What in the world is a Kaafir?

[firedragon]

A Kafir is not what you think?

I have witnessed many discussions, both face to face and remote where some Muslims call Christians and Jews as Kafirs and Christians and Jews call themselves Kafirs. We should understand what Kafir means from the context of the Quran and the language at the time the Quran was revealed.

This word Kafir has evolved in its meaning and understanding due to worldly occurrences. The phenomenon that changed the meaning of this word is debatable and bears no value of discussion, but the fact is not only Christians or Jews are called Kafirs, Muslims are too.

It is a personal experience of us Muslims to hear one sect call another sect by the word Kafir. The animosity of this nature exists in this world and if everyone is correct, there are seven billion Kafirs in this world.

A simile of the evolution of what this word means is cops being called pigs in modern times. The original use of the derogative term pig being used on cops is known to have occurred in around the 1811 where "pig" was denoted to a Bow Street Runner, the police force. The reference has seemingly re-emerged in the late sixties. The modern dictionaries pronounce it as a slang for a policeman.

Is it not unbelievable that within such a short time a word that was referred to a swine has grown to be referred to a cop? Similarly, think of the word Kafir evolving through 1400 years.

A Kafir is someone who knows a truth and hides it

The first occurrences of the term Kafir occurs in the second chapter of the Quran.

 As for those who Kafaroo , whether you warn them or do not warn them, they will not believe. – Quran 2:6

 Or like a storm cloud from the sky, in it is darkness and thunder and lightning. They place their fingers in their ears from the thunder-claps for fear of death; and God is aware of the Kafirs (Bialkafireena). – Quran 2:19

An exploration of the chapter in concern in context of the surrounding verse will expound the true intention of this allusion. Below you will find a summary of this chapter’s philosophy.

 The Quran is revealed to the righteous, who believe in the unseen, who believe in this and the previous revelations.

 As for those who see the truth and hide it maliciously commonly referred to as rejecter’s they will not believe in the truth if you inform them or not

 Their hearts and ears are sealed, and they are blind. They will proclaim to believe in God and there’s a last day but only lie.

 They will claim to be good but the will spread corruption. When they meet those who acknowledge the truth they lie saying they do too

There are no references to religions, races or any denomination. A Kafir could be a person who calls himself a Muslim as you can see above that when a Kafir meets one who has acknowledged the truth they lie to you saying they also do accept the truth. Right at the beginning of the Quran God has explained what a Kafir is, therefore it is high time that people woke up and realised that they may have been mistaken all their lives.

Of course it is common that most of us were taught otherwise throughout our lives. The Quran tells you to not follow what your society has taught you blindly.

 And if you obey most of those on the earth, they will lead you away from the path of God; that is because they follow conjecture, and that is because they only guess. – Quran 6:115

And don’t worry if others don’t believe

 And most of the people, even if you are diligent, will not believe. – Quran 12:103

 

[exchemist]

A Kafir is not what you think?

I have witnessed many discussions, both face to face and remote where some Muslims call Christians and Jews as Kafirs and Christians and Jews call themselves Kafirs. We should understand what Kafir means from the context of the Quran and the language at the time the Quran was revealed.

This word Kafir has evolved in its meaning and understanding due to worldly occurrences. The phenomenon that changed the meaning of this word is debatable and bears no value of discussion, but the fact is not only Christians or Jews are called Kafirs, Muslims are too.

It is a personal experience of us Muslims to hear one sect call another sect by the word Kafir. The animosity of this nature exists in this world and if everyone is correct, there are seven billion Kafirs in this world.

A simile of the evolution of what this word means is cops being called pigs in modern times. The original use of the derogative term pig being used on cops is known to have occurred in around the 1811 where "pig" was denoted to a Bow Street Runner, the police force. The reference has seemingly re-emerged in the late sixties. The modern dictionaries pronounce it as a slang for a policeman.

Is it not unbelievable that within such a short time a word that was referred to a swine has grown to be referred to a cop? Similarly, think of the word Kafir evolving through 1400 years.

A Kafir is someone who knows a truth and hides it

The first occurrences of the term Kafir occurs in the second chapter of the Quran.

