Allah Most High has explained the ways in which He speaks to His servants in His words:

“It is not for any human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation, or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger who reveals, by His permission, whatever He wills.”

He, glorified be He, thus explained that He sometimes speaks by revelation, sometimes from behind a veil—as He spoke to Moses—and sometimes by sending a messenger who reveals, by Allah’s permission, whatever He wills. Allah Most High also says:

“Allah chooses messengers from among the angels and from among mankind.”

When Allah Most High sends a messenger, this is one of the ways in which He speaks to His servants, reciting His message to them and informing them through it. Thus Allah Most High says:

“Say, ‘Make no excuses; we will never believe you. Allah has already informed us of some of your affairs.’”

He informed them only through the Messenger, and the Messenger conveys His message, as Allah Most High says:

“O Messenger, convey what has been sent down to you from your Lord.”

And Allah Most High says:

“So that He may know that they have conveyed the messages of their Lord.”

And Allah Most High says:

“The Messenger’s duty is only to convey the message clearly.”

The Messenger commanded his community to convey his teachings on his behalf. In Sahīh al-Bukhārī, ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr relates that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Convey from me, even if only one verse. Relate reports from the Children of Israel; there is no harm in doing so. Whoever deliberately attributes a lie to me, let him take his seat in the Fire.”

When addressing the Muslims, he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Let those present convey this to those absent, for someone to whom it is conveyed may understand it better than one who heard it directly.”

He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, also said:

“May Allah brighten the face of a person who hears a hadith from us and conveys it to someone who has not heard it. For many a transmitter lacks understanding, and many a bearer of knowledge conveys it to someone who understands it better than he does.”