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| '''Kafir''' (]: كافر ''kāfir''; plural كفّار ''kuffār'') is an Arabic word meaning a person who hides, denies, or covers the truth. In cultural terms, it is a derogatory term used to describe a non-muslim, a muslim of a differing sect, or an ] from Islam. It is often translated into ] as "]" and carries the weight of a ]. | '''Kafir''' (]: كافر ''kāfir''; plural كفّار ''kuffār'') is an Arabic word meaning a person who hides, denies, or covers the truth. In cultural terms, it is a derogatory term used to describe a non-muslim, a muslim of a differing sect, or an ] from Islam. It is often translated into ] as "]" and carries the weight of a ]. | ||
| Debate exists between some Muslim scholars as to whether the term applies to Jews or Christians. Generally speaking, the more fundamentalist the scholar, the more likely they will rule that this term applies to those groups. | |||
| ==Etymology== | ==Etymology== | ||
| The word ''kaafir'' is the active participle of the verb ''kafara'' which means "to cover" (from ] k-f-r). It was originally used before Islam, in the ] language, to describe farmers, when they bury a seed in the ground and cover it with soil in their planting process. Therefore, we may say that the word kaafir implies from its root meaning "a person who hides or covers the truth". In Islamic parlance, kafir is a word used to describe a person who rejects Islamic faith, | The word ''kaafir'' is the active participle of the verb ''kafara'' which means "to cover" (from ] k-f-r). It was originally used before Islam, in the ] language, to describe farmers, when they bury a seed in the ground and cover it with soil in their planting process. Therefore, we may say that the word kaafir implies from its root meaning "a person who hides or covers the truth". This is in opposition to a ], which can be interpreted as "a person who openly testifies to Islam and submits willfully and peacefully to it . In Islamic parlance, kafir is a word used to describe a person who rejects Islamic faith, | ||
| and carries the weight of a ]. | and carries the weight of a ]. | ||
Revision as of 20:08, 13 March 2006
- This article is about an Islamic term. For other uses of the word, see Kaffir (disambiguation).
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Kafir (Arabic: كافر kāfir; plural كفّار kuffār) is an Arabic word meaning a person who hides, denies, or covers the truth. In cultural terms, it is a derogatory term used to describe a non-muslim, a muslim of a differing sect, or an apostate from Islam. It is often translated into English as "infidel" and carries the weight of a racial epithet.
Etymology
The word kaafir is the active participle of the verb kafara which means "to cover" (from consonantal root k-f-r). It was originally used before Islam, in the Arabic language, to describe farmers, when they bury a seed in the ground and cover it with soil in their planting process. Therefore, we may say that the word kaafir implies from its root meaning "a person who hides or covers the truth". This is in opposition to a Muslim, which can be interpreted as "a person who openly testifies to Islam and submits willfully and peacefully to it . In Islamic parlance, kafir is a word used to describe a person who rejects Islamic faith, and carries the weight of a racial epithet.
Qur'anic reference
The word “kafir” (and variations of it) is mentioned in the Qur’an in five different senses:
1. Kufr al-tawheed: to reject the belief in the Oneness of God. The Qur’an says:
- As to those who reject faith (kafaru), it is the same to them whether you warn them or do not warn them; they will not believe (Al-Baqarah 2:6; Yusuf Ali)
2. Kufr al-ni`mah: to lack gratefulness to God or to people. The Qur’an says:
- Therefore remember Me, I will remember you, and be thankful to Me, and do not be ungrateful to Me. (la takfurun)(Al-Baqarah 2:152; Shakir)
- (Pharaoh) said (to Moses): … And you did (that) deed of yours which you did, and you are one of the ungrateful (kafireen)(Ash-Shu`araa’ 26:18-19; Shakir)
3. Kufr at-tabarri: to disown/clear oneself from. The Qur’an says:
- Indeed, there is for you a good example in Ibrahim and those with him when they said to their people: “Surely we are clear of you (kafarna bekom).” (Al-Mumtahanah 60:4; Shakir)
4. Kufr al-juhud: to deny. The Qur’an says:
- When there comes to them that which they have recognized, they refuse to believe in (kafaru) it.(Al-Baqarah 2:89; Yusuf Ali)
5. Kufr at-taghtiyah: to hide/bury something, like planting a seed in the ground. The Qur’an says:
- The likeness of vegetation after rain, whereof the growth is pleasing to the husbandman (kuffar.) (Al-Hadid 57:20; Pickthall)
The word kufr can also be applied to a Muslim when he is doing something wrong, but not necessarily something that would place him or her outside the state of belief in Islam. For example, a Muslim who is able to go for Hajj but does not go, without denying the need to go, would be committing an act of kufr in a sense of ungratefulness to Allah
- Verily, the first House (of worship) appointed for mankind was that at Bakkah (Makkah), full of blessing, and a guidance for Al-'Alamîn (the mankind and jinns). In it are manifest signs (for example), the Maqâm (place) of Ibrâhim (Abraham); whosoever enters it, he attains security. And Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House (Ka'bah) is a duty that mankind owes to Allâh, those who can afford the expenses (for one's conveyance, provision and residence); and whoever disbelieves(wa man kafara) , then Allâh stands not in need of any of the 'Alamîn (mankind and jinns)(3:96-97).
