Surah 109 of 114

سورة الكافرون

Al-Kaafiroon

6 verses · tap any ayah to deep-dive

Ayat 1

قُلْ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْكَٰفِرُونَ.(1)

Say, O disbelievers,(1) [Al-Kaafiroon: 1]

Back to surah / Surah 109 · Al-Kaafiroon / Ayah 1

Section 01

Traditional understanding

Translation, tafseer from classical and modern scholars, transliteration, word-by-word grammar.

Translation Sahih International

Say, O disbelievers,(1)

Tafseer Abdullah Yusuf

Faith is a matter of personal conviction, and does not depend on worldly motives. Worship should depend on pure and sincere Faith, but often does not: for motives of worldly gain, ancestral custom, social conventions or imitative instincts, or a lethargic instinct to shrink from enquiring into the real significance of solemn acts and the motives behind them, reduce a great deal of the world's worship to sin, selfishness, or futility. Symbolic idols may themselves be merely instruments for safeguarding the privileges of a selfish priestly class, or the ambitions, greed, or lust of private individuals. Hence the insistence of Islam and its Teacher on the pure worship of the One True God. The Prophet firmly resisted all appeals to worldly motives, and stood firm to his Message of eternal Unity.

Tafseer Dr. Farooq Azam

Say: O unbelievers.

Tafseer Ibn Abbas

And from his narration on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas that he said regarding the interpretation of Allah's saying (Say: O disbelievers!): '(Say: O disbelievers!) a group of people who derided the Prophet (pbuh) among whom were al-'As Ibn Wa'il al-Sahmi and al-Walid Ibn al-Mughirah, said to the Prophet: “O Muhammad! Surrender to our deity so that we worship the God you worship”. And so Allah said addressing his Prophet: Say, O Muhammad, to these deriders, O disbelievers who mock Allah and the Qur'an.

Tafseer Jalalain

Say: ‘O disbelievers!

Tafseer Ma’arif Ul-Quran

Cause of Revelation: Ibn Ishaq reports from Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas & that Walid Ibn Mughirah, 'As Ibn mil, Aswad Ibn 'Abdul-Muttalib and Umayyah Ibn Khalaf approached the Messenger of Allah and proposed a compromise to him to the effect that he should worship their idols for a year, and they would worship Allah for a year. [Qurtubi]. According to Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas &, as recorded in Tabarani, the pagans of Makkah proposed to the Messenger of Allah: "We shall give you so much of wealth that you will become the richest man in Makkah; we shall give you whichever woman you like in marriage; we are willing to follow and obey you as our leader on condition that you do not speak ill of our gods. If you do not agree to this, then let us agree that you worship our gods for a year and we would worship your God for another year" [Mazharil. According to Abu Salih's report, Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas & narrates that the pagans of Makkah made the following proposal for compromise: "At least touch some of our gods, we will believe in you." Upon this, Jibra'il descended with Surah Al-Kafirun. This Surah is the Surah of disavowal from the actions of the pagans, and enjoins the Muslims to worship Allah alone to the exclusion of all forms of pagan worship. The Traditions cited above indicate that the pagans had made many proposals to the Holy Prophet not once or in a single session, but on different occasions and in different sessions in the hope that at one time or another a compromise might be reached. Therefore, there was a need to respond to all the proposals definitely and decisively, and thus frustrate their hope once and for all. All these incidents might have taken place at different times and different places. The purport of the Surah is to prevent or prohibit any such compromise.
Virtues and Characteristics of the Surah:
Sayyidah 'Aishah & reports that the Messenger of Allah has said that it is better to recite two surahs in the sunnah prayer of fajr, namely, the Surah Al Kafirun and Surah Al-Ikhlas. [Transmitted by Ibn Hisham as quoted by Mazharil. Ibn Kathir cites several traditions in which a large number of Companions report that they heard the Messenger of Allah often recite Surah Al Kafirun and Al-Ikhlas in the sunnah prayer of fajr and maghrib. Some of the Companions requested the Messenger of Allah to teach them some supplications to recite at the time of sleeping. He taught them to recite Surah Al Kafirun and said that this will give them immunity from idolatry. [Transmitted by Tirmidhi; and Abu Dawud].

