefield of Badr, without any pre-arranged appointment, and He caused him to prevail over them and defeat them, so he killed their leaders and took their families as captives. Hence Allah said:

سُنَّةَ مَن قَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا

(A Sunnah with which We sent) meaning this is what We usually do to those who reject Our Messengers and persecute them by driving the Messenger out from among themselves - the punishment comes to them. If it were not for the fact that the Prophet ﷺ was the Messenger of Mercy, vengeance would have come upon them such as had never been seen before in this world. So Allah says:

وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَأَنتَ فِيهِمْ

(And Allah would not punish them while you are among them.)[8:33]