Ayah 17:
وما علينا إلا البلاغ المبين
Wa maa 'alainaaa illal balaaghul mubeen
And we are not responsible except for clear notification.
Now, there is the situation with the people. It is becoming difficult because they are being rude, abrasive, offensive. What's the point to continue speaking with them? They know they are not obligated to do anything except balagh.
Balaagh is literally "to reach from one place to another". The Qur'aan has been described as balaagh (14, 52)
هذا بلاغ للناس ولينذروا به وليعلموا أنما هو إله واحد وليذكر أولو الألباب
This [Qur'aan] is balaagh for the people that they may be warned thereby and that they may know that He is but one God and that those of understanding will be reminded.
At the same time the Messenger of Allaah has been commanded in the Qur'aan "balligh = convey, make it reach" (5, 67)
يا أيها الرسول بلغ ما أنزل إليك من ربك وإن لم تفعل فما بلغت رسالته والله يعصمك من الناس إن الله لا يهدي القوم الكافرين
O Messenger, balligh that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message. And Allaah will protect you from the people. Indeed, Allaah does not guide the disbelieving people.
The Qur'aan is that which needs to reach people. Nothing affects people in da'wah like the Qur'aan. It needs to be the main vehicle of our da'wah.
Mubin means so clear that it is self-clarifying. So deliver a very clear, precise, pristine, understandable message to people. That is our task. It is not just to deliver the message, but to make sure the way of delivery is clear and pristine. For this purpose, we do not need to create any means - we have it in the Qur'aan itself.
In summary of verses 13-17, we see two things.
First, the beauty in the language
1. At the end of aayah 14 the first time these messengers introduce themselves to these people as inna ilaykum mursalun - most definitely we have been sent to you people as messengers.
2. At the end of aayah 16 they respond to the peoples accusations as rabbuna inna ilaykum lamursalun. There is an extra laam. Why? When they first introduced themselves, there was no exchange, argument, or refutation. It was just an introduction. When they rejected and placed accusations, the response is with emphasis.
Second, the biggest purpose of these aayaat was to be consolation to the Messenger of Allaah pbuh and the believers as well. The Quraysh may be becoming more aggressive and offensive, but you are not the first (people or messenger) to experience this. Not one, but three messengers standing side-by-side were refused in this way by people. It is also consolation of the accountability (the task) of the Messenger of Allaah pbuh. It is only upon him to deliver it clearly. He pbuh delivered the message rightfully, above and beyond what was required for him.
Ayah 18:
This continues the discussion about the town's people and their rejection of the messengers who came to them.