Tafseer Mufti Taqi Usmani

Say, “O disbelievers,

Tafseer Shaikh Ashiq Ilahi

Before the coming of the Holy Prophet, the people of Makkah were idolaters and had even placed idols in the Ka'ba.They had great respect for the Holy Prophet and used to call him "As Sadiqul Amin" ("The Truthful and Trustworthy'). However, when he started stopping them from idolatry, they became his arch-enemies and began labelling him. Once, four of the polytheists approached the Holy Prophet, with a proposition. These four were Walid bin Mughiera, As bin Wa'il, Aswad bin Muttalib and Ubay bin Khalaf.They proposed a compromise to the Holy Prophet saying that they would worship his Allah if he worshipped their idols. In this way, they said, his and their religion would be one and the Holy Prophet would be able to benefit from them. According to another narration,some of the most evil members of the Quraysh told the Holy Prophet that he should worship their idols for a year and they would worship Allah for a year.The Holy Prophet responded by saying,"I seek Allah's refuge from worshipping anyone besides Him." They then said that if the Holy Prophet at least kissed one of their idols, they were prepared to believe in him and would worship Allah. It was then that Allah revealed Surah Kafirun. The Holy Prophet proceeded to the Haram and loudly recited the Surah to the Quraysh gathered there. The polytheists then lost all hope of compromising with the Holy Prophet and realised that the Holy Prophet would never worship their idols. ["Ruhul Ma'ani"]

Tafseer Tafheem Ul-Quran

A few points in this verse are particularly noteworthy:
(1)Although the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) has been commanded to tell this to the disbelievers plainly, the theme that follows makes it explicit that every believer should tell the disbelievers plainly what has been said in the following verses; so much so that the person who has just believed and repented of kufr is also bound to express similarly his disgust with and disapproval of the creed and rites of worship and gods of kufr. Thus, though the first addressee of the word qul (say) is the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) himself, the command is not restricted to him alone but it reaches every believer through him.
(2)The word "kafir' is no abuse, which might have been used for the addressees of this verse, but it implies the one who refuses to believe, or is an unbeliever. As against it the word "mu min" is used for the believer. Therefore, the Holy Prophet's saying, by Allah's command, "O disbelievers, ... ', in fact, means: "O you, who have refused to believe in my apostleship and in the teachings brought by me." Likewise. when a believer uses this word, it will imply those who do not believe in the Holy Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings),
(3) The word used is "O kafirs" and not "O mushriks"; therefore, the addressees are not only the mushriks but all those people who do not acknowledge Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) as Allah's Messenger and the teachings and guidance brought by him as the teaching and guidance given by Allah Himself, whether they be Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians or the disbelievers, polytheists and pagans of the entire world. There is no reason why this address be restricted to the pagans of Quraish or of Arabia only.
(4) To address the deniers with the word "O kafirs" is just like addressing certain people as "O enemies", or "O opponents". Such an address is not, in fact, directed to the person of the addressee but it is made on the basis of their characteristic of enmity and opposition, and lasts only until they are so characterized. If one of them gives up enmity and opposition, or turns a friend and supporter, he no longer remains the addressee of this word. Likewise, the address of "O kafirs" to the people also is in view of their characteristic of kufr and not their person. This address would be perpetual for him who continues to be a kafir till death, but the one who believes will no longer be its addressee.
(5) Many scholars from among the commentators have expressed the opinion that in this Surah the address of "O disbelievers" applied only to a few persons of Quraish, who were visiting the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) with proposals of compromise regarding religion and about whom Allah had informed His Messenger than they would not believe. They have formed this opinion for two reasons. First, that it is followed by La a`budu ma ta`budun: "I do not worship him or those whom you worship" . They say that this does not apply to the Jews and Christians, for they worship Allah. Second, that this is also followed by: wa la antum `abiduna ma a`bud "Nor are you worshipers of Him Whom I worship". Their reasoning is that this statement does not apply to the people who at the revelation of this Surah were disbelievers but later believed. Both these arguments are incorrect. As for these verses, their explanation that follows will show that they do not bear the meaning which has been understood from them. Here, to point out the error of the reasoning it would be enough to say that if the addressees of this Surah were only these people, why then does this Surah still continue to be recited when they are dead and gone from the world long long ago? And what was the need of making this Surah a part of the Qur'an permanently so that the Muslims should continue to read it for ever afterwards?

Transliteration

Ayah 1

Qul ya ayyuha alkafiroona

Word-by-word

Ayah 1

#	Arabic	Pronunciation	Meaning	Root
1	قُلْ	Qul	Say	ق و ل
2	يَاأَيُّهَا	Yaayyuha	O	—
3	الْكَافِرُونَ	alkafiroona	disbelievers!	ك ف ر

Section 02

Cross-references

Similar verses elsewhere in the Qur’an and authentic ahadith narrated about this ayah.

