Verse 42:23 and how to interpret it, disciplines of interpreting Quran.

[Mystic]

The importance of this verse is in fact emphasized throughout all other Surahs, as it is a unique trait of the last Prophet that he asked a recompense or reward or wage for his message.

First I will quote all the verses that talk about the wage/reward/recompense the Prophet asked, then we will see the context of those verses with respect to the Surahs they are in.

Say: whatever I have asked of you as a wage, so it is for yourselves, verily my  wage is with God and he is a witness upon all things.(34:47)

Say: No wage have I asked of you for it, except for who wants to take towards his Lord a path.(25:57)

These are they who God has guided therefore follow their guidance. Say: I do not ask you a wage for it that it be only a reminder/remembrance for the worlds/nations/peoples.(6:90)

 And you do not ask them a wage for it that is only a remembrance/reminder to the worlds/nations/peoples. (12:104)

Or do you ask them a wage? Then surely the wage of your Lord is better, and he is the best of those who provide sustenance. And surely you call them to a straight path. (23:72-73)

Say: I do not ask you for it any wage - and I am not of those who affect -
That it be but a reminder/remembrance for the worlds/nations/peoples. 
And ye shall certainly the truth of it after a time.
(38:86-88)

Or do you ask them a wage so that they are over overburdened by a debt?(52:40, 68:46)

And another thing to note, while the Prophet asked a wage, other Prophets did not. We will look at the implications of this with respect to the clear meaning of the verse.

[36:21] Follow him who does not ask you for reward, and they are the followers of the right course;

Quoting past Prophets:

[26:109, 127, 145, 164, 180] And I do not ask you any reward for it; my reward is only with the Lord of the worlds:


We will look at the context of each of these verses with the respect to the Surahs they are in and see the flow.
Sufficient to say though is that this wage is not something trivial in Islam, it's been defined as taking the path to God.

And it clearly doesn't mean like closeness to God or love of our own kin, because, other Prophets would have asked that as a wage as well.

But a question remains if past Prophets were associated with chosen families, then why didn't they ask the same wage regarding their family. And it's quite simple really, their message was not finalized and their society was to prepare for other Prophets and chosen families to come.  But with revelation sealed, and the legacy of authority being that of Mohammad's message than in response to people accusing him he is power hungry or what not, it is saying, yes he in fact asks a reward and wishes for a legacy in his family, but what is this legacy?

We will see Quran emphasize throughout about chosen family lines with respect to the past, to emphasize on this wisdom, and show that the type of wage the Prophet was asking, and the fact he was finalizing revelation,  was part of a plan for the get to unite humanity on guidance from God.

The form of guidance is always never revelation alone, but with with helpers to interpret it.

We will look at the verses surrounding all the wage verses, and than see an interconnection of themes with respect to the wage of the final message to humanity.