Say! Our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message

Every Muslim and believer is entrusted with the scared task of conveying to others what he knows about Islam and calling them to join their faith. The same has been the mission of very messenger that Allah sent to the mankind in different timeframe and different localities. All invited the people of the time who were polytheists and idol worshippers to listen to what they have been told by their Creator and the Only One God and to convey to everyone in the listening range so that the message of God could reach them.

Unfortunately, many a people refused to listen to the messengers of God and ridiculed he messengers or they just looked like them and in most cases from noble yet poor families. Thus the rich and powerful just shrugged off and refused to listen to them. The same happened to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ when he tried to put across message of God to them. And as is always, the poor and the down trodden listened to their call and embraced the true faith and followed messengers of God.

But the rich and powerful as always refused to listen to the messengers and would sometimes put fingers in their ear lest some Divine words penetrate in their ears and make them accept the faith so professed. This was in addition to making the lives of prophets and messengers, who despite all odds continue to spread the Godly words. And when they refused to listen to them, the prophets a nd messengers were asked to tell them that  our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah ha entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible to make you accept it forcibly, And if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, You will yourselves be answerable for your crimes.

The 17th verse of Surah 36. Ya Sin points towards in this direction:

وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡ

(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”

Javed Ahmed Ghamidi notes that the implication of this verse is that after this the messengers will have done their duty. It is now their responsibility to accept or reject and they too shall have to bear the consequences.

Yusuf Ali explains the verse and says that the dusty and task of the messengers and prophets is not to force them but to convince them. It is to proclaim openly and clearly Allah's Law, which they were breaking,-to denounce their sins and to show them the better path. If they were obstinate, it was their own loss. If they were rebellious against Allah, the punishment rested with Allah.

Explanation Qur'an Wiki: 

Certain that they said nothing but the truth, and knowing the remit of the mission assigned to them, the messengers replied: “Our Lord knows that we have indeed been sent to you. Our only duty is to clearly deliver the message [entrusted to us].” (Verses 16- 17)

It is sufficient that God knows. The task assigned to God’s messengers is to deliver their message, and they did just that. People are then free to choose what they wish for themselves, and what burden their choices represent. Once the messengers have delivered their message, the matter is left to God to determine.

To my reckoning, the above said verse has summarized the entire six versed Surah. 109. Al Kafirun (The Disbelievers) in which the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ after having been dejected and disheartened from the negative attitude of the elite of the Makkan tribes, was finally asked to tell them that: 

لَـكُمۡ دِيۡنُكُمۡ وَلِىَ دِيۡنِ

(109:6) To you is your religion, and to me, my religion

The above quoted verses are of special significance to those Muslims who have taken upon the the task of Da'wah (inviting non Muslims to Islam) to only confine themselves to conveying the message of God and convince them with logic and reasoning as provided in the Qur'an and Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ  and no more. No one is to be coerced or forced into Islam. Instead, when all reasonings and logic fail to strike at their heart, they must leave by saying our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message or To you is your religion, and to me, my religion.

May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى‎) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others life miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door. 

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so  that they are able to discuss issues with Non Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.

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