Section 03

Articles & resources

Long-form articles, scientific commentary, and historical context linked from the legacy archive.

Articles

Section 04

Audio & video lectures

12 videos · 6 audio lectures from contemporary scholars.

Tafseer of Surah Al-Kafiroon - Shaykh Ibn Al-Uthaymeen haykh Ibn Al-Uthaymeen Video · youtube

1/4- Tafseer Surah Al-Kafirun : Surah An-Nasr By Dr. Israr Ahmed Dr. Israr Ahmed Video · youtube

Tafseer of Surah 109 - Kafirun - Nouman Ali Khan Nouman Ali Khan Video · youtube

In Depth Analysis & Tafseer of Surah 109 al-Kafirun by Nouman Ali Khan Nouman Ali Khan Video · youtube

Worshipper or Slave of God? | Surah Al Kafiroun illustrated lesson | Subtitled Nouman Ali Khan Video · youtube

Why do Muslims abuse non-Muslims by calling them 'Kafirs'? Dr Zakir Naik (Urdu) Dr. Zakir Naik Video · youtube

Why do Muslims abuse non-Muslims by calling them 'Kafirs'? Dr Zakir Naik (Urdu) Dr. Zakir Naik Video · youtube Navaid Aziz – 26 Tafsir Juz E Amma Surah Al Kafirun Navaid Aziz Audio lecture Navaid Aziz – 26 Tafsir Juz E Amma Surah Al Kafirun Navaid Aziz Audio lecture Nouman Ali Khan – 109 Kafirun A Nouman Ali Khan Audio lecture Nouman Ali Khan – 109 Kafirun A Nouman Ali Khan Audio lecture Nouman Ali Khan – 109 Kafirun B Nouman Ali Khan Audio lecture Nouman Ali Khan – 109 Kafirun B Nouman Ali Khan Audio lecture

References

Tafseer — Abdullah Yusuf
Tafseer — Dr. Farooq Azam
Tafseer — Ibn Abbas
Tafseer — Jalalain
Tafseer — Ma’arif Ul-Quran
Tafseer — Mufti Taqi Usmani
Tafseer — Shaikh Ashiq Ilahi
Tafseer — Tafheem Ul-Quran
Translation — Sahih International
Hadith collections — 6 narrations from Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and others (see Cross-references)
Linked articles — 6 long-form pieces

Ayat 2, 3

لَآ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ.(2)

وَلَآ أَنتُمْ عَٰبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ.(3)

I do not worship what you worship.(2) [Al-Kaafiroon: 2, 3]

Back to surah / Surah 109 · Al-Kaafiroon / Ayah 2, 3

Section 01

Traditional understanding

Translation, tafseer from classical and modern scholars, transliteration, word-by-word grammar.

Translation Sahih International

I do not worship what you worship.(2)

Tafseer Abdullah Yusuf

Verses 2-3 describe the conditions as they were at the time when this Surah was revealed, and may be freely paraphrased: T am a worshipper of the One True God, the Lord of all, of you as well as of myself; but you on account of your vested interests have not the will to give up your false worship, of idols and self. Verses 4-5 describe the psychological reasons; ‘I, being a prophet of Allah do not and cannot possibly desire to follow your false ancestral ways; and you, as custodians of the false worship, have not the will to give up your ways of worship, which are wrong'. The "will" in the translation represents less the future tense than the will, the desire, the psychological possibility; it tries to reproduce the Arabic noun-agent.

Tafseer Dr. Farooq Azam

I do not worship that which you worship,

Tafseer Ibn Abbas

(Nor will you worship whom I worship.) and He is Allah Alone, Who has no partner. So the word Ma (what) here means Man (who). Then Allah says,

Tafseer Jalalain

and you do not worship, at present, what I worship, and that is God, exalted be He, alone,

