قُل ما أَسأَلُكُم عَلَيهِ مِن أَجرٍ وَما أَنا مِنَ المُتَكَلِّفينَ

Say: ‘I do not ask you any reward for it, and I am no impostor.

EXEGESIS

It should be referring to the call to God, or Islam, or the Quran.^{‎[1]Tibyan, 8/585; Tabrisi 8/759; Tabari, 23/120.} See the forthcoming sections for more.

Mutakallifīn (impostors) is the plural of mutakallif, which means someone who expends great effort seeking something that is unreasonable, and as such it is a demerit.^{‎[2]Tibyan, 8/585.} It also means someone who claims something unduly and thus puts themselves in difficulty. Therefore, the sentence mā anā min al-mutakallifīn would literally mean: I am not from amongst those who seek unreasonable things or claim what is not right.

EXPOSITION

As is naturally expected, the end of the surah brings us back to the main topic raised in the beginning, in order to conclude. We are reminded of the event that led to the revelation of the surah, when the Holy Prophet was approached by the Meccan elite and offered bribes in return for leaving the call to Islam.

Now God orders him to Say in their response, as no response was given earlier, I do not ask you any reward for it. This is followed by the affirmation mā ana min al-mutakallifīn, meaning, ‘I didn’t come up with this Quran myself’,^{‎[3]Tabrisi, 8/759; Tabari, 23/120.} so in this sense, I am no impostor. So the Prophet is told to inform them that he did not come up with the Quran in order to reach some worldly station or wealth. He would not do such an irrational thing; he was not a liar or a madman as they claimed.

There is an important lesson here as well, that when considering the truth of someone’s call we should examine the character of the caller as well. If the person inviting to a religion is a greedy person who is doing it for personal gain then they are not to be trusted. The Prophet was clearly not interested in worldly gains and his noble character befit his noble message.^{‎[4]Razi, 26/416.}

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. From Muʿāwiyah ibn Wahab, from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a), that Imam Ali (a) said: ‘A mutakallif has three signs: he argues with those above him through the act of disobedience, and oppresses those beneath him by force, and aids the oppressors.’^{‎[5]Kafi, 1/37.}
2. From Ḥammād ibn ʿĪsā, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘A mutakallif has three signs: he argues with those above him, and seeks that which he cannot achieve, and speaks of that which he does not know.’^{‎[6]Khisal, p. 121.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

This verse and the next have also been used as evidence that one should not ask for monetary compensation in exchange for teaching the Quran, as it is meant for everyone.^{‎[7]Mizan, 17/228.} However, this issue must be answered in works of fiqh rather than here.

There are other meanings suggested for mā anā min al-mutakallifīn:

1. I did not burden myself with bringing this Quran, but rather I was ordered to do so.^{‎[8]Tabrisi, 8/759.}
2. This religion that I am calling you to does not place undue hardships on you, or make unreasonable requests of you.^{‎[9]Razi, 26/416.}
3. This religion I am calling you to does not claim anything unreasonable and is devoid of any unnecessary complexity.^{‎[10]Nemuneh, 19/351.}

[1] Tibyan, 8/585; Tabrisi 8/759; Tabari, 23/120.
[2] Tibyan, 8/585.
[3] Tabrisi, 8/759; Tabari, 23/120.
[4] Razi, 26/416.
[5] Kafi, 1/37.
[6] Khisal, p. 121.
[7] Mizan, 17/228.
[8] Tabrisi, 8/759.
[9] Razi, 26/416.
[10] Nemuneh, 19/351.