 As for those who Kafaroo , whether you warn them or do not warn them, they will not believe. – Quran 2:6

 Or like a storm cloud from the sky, in it is darkness and thunder and lightning. They place their fingers in their ears from the thunder-claps for fear of death; and God is aware of the Kafirs (Bialkafireena). – Quran 2:19

An exploration of the chapter in concern in context of the surrounding verse will expound the true intention of this allusion. Below you will find a summary of this chapter’s philosophy.

 The Quran is revealed to the righteous, who believe in the unseen, who believe in this and the previous revelations.

 As for those who see the truth and hide it maliciously commonly referred to as rejecter’s they will not believe in the truth if you inform them or not

 Their hearts and ears are sealed, and they are blind. They will proclaim to believe in God and there’s a last day but only lie.

 They will claim to be good but the will spread corruption. When they meet those who acknowledge the truth they lie saying they do too

There are no references to religions, races or any denomination. A Kafir could be a person who calls himself a Muslim as you can see above that when a Kafir meets one who has acknowledged the truth they lie to you saying they also do accept the truth. Right at the beginning of the Quran God has explained what a Kafir is, therefore it is high time that people woke up and realised that they may have been mistaken all their lives.

Of course it is common that most of us were taught otherwise throughout our lives. The Quran tells you to not follow what your society has taught you blindly.

 And if you obey most of those on the earth, they will lead you away from the path of God; that is because they follow conjecture, and that is because they only guess. – Quran 6:115

And don’t worry if others don’t believe

 And most of the people, even if you are diligent, will not believe. – Quran 12:103

My understanding is that it is debatable whether People of the Book are to be regarded as kafirs or not.

I also think one should be careful in using labels for people of other religions that may make them seem inferior, or to be despised. This tends to lead to intolerant attitudes and behaviour and breeds hostility.

 

[firedragon]

My understanding is that it is debatable whether People of the Book are to be regarded as kafirs or not.

Why? Please explain.

 

[firedragon]

I also think one should be careful in using labels for people of other religions that may make them seem inferior, or to be despised. This tends to lead to intolerant attitudes and behaviour and breeds hostility.

Very true.

I have seen many things of this nature. In the past, the Christians used Infidel at Muslims. Then in a contemporary world, Muslims used the same against Christians. Then there are other words that people use like non-muslim which exactly what some of the Muslims meant when they said Kaafir (just an Arabic word) which is a word mostly demonized in the western arena by Christian evangelists more than traditional Muslims. Then atheists call religious people by many many names.

But only the word Kaafir is in people's minds because of top of mind awareness. Anyway, that's actually a different debate.

What you said is true, but that's not the point of the opening post. The point is to make you understand the meaning of the word rather than how you understand it from whatever baggage you received.

Cheers.

 

[icehorse]

The OP is interesting. To me, the elephant in the room in this case is that Islam seems to so frequently engender "us vs. them" thinking, and here we go again.

 

[exchemist]

Why? Please explain.

QUOTE
The term is used in different ways in the Quran, with the most fundamental sense being "ingratitude" (toward God).[7][8]Historically, while Islamic scholars agreed that a polytheist is a kafir, they sometimes disagreed on the propriety of applying the term to Muslims who committed a grave sin and to the People of the Book.[8][7] The Quran distinguishes between mushrikun and People of the Book, reserving the former term for idol worshipers, although some classical commentators considered Christian doctrine to be a form of shirk.[9] In modern times, kafir is sometimes used as a derogatory term,[10][3][11] particularly by members of Islamist movements.[1
UNQUOTE

From: Kafir - Wikipedia

I suppose it comes down to whether one thinks that the People of the Book are, in their different traditions, acknowledging the same Allah.

 

[Aupmanyav]

A Kafir is someone who knows a truth and hides it.

I do not believe in existence of God / Allah, that is the truth because no one has ever given me a proof of existence of any God's / Allah's, nor of any prophet / son / messenger / manifestation / mahdi sent by any such personage. And I do not hide my views. So, it will be wrong to term me as a kafir.

 

[Revoltingest]

Very true.

I have seen many things of this nature. In the past, the Christians used Infidel at Muslims. Then in a contemporary world, Muslims used the same against Christians. Then there are other words that people use like non-muslim which exactly what some of the Muslims meant when they said Kaafir (just an Arabic word) which is a word mostly demonized in the western arena by Christian evangelists more than traditional Muslims. Then atheists call religious people by many many names.