Tafseer Ma’arif Ul-Quran

In this Surah, the statements are repeated. The repetition has been explained in different ways by different authorities. Bukh5g explains it thus: When two identical, or near identical, expressions occur side by side, many commentators interpret one of them as happening in the present time and the other as going to happen in the future time. Thus there is no meaningless repetition. The second and the third verses refer to the present time, meaning 'I do not worship at the present time what you are worshipping, nor do you worship at the present time what I am worshipping'. That is, 'I believe in Oneness of Allah and worship Him only, whereas you believe in multiple gods and goddesses and worship them'. Verses [4 and 5] refer to the future time, meaning 'neither is there a possibility that I will ever worship what you are going to worship in the future, nor will you worship what I will persist in worshipping.' In other words, 'I will persist in my belief of Divine Oneness and worship of Him and you will persist in belief of multiple gods and goddesses and worship of them'. Maulana Ashraf 'Ali Thanawi has preferred this interpretation in Bayanul-Qur'an, (and the translation given above is based on it.) However, he disagrees with Bukhari’s interpretation of the word din, which Bukhari interprets as 'the religion of disbelief and the religion of Islam' respectively, in verse [6] "For you is your faith, and for me, my faith" meaning the proposed compromise or peace agreement is not acceptable. I shall continue to follow my faith and you may go on following your faith, and suffer its disastrous consequences. In Bayanul-Qur'an, however, the word din has been interpreted as jazz or 'retribution or requital'. Ibn Kathir prefers another interpretation. He expounds that the particle ma is used in two ways: [I] as mawsulah or relative pronoun in the sense of al-ladhi [that which]; and [2] as masdariyah transforming into infinitive the verb it governs. In this Surah, the first ma is a relative pronoun in the sense of al-ladhi, and the second ma is an infinitival particle. Thus in verses [2 & 3] the particle is a relative pronoun and may be paraphrased thus: 'I do not worship the deities that you worship nor do you worship the One Whom I worship' and in verses [4 & 5] the particle is an infinitival particle and may be paraphrased thus: 'I will never adopt your mode or manner of worship, nor will you adopt the manner in which I worship. In this way, verses [2 & 3] show that the objects of worship are different from each other, and verses [4&5] show the differences in the modes of worship. In sum, 'neither our objects of worship, nor our manner of worship, are commonly shared by us; they are different.' In this way, it is seen that there is no real repetition, because while the formal expressions might be identical or near identical, but deeper semantic meanings are different . The mode of worship was revealed to the Prophet by Allah and passed on to the Muslims through him. The pagan manner of worship is self-fabricated. Ibn Kathir prefers this interpretation, and says that this is the exact meaning that emanates from the credo of Islam: ''There is no object worthy of worship except Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah". Only the mode and manner of worship sanctioned by Allah is credible, and should be followed by Muslims.

Tafseer Mufti Taqi Usmani

Once a group of pagans from the tribe of Quraish suggested to the Holy Prophet that they are prepared to worship his God along with the co-gods they already worshipped. Similarly, he should worship their co-gods along with Allah, and thus a common ground would be created between them. The present Surah was revealed to refute such suggestions, and it was declared that no compromise is possible on the basis of accepting a false notion. It is also clarified that their offer to worship Allah is no more than a deceitful move, because Allah’s worship actually means that He should be worshipped- to the exclusion of all others. This is the sense conveyed by verse 3: “nor do you worship the One whom I worship.” Although the pagans worshipped Allah, but as they joined the false deities in their worship, it was not recognized as ‘Allah’s worship’.

Tafseer Shaikh Ashiq Ilahi

Once, four of the polytheists approached the Holy Prophet with a proposition. These four were Walid bin Mughiera, As bin Wa'il, Aswad bin Muttalib and Ubay bin Khalaf.They proposed a compromise to the Holy Prophet saying that they would worship his Allah if he worshipped their idols. In this way, they said, his and their religion would be one and the Holy Prophet would be able to benefit from them. According to another narration,some of the most evil members of the Quraysh told the Holy Prophet that he should worship their idols for a year and they would worship Allah for a year.The Holy Prophet responded by saying,"I seek Allah's refuge from worshipping anyone besides Him." They then said that if the Holy Prophet pi -j at least kissed one of their idols, they were prepared to believe in him and would worship Allah. It was then that Allah revealed Surah Kafirun. The Holy Prophet proceeded to the Haram and loudly recited the Surah to the Quraysh gathered there. The polytheists then lost all hope of compromising with the Holy Prophet and realised that the Holy Prophet would never worship their idols. ["Ruhul Ma'ani"] Because the second and third verses have the same meaning as the fourth and fifth verses, Scholars have mentioned that the fourth and fifth verses serve as emphasis. However, others mention that because the grammatical structure of the second and third verses (being 'fi'liyya" sentences) indicate that the action is confined to the present tense, the (second and third) verses mean that at present, I do not worship what you worship and you do not worship what I worship. On the other hand, the grammatical structure of the fourth and fifth verses (being "ismiyya" sentences) have no time constraints. The actions may therefore be assumed to refer to the future. As a result, the (fourth and fifth) verses mean that (in future) I will not worship what you worship and you will not worship what I worship. This interpretation prompts the question that if it is said that the disbelievers will not worship Allah, what about the many thousands of them who accepted Islam after the Surah was revealed? How can they be Muslims when the Qur'an tells them that they will never worship Allah? Scholars reply to this question by saying that the verse tells the disbelievers that they will never worship what the Muslims worship if they remain disbelievers. However, if they accept Islam, they will obviously be worshipping Allah.

