Surah Al-Isra, Ayah 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 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

أَقِمِ الصَّلَوةَ لِدُلُوكِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَى غَسَقِ الَّيْلِ وَقُرْءَانَ الْفَجْرِ إِنَّ قُرْءَانَ الْفَجْرِ كَانَ مَشْهُودًا

The last verse (77): سُنَّةَ مَن قَدْ أَرْ‌سَلْنَا (Such has been Our way with the messengers We sent ...) tells us that, according to the customary way and law of Allah Ta` ala, when a people expel their prophet from his home-land, or compel him to leave by scaring and harassing, then, those people too are not left to continue living there. They are visited by the punishment of Allah Ta’ ala.

Whenever a preacher of truth, who represents a religion free of human interpolation, calls upon the people to the true religion, he has to face the obstructive attitude of those already in possession of hallowed religious seats. Such a preacher is all alone, without any powerful supports, unlike those occupying high religious positions. This difference results in misunderstanding, so that those in power come to regard the preacher as a totally worthless person. They even go to the extent of wanting to expel him from their town or city. Such people tend to forget that this earth has been created by God. Therefore, trying to harm the preacher of truth amounts to proving themselves sinners in God’s eyes. Moreover, expelling God’s preacher from any human settlement is the equivalent of expelling a representative of the government of the time. Such an expulsion serves only to condemn the expeller. Whenever a man wants to belittle another, it is he himself who is belittled in the eyes of the Lord of the world. For it is the Lord who has the actual power to elevate His creatures in status or lay them low.