In the Qur’an, the word “O disbelievers” (“Ya Kuffar”, “Ya ayuhalathina kafaru”, or “Ya ayuhal-kafirun”) is found only in these two places:
1 . In Hellfire, we seek refuge in Allah from it. The Qur’an says what means:
- : “O ye who disbelieve (Ya ayuhalathina kafaru)! Make no excuses for yourselves this day. (At-Tahrim 66:7)
So, it is something that is said to them by Allah Almighty or by the angels, not by us.
2 . In Surat Al-Kafirun (109) that you mentioned in your question. It says what means:
- {Say : “O ye that reject faith (al-Kafirun)! I worship not that which ye worship, Nor will ye worship that which I worship.”}
This surah is addressing Prophet Muhammad and therefore must be understood in its historical context. Allah is asking Prophet Muhammad to address a group of leaders from Makkah who offered him the following deal: That they all —including Muhammad— worship God for one year and then they all worship the idols for the next year, and so on. That is why Allah asked him to address them in this term “rejecters of faith” and to refuse to accept this kind of deal.
In the rest of the Qur’an, the Qur’anic style follows two principals:
1. To label certain sayings or actions to be sayings or actions of kufr (disbelief or rejection of faith), without labeling any specific group of people with that name and calling them with it. For example, the Qur’an says what means:
- Certainly they disbelieve who say: Surely God is the third of the three. And there is no god but One God, and if they desist not from what they say, a painful chastisement shall befall those among them who disbelieve . Will they not then turn to Allah and ask His forgiveness? And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. The Messiah, son of Mary is but a messenger; messengers before him have indeed passed away; and his mother was a truthful woman.(Al-Ma’idah 5:73-75)
2. To distinguish clearly between idol-worshippers, on one hand, and believers in God and a Script that went through a phase of corruption, on the other hand. Allah called the later group only by the name “People of the Book.” For example, the Qur’an says what means:
- Quite a number of the People of the Book wish they could turn you back to infidelity after ye have believed, from selfish envy, after the truth hath become manifest unto them. But, forgive and overlook, till Allah accomplish His purpose; for Allah Hath power over all things.(Al-Baqarah 2:109)
- It is He Who got out the Unbelievers among the People of the Book from their homes at the first gathering . Little did ye think that they would get out: And they thought that their fortresses would defend them from Allah! But the Allah came to them from quarters from which they little expected , and cast terror into their hearts, so that they destroyed their dwellings by their own hands and the hands of the Believers, take warning, then, O ye with eyes (Al-Hashr 59:2)
In today’s world, scholars recommend that Muslims should use the same term “People of the Book” with Christians and Jews, or call them Christians and Jews, if they wish to be called so, or simply call them “non-Muslims”.
According to scholars
According to some scholars in Islam, the correct use of the word kafir in Islamic theology does not include either Christians, Samaritans, Jews, and all "Sabians" who are covered by the term Ahl-al-Kitab, or "People of the Book," because they are considered recipients of divine revelation from Allah. However, other scholars, such as those backing militant Islamists, often do not make the distinction in their rhetoric and do often use it to include these religious communities, or any enemy.