Tafseer Tafheem Ul-Quran

This includes all those deities whom the disbelievers and the polytheists have been, and are still, worshiping everywhere in the world, whether they are the angels, the jinn, prophets, saints, spirits of the living or dead men, or the sun, the moon, stars, animals, trees, rivers, idols and imaginary gods and goddesses. One may say that the pagans of Arabia acknowledged Allah also as a Deity and the other pagans of the world also have never disacknowledged Allah as a Deity till today. As for the followers of the earlier scriptures, they also acknowledge Allah alone as the real Deity. How then can it be correct to exonerate oneself froth the worship of all the deities of all those people, without' exception, when Allah too is included among them?
The answer is that if Allah is worshiped along with others regarding Him as a Deity among other deities, the believer in Tauhid will inevitably express his immunity from this worship, for in his sight Allah is oat a Deity out of a collection of deities, but He alone is the real Deity, and the worship of the collection of deities is no worship of Allah, although worship of Allah also is included in it. The Qur'an has clearly stated that Allah's worship is only that which does not have any tinge of the worship of another and in which man makes his worship exclusively Allah's. "And the only Command they were given, was to worship Allah, making their religion sincerely His, turning all their attention towards Him." (Al-Bayyinah: 5).
This subject has been explained at many places in the Qur'an forcefully; for example, see An-Nisa': 145-146, AI-A`raf :29, Az Zumar: 2, 3, 11, 14, 15, A1-Mu'min: 14, 64-66. It has been further explained in a Hadith Qudsi (i.e. Divine Word revealed through the mouth of the Prophet) in which the messenger of Allah says: "Allah says: I am Self-Sufficient of the association of every associate most of all. Whoever performed an act in which he associated another also with Me, 1 am free of it, and the entire act is for him who was associated." (Muslim, Musnad Ahmad, Ibn Majah). Thus, acknowledging Allah as one of the two, three or many gods and serving and worshiping others along with Him is, in fact, the real kufr, declaration of immunity from which is the object of this Surah.

Transliteration

Ayah 2

La aAAbudu ma taAAbudoona

Ayah 3

Wala antum AAabidoona ma aAAbudu

Word-by-word

Ayah 2

#	Arabic	Pronunciation	Meaning	Root
1	لَآ	La	Not	—
2	أَعْبُدُ	aAAbudu	I worship	ع ب د
3	مَا	ma	what	—
4	تَعْبُدُونَ	taAAbudoona	you worship	ع ب د

Ayah 3

#	Arabic	Pronunciation	Meaning	Root
1	وَلَآ	Wala	And not	—
2	أَنتُمْ	antum	you	—
3	عَابِدُونَ	AAabidoona	(are) worshippers	ع ب د
4	مَآ	ma	(of) what	—
5	أَعْبُدُ	aAAbudu	I worship	ع ب د

Section 02

Cross-references

Similar verses elsewhere in the Qur’an and authentic ahadith narrated about this ayah.

Section 03

Articles & resources

Long-form articles, scientific commentary, and historical context linked from the legacy archive.

Articles

Misconceptions

Section 04

Audio & video lectures

16 videos · 8 audio lectures from contemporary scholars.

