He—magnified be His glory—made it plain that they nearly prevented him by every possible means, for a human being only completes his task through his own will and his own power. When definite resolve is joined to full ability, the intended act must occur; if either one is lacking, it cannot. They therefore tried to bend his will so that he might incline toward them and alter what had been revealed to him, but Allah safeguarded him and made him firm.

Next they sought to incapacitate him by unsettling him and driving him out, hoping thereby to stop him from conveying his Lord’s message. Had they succeeded, Allah would have hastened their punishment, just as He did with the nations of earlier messengers. Whenever Allah wills to destroy a people, He first removes their prophet from among them and then destroys them; He does not destroy them while he is still in their midst, as the Exalted says:

“Allah would never punish them while you are among them, nor would He punish them so long as they seek forgiveness.” (Al-Anfāl 33)

This statement comes after His words:

“And [remember] when they said, ‘O Allah, if this is indeed the truth from You, then rain down upon us stones from the sky, or bring us a painful punishment.’” (Al-Anfāl 32)

He, the Exalted, says again:

“Allah would never punish them while you are among them, nor would He punish them so long as they seek forgiveness.” (Al-Anfāl 33)