But only the word Kaafir is in people's minds because of top of mind awareness. Anyway, that's actually a different debate.

What you said is true, but that's not the point of the opening post. The point is to make you understand the meaning of the word rather than how you understand it from whatever baggage you received.

Cheers.

"Infidel" often seems to have an exclamation point after it.
It seems so wicked that I've come to identify as one.

 

[Revoltingest]

The OP is interesting. To me, the elephant in the room in this case is that Islam seems to so frequently engender "us vs. them" thinking, and here we go again.

Of course there is no single Islam.
And many Muslims treat this heathen with civility & friendliness.
We just disagree about one minor thing...the nature of reality.
That's nothing worth getting all worked up about.

Note:
They treat me better than some of my fellow atheists.
Dang, those people can get so hostile, eh.

 

[Ruh]

 

[Ruh]

 

[icehorse]

Of course there is no single Islam.
And many Muslims treat this heathen with civility & friendliness.

And of course we have to keep the set of ideas that is Islam distinct from Muslims. And, while there are many definitions of Islam, there are also some common elements that we cannot deny.

 

[Ruh]

So , the person who hides the truth is a kafir . In Qur'an it was not limited to any specific race or sect of belief . In general , Christians and Jews are called 'The people of the Book' throughout the Qur'an . Even if there is dispute , Muslims are instructed to tackle it in the following manners ( not by shouting them as Kafir/infidels etc.)

“Do not argue with the people of the scripture except in the nicest possible manner - unless they transgress - and say, "We believe in what was revealed to us and in what was revealed to you, and our god and your god is one and the same; to Him we are submitter ." [Al-Qur’an 29:46]

 

[Revoltingest]

And of course we have to keep the set of ideas that is Islam distinct from Muslims. And, while there are many definitions of Islam, there are also some common elements that we cannot deny.

Nothing seems to create wide gulfs of
diversity more than commonality of belief, eh.

 

[stvdv]

A Kafir is someone who knows a truth and hides it

Thank you. Very useful.

 

[icehorse]

Nothing seems to create wide gulfs of
diversity than commonality of belief, eh.

You'd have to agree that there are some popular ideas floating around that we'd all be better off without.

I happen to believe that enough of the core ideas are bad in both Christianity and Islam that we should retire these sets of ideas altogether.

I also believe that both religions "keep the doors open" through indoctrination of children. That in fact many of the world's Christians and Muslims are only Christians or Muslims because they were indoctrinated at an early age. A subtle form of slavery.

I think it would be a kindness to free people from these two faiths. I see no unique value in either of them, and a lot of downsides.

 

[Revoltingest]

You'd have to agree that there are some popular ideas floating around that we'd all be better off without.

You ain't just whistle'n Dixie.

No, really...you aren't.

I happen to believe that enough of the core ideas are bad in both Christianity and Islam that we should retire these sets of ideas altogether.

If these ideas are abandoned voluntarily, I'm OK with that.

I also believe that both religions "keep the doors open" through indoctrination of children. That in fact many of the world's Christians and Muslims are only Christians or Muslims because they were indoctrinated at an early age. A subtle form of slavery.

I don't agree about it being "slavery".

I think it would be a kindness to free people from these two faiths. I see no unique value in either of them, and a lot of downsides.

I know it doesn't need saying....but of course the
act of freeing them shouldn't involve coercion.

 

[sun rise]

Nothing seems to create wide gulfs of
diversity than commonality of belief, eh.

Or as the song goes: "There's no one left but thee and me and I'm not sure of thee".

 

[sun rise]

 Their hearts and ears are sealed, and they are blind. They will proclaim to believe in God and there’s a last day but only lie.

 They will claim to be good but the will spread corruption. When they meet those who acknowledge the truth they lie saying they do too

There's one word which I think sums up the meaning: hypocrite.

And those verses echo the Bible: (Mark 7:6)

He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

There's nothing like a family fight among the "Cousins of the Books".

 

[icehorse]

I know it doesn't need saying....but of course the
act of freeing them shouldn't involve coercion.

Indeed! I like Richard Dawkins' idea that we SHOULD teach religion in schools! But it should be objective, comparative religion including atheism.