وَمَا عَلَيْنَآ إِلَّا ٱلْبَلَـٰغُ ٱلْمُبِينُ
Wa maa 'alainaaa illal balaaghul mubeen
Elçiler: "Doğrusu Rabbimiz bizim size gönderildiğimizi bilir; bize düşen ancak apaçık tebliğdir" demişlerdi.
And nothing rests on us but to deliver the message clearly."
Delivery is the whole of the assignment, and the messengers say so to a town that has just called them liars. Balāgh mubīn means speech made plain, and the phrase marks where their responsibility stops; what the hearers do with it belongs to the hearers. The parable is set out in this surah for the Prophet's own audience in Mecca, who were making the same reply.