سورة الإسراء

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him)- And the people of Makkah were close [through deceit and conspiracy] to unsettling your position in this land. And had they done so, [they would have been caught in Allah's severe punishment and] would not have remained after you except for a little while, for they were killed at Badr.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him)- The Quraysh tribe of Makkah or the Jews of Madinah said [addressing the Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him and his family)]: This land (Makkah or Madinah) is not the land of the prophets; rather, the land of the prophets is Sham (Syria), so you too go to the land of Sham. At this moment the verse: وَ إِنْ کادُوا لَیَسْتَفِزُّونَکَ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ [And surely they purposed to unsettle you from the land] was revealed.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him) said: When the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) came to Medina, the Jews envied his leadership in that city, and when they saw his affairs becoming well-ordered, they all said to one another: "We are displeased by this man being in this city, and we are not safe from him corrupting our religion." One day they came before the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and asked: "Are you a prophet?" He said: "Yes!" They asked: "From Allah?" He said: "Yes!" They said: "Then you yourself know that this city is not the land of the prophets. The land of the prophets is Sham (Syria), where Ibrahim and the prophets after him lived. If you too are a prophet like them, go to Sham, for if you are a prophet (peace be upon him and his family), Allah will soon protect you there from the Romans, for it is the Holy Land and the place of the Gathering, and for a long time now the prophets have not been in this land (Medina)." The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) camped three miles from Medina to settle there and for his companions to gather with him. At that moment Jibra'il descended and brought this verse: O Muhammad! Allah says: the Jews wish to unsettle your position in this land, so as to drive you out of Medina and send you off to Sham, and had they done so, [they would have been afflicted with severe divine punishment and] after you they would not have remained except for a little while; in that case they would have stayed there only briefly after you and then been destroyed. This is My way and sunnah — that I destroy groups who rebel against the prophets, and I do not destroy them while their prophet is among them, but as soon as their prophet leaves them, they are punished. The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) returned to Medina, and this verse of the same surah was revealed to him, which says: "My Lord! Enter me [in every affair] with truthfulness into Medina and take me out with truthfulness! And appoint for me from Your presence a helping authority!" (Al-Isra/80) [meaning, bring me into Medina and then bring me to Mecca]. And Allah answered his supplication and by the hand of that noble one (peace be upon him and his family) opened the land of the Jews and Mecca, and gave him victory over them. This is the meaning of Allah's saying in that same verse: And say: "The truth has come, and falsehood has vanished; indeed falsehood is ever bound to vanish!" (Al-Isra/81).