Misinterpretation "Obey.....,the sole duty of the messenger is the clear delivery".

Obey God and obey the messenger. If you turn away,
then the sole duty of the messenger is the clear delivery.
64:12

Although the statement "the sole duty of the messenger is the clear delivery (of God's message)" is an independent statement that is true in all circumstances, yet some scholars claimed that the duty of delivering God's message becomes the sole duty of the messenger only if the disbelievers turn away. They base this understanding on the fact that the sole duty of the delivery is mentioned after the words "if they turn away".

The flaw in this claim becomes apparent when we read the following verse:

The sole duty of the messenger is the delivery, and God knows what you reveal and what you conceal. 5:99

We do not see the words "if they turn away" in 5:99, yet we still see a confirmation that the sole duty of the messenger is to deliver God's message. The words in 5:99 confirm that the sole duty of the messenger (delivering God's message) is an independent statement that is true regardless of whether the people accept the message or reject it.

For further analysis, let us read the following verse:

Say, "Obey God and obey the messenger." If they turn away, then he is responsible for his obligations, and you are responsible for your obligations. If you obey him, you will be guided. The sole duty of the messenger is the clear delivery. 24:54

We have five clear Quranic statements in 24:54. Each statement is independent of the other statements in the verse, they are:

1- People should obey God and the messenger (applies at all times).
2- The messenger is responsible only for his own obligations (applies at all times).
3- The people are also responsible only for their own obligations (applies at all times)
4- Those who obey the messenger will be guided (applies at all times)
5- The only duty of the messenger is to deliver God's message (applies at all times)

Each one of the five statements in 24:54 stands on its own. Each one of the five statements is true at all times, and each of the five statements is mentioned separately in other Quranic verses. Ultimately, none of the five statements above is conditioned, dependent or restricted in meaning by the other statements in the verse.

For example, the command to"obey God and the messenger"is independent of the other statements in the verse and applies at all times. Equally, the Quranic statement that the messenger is"responsible for his own obligations"is not dependent or conditioned by the other statements in the verse. It also applies to all messengers at all times.

Equally, the sole duty of the messenger is to deliver God's message regardless of whether some people accept the message or not.

Those who say that the duty of the messenger is not only the delivery quote Quranic verses where it is told that the messenger is assigned the duties of reciting the Scripture, purifying the people and also teaching them the Scripture. The following verse is quoted:

We also sent a messenger to you from amongst you to recite Our revelations to you and to purify you, and to teach you the Scripture and wisdom, and to teach you what you knew not. 2:151

It is therefore necessary to examine each of the roles mentioned in 2:151 and determine how can they be in harmony with the fact that delivering the message of God is mentioned as the sole duty.

Reciting the Scripture

The words in 2:151 indeed state that the messenger was to recite the Quran to his people. That was indeed what he did, for how else was he to deliver the Book of God to them with the correct pronunciation of every word unless he was to recite it to them? God commanded the messenger to recite the revelation he received from Gabriel exactly as it was recited to him:

Once We recite it, you (Muhammad) shall follow such a recitation. 75:18

The recitation of the Quran by the messenger to the people was not an additional role, but was part and parcel of his duty to deliver the Book of God to the people. The correct recitation was part of what the messenger was to deliver.

Purifying the people

Throughout the Quran we read that the purification of the hearts comes from God alone:

God purifies whom He wills 4:49

O Mary, God has chosen you and purified you. 3:42

God does not wish to impose any hardship on you, but He wishes to purify you and complete His blessing upon you so that you may be appreciative. 5:6

Those are the ones whose hearts God did not wish to purify. 5:41

Were it not for God's favour upon you and His mercy, not one of you would have ever been purified, but God purifies whom He wills. 24:21

If God is the only One who can purify the hearts of people, then why is the act of purifying mentioned in connection with the messenger in 2:151?

The messenger was assigned the duty of delivering the Book of God to his people by reciting to them the revelations as he received them. Those who believed and followed the Book of God were then purified by God. The purification of the hearts is one of the outcomes of accepting and following the revelations of God that are being recited:

God has bestowed favour upon the believers when He sent them a messenger from amongst themselves, reciting to them His revelations, purifying them and teaching them the Scripture and wisdom, for indeed, before that they were in clear misguidance. 3:164

The purification is not the personal work of the human messenger.

In the following words, God instructs the messenger to take a charity from the believers to purify them:

Take a charity from their money to cleanse and purify them with it, and support them. Your support provides them with tranquillity. God is Hearer, Knowledgeable. 9:103

It may appear from 9:103 that it is the messenger who is purifying the believers, but in actual fact, what purifies them is the act of giving their money to charity. This is confirmed in the following words:

To be kept away from it (the Fire) will be the reverent who gives his money to purify himself. 92:17-18

The fact that the human messenger cannot purify the people, nor is it his responsibility to do so, is conclusively confirmed in the following verse:

As for the one who is well-off and not in need, to him you gave your attention when it is not your responsibility as to whether or not he is purified! 80:5-7

Teaching the Scripture

As for teaching the people the Quran, indeed, the messenger taught his people all the information he received from Gabriel, and which was part of the revelation. The messenger taught his people the correct pronunciation and recitation of the Quran. The messenger also taught his people the number of words in every verse, the number of verses in every Sura, the correct order of the verses within their Suras, the correct order and names of the Suras, and other similar important information. Before they heard the Quran from the messenger, they knew not any of that information. It was the messenger of God who taught his people all such important Quranic information.

Teaching the people the specifics of the Book (pronunciation, verse order, Sura names and order, etc) should not be confused with guiding the people in general nor with guaranteeing the people's correct understanding of the Quran:

You are not responsible for guiding them, but it is God who guides whom He wills. 2:272

Ultimately, the true Teacher of the Quran is God Himself:

Al-Rahman, He taught the Quran. 55:1-2

It is for that reason that God instructed the messenger to recite the Quranic revelations as he heard them from Gabriel, but that the explanation and clarification of the Quran is the duty of God and not the messenger:

Do not move your tongue with it to hasten it. Indeed, upon Us is its collection and its recitation. Once We recite it, you shall follow such a recitation. Then upon Us is its clarification. 75:16-19
(quran-islam)