Ibn Taymiyah (Islamic scholar & alleged founder of sulfism) says
- Not believing in Allaah and His Messenger, whether that is accompanied by denial or it is not accompanied by denial but rather doubt, or turning away from faith out of jealousy or arrogance, or because one is following whims and desires that prevent one from following the message. So kufr is the attribute of everyone who rejects something that Allaah has commanded us to believe in, after news of that has reached him, whether he rejects it in his heart without uttering it, or he speaks those words of rejection without believing it in his heart, or he does both; or he does an action which is described in the texts as putting one beyond the pale of faith.
Ibn Hazam said in his book al-Fasl:
- Rejecting something for which there is sound proof that there can be no faith without believing in it is kufr, and uttering words for which there is proof that uttering them is kufr. Doing any action for which there is proof that it is kufr is also kufr.
Acts that invalidate Islam
"Verily, Allah forgives not (the sin of) setting up partners in worship with Him, but He forgives whom He pleases other sins than that" (al-Nisa 116).
"Say: Was it Allah, or His signs or His Messenger that you were mocking? Make no excuse, you have disbelieved after you had believed." (al-Tauba 65-66).
"And who does more wrong than he who is reminded of the signs of his Lord, then he turns aside therefrom? Verily, We shall exact retribution from the sinners"
The Kafiroon are not to be confused with the munafiq. The munafiq are Muslim hypocrites.
Muslim relations with the Kafir
For dealing with non-Muslims, the general rule is mentioned in the verse that says what means:
- Allah does not forbid you respecting those who have not made war against you on account of religion, and have not driven you forth from your homes, that you show them kindness (birr) and deal with them justly; surely Allah loves the doers of justice. Allah only forbids you respecting those who made war upon you on account of religion, and drove you forth from your homes and backed up in your expulsion, that you make friends with them, and whoever makes friends with them, these are the unjust. (Al-Mumtahanah 60:8-9)
The word “birr” (translated as kindness) that Allah used in this context is the same word that is used for the type of kindness that a Muslim should show his/her parents as in birr al-walidain )kindness to parents)
Some fundamentalist Muslims believe that making friends with the Kafir is prohibited in Islam. They often use the following Qur'anic verse as proof.
- O ye who believe! take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust.(al-Maida 5:51).
Use Outside Islam
By the 15th century, the word kafir/kuffar was used by Muslims in Africa to refer to the non-Muslim African natives. Many of those kuffar, who were enslaved and sold by their Muslims captors to European merchants, mainly from Portugal, who by that time had established trading outposts along the coast of West Africa. These European slave traders adopted that Arabic word to refer to their captives, and eventually changed it into many forms — cafre (in Portuguese), caffar, kaffer, kaffir, kafir, etc. (in English, Dutch, and Afrikaans); see South Africa Kaffir people. Those words were then used to name many things related to Africa, such as the Kaffir Wars, Kaffraria, kaffir lime, kaffir corn, and so on; see kaffir (disambiguation).
Some of those African slaves were taken by the Portuguese to work in their colonies in Asia. In some cities of Sri Lanka, in particular, the descendants of those slaves still constitute a distinctive ethnic group, who call themselves Kaffir.
In South Africa the word kaffir eventually became a racial slur, applied pejoratively or offensively by some whites to African blacks or to dark-skinned persons in general. In Jamaica it is applied by some Jamaicans of Indian ancestry to Jamaicans of African ancestry. See kaffir (ethnic slur).
See also
Ahl al Fatrah, Fasiq, Gentile, Heathen, Infidel, Mu'min, Munafiq, Muslim, Pagan, People of the book, Shirk
References
External links
- People unaware of Islam
- Ahl al-Fatrah
- Takfir - Anathematizing
- Universal Validity of Religions and the Issue of Takfir
- Polytheists in the Qur’an
- Judge people or convey message
- Islamic Dealing with People of the Book
- Inminds.co.uk
- Muslim and Non-Muslim Relations Reflections on Some Qur’anic Texts
- Who is a Kaafir?