Al-Kafirun


Al-Kāfirūn is the 109th chapter of the Quran. It has six ayat or verses as follows:

Text and meaning

Text and transliteration



Bismi l-lāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm




Qul yā’ay-yuha l-kāfirūn




Lā ’a‘budu mā ta‘budūn




Walā ’antum ‘ābidūna mā ’a‘bud




Walā ’ana ‘ābidu m-mā ‘abat-tum




Walā ’antum ‘abidūna mā ’a‘bud




Lakum dīnukum waliya dīn



Bismi l-lāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm




Qul yā’ay-yuha l-kāfi




Lā ’a‘budu mā ta‘budūn




Walā ’antum ‘ābidūna mā ’a‘bud




Walā ’ana ‘ābidu m-mā ‘abat-tum




Walā ’antum ‘abidūna mā ’a‘bud




Lakum dīnukum waliya dīn

Translations

Say : "O Al-Kafirun !


"I worship not that which you worship,


"Nor will you worship that which I worship.


"And I shall not worship that which you are worshipping.


"Nor will you worship that which I worship.


"To you be your religion, and to me my religion."





Say, "O disbelievers,


I do not worship what you worship.


Nor are you worshippers of what I worship.


Nor will I be a worshipper of what you worship.


Nor will you be worshippers of what I worship.


For you is your religion, and for me is my religion."





Say: O ye that reject Faith!


I worship not that which ye worship,


Nor will ye worship that which I worship.


And I will not worship that which ye have been wont to worship,


Nor will ye worship that which I worship.


To you be your Way, and to me mine.





Say: O disbelievers!


I worship not that which ye worship;


Nor worship ye that which I worship.


And I shall not worship that which ye worship.


Nor will ye worship that which I worship.


Unto you your religion, and unto me my religion.


Summary

  • 1-6 Muhammad declines to compromise with idolatry
Like many of the shorter surahs, the surah of the unbelievers takes the form of an invocation, telling the reader something they must ask for or say aloud. Here, the passage declares the separation between belief and unbelief both in the past and the present, ending with a firm rejection of the disbelief in Allah and Muhammad, "to you your religion, and to me mine".
Al-Kafirun is classified as a Meccan surah, meaning it's believed to have been revealed in Mecca. According to tradition, the surah was revealed when some chieftains of Mecca, including Walid ibn al-Mughira, proposed peace to Muhammad that one year the Muslims would worship pagan gods, and the next year Meccans would worship Allah.

Hadith

  • Abdullah ibn Umar has related that on many an occasions he heard Muhammad recite Surahs Qul Ya- ayyuhal- kafirun and Qul Huwu-Allahu ahad in the two before the obligatory prayer and in the two after Maghrib prayer.
  • Khabbab ibn al-Aratt says: "The Holy Prophet said to me: when you lie down in bed to sleep, recite, and this was the Holy Prophet's own practice also; when he lay down to sleep, he recited this."
  • According to Ibn Abbas, Muhammad said to the people: "Should I tell you the word which will protect you from polytheism? It is that you should recite when you go to bed."
  • Anas says that Muhammad said to Mu'adh bin Jabal; "Recite at the time you go to bed, for this is immunity from polytheism."
  • Both Fardah bin Naufal and Abdur Rahman bin Naufal have stated that their father, Naufal bin Muawiyah al-Ashjai, said to Muhammad: "Teach me something which I may recite at the time I go to bed." Muhammad replied: "Recite to the end and then sleep, for this is immunity from polytheism." A similar request was made by Jabalah bin Harithah, brother of Said bin Harithah, to Muhammad and to him also he gave the same reply.
  • Muhammad recited in the two before the morning prayer and the two after the sunset prayer on ten or twenty occasions: Say and say He is God, the One.