– He (it is) who expelled those of the People of the Book who disbelieved
This and the following verses make Allah the one who expels a group from the People of the Book. The reason for their expulsion is that they “opposed Allah and His messenger” (v. 4). Allah casts terror into their hearts (v. 2) and prescribes exile for them. According to verse 3, if this group had not been expelled, Allah would have punished them in this world. Muslim commentaries have connected these verses with the story of the expulsion from Medina of a Jewish tribe called the Banū Naḍīr.
The expression “casting terror (or ‘dread,’ ru‘b) into hearts” repeats at 3.151; 8.12; and 33.26. A related term, rahba (“terror,” “fear”), appears in verse 13 and again in its verbal form at 8.60 (arhaba, “terrorize”). All of these terms appear in contexts of apparent armed conflict, and in two cases they relate to the believers’ treatment of groups from the People of the Book (33.26; 59.2). This language in the Quran is relevant to the questions in the modern world about religion-based “terrorism” and “terrorists.”