DON'T COMPROMISE YOUR DEEN - Ahmad Musa Jibril Ahmad Musa Jibril Video · youtube

Those Who Stand Upright | Sh. Muhammad Tim Humble Muhammed Tim Humble Video · youtube

THOSE WHO SELL THE HEREAFTER - Tim Humble Animated Muhammad Tim Humble Video · youtube

Seerah of Prophet Muhammed 13 - Opposition from the Quraysh - Yasir Qadhi | October 2011 Yasir Qadhi Video · youtube

Compromising Your Deen for Non Muslim ? ᴴᴰ ┇Mufti Menk┇ Dawah Team Ismail Ibn Musa Menk Video · youtube

There Is No Compromise by Mufti Ismail Menk with English Subtitle | Mufti Menk Lectures Ismail Ibn Musa Menk Video · youtube

Why Did the Quraysh Oppose Islam? Nouman Ali Khan Video · youtube

Stubborn Quraish ~ Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan Nouman Ali Khan Video · youtube

Stubborn Quraish ~ Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan Nouman Ali Khan Video · youtube Yasir Qadhi – Seerah – 13 Opposition from The Quraysh Yasir Qadhi Audio lecture Yasir Qadhi – Seerah – 13 Opposition from The Quraysh Yasir Qadhi Audio lecture Navaid Aziz – 26 Tafsir Juz E Amma Surah Al Kafirun Navaid Aziz Audio lecture Navaid Aziz – 26 Tafsir Juz E Amma Surah Al Kafirun Navaid Aziz Audio lecture Nouman Ali Khan – 109 Kafirun A Nouman Ali Khan Audio lecture Nouman Ali Khan – 109 Kafirun A Nouman Ali Khan Audio lecture Nouman Ali Khan – 109 Kafirun B Nouman Ali Khan Audio lecture Nouman Ali Khan – 109 Kafirun B Nouman Ali Khan Audio lecture

References

Tafseer — Abdullah Yusuf
Tafseer — Dr. Farooq Azam
Tafseer — Ibn Abbas
Tafseer — Jalalain
Tafseer — Ma’arif Ul-Quran
Tafseer — Mufti Taqi Usmani
Tafseer — Shaikh Ashiq Ilahi
Tafseer — Tafheem Ul-Quran
Translation — Sahih International
Hadith collections — 20 narrations from Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and others (see Cross-references)
Linked articles — 6 long-form pieces

Ayat 4, 5

وَلَآ أَنَا۠ عَابِدٌۭ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ.(4)

وَلَآ أَنتُمْ عَٰبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ.(5)

Nor are you worshippers of what I worship.(3) [Al-Kaafiroon: 4, 5]

Back to surah / Surah 109 · Al-Kaafiroon / Ayah 4, 5

Section 01

Traditional understanding

Translation, tafseer from classical and modern scholars, transliteration, word-by-word grammar.

Translation Sahih International

Nor are you worshippers of what I worship.(3)

Tafseer Abdullah Yusuf

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

Tafseer Dr. Farooq Azam

I shall never worship that which you worship

Tafseer Ibn Abbas

(And I shall not worship that which ye worship) beside Allah.

Tafseer Jalalain

nor will I worship, in the future, what you have worshipped,

Tafseer Ma’arif Ul-Quran

In this Surah, the statements are repeated. The repetition has been explained in different ways by different authorities. Bukhari explains it thus: When two identical, or near identical, expressions occur side by side, many commentators interpret one of them as happening in the present time and the other as going to happen in the future time. Thus there is no meaningless repetition. The second and the third verses refer to the present time, meaning 'I do not worship at the present time what you are worshipping, nor do you worship at the present time what I am worshipping'. That is, 'I believe in Oneness of Allah and worship Him only, whereas you believe in multiple gods and goddesses and worship them'. Verses [4 and 5] refer to the future time, meaning 'neither is there a possibility that I will ever worship what you are going to worship in the future, nor will you worship what I will persist in worshipping.' In other words, 'I will persist in my belief of Divine Oneness and worship of Him and you will persist in belief of multiple gods and goddesses and worship of them'. Maulana Ashraf 'Ali Thanawi has preferred this interpretation in Bayanul-Qur'an, (and the translation given above is based on it.) However, he disagrees with Bukhari’s interpretation of the word din, which Bukhari interprets as 'the religion of disbelief and the religion of Islam' respectively, in verse [6] "For you is your faith, and for me, my faith" meaning the proposed compromise or peace agreement is not acceptable. I shall continue to follow my faith and you may go on following your faith, and suffer its disastrous consequences. In Bayanul-Qur'an, however, the word din has been interpreted as jazz or 'retribution or requital'. Ibn Kathir prefers another interpretation. He expounds that the particle ma is used in two ways: [I] as mawsulah or relative pronoun in the sense of al-ladhi [that which]; and [2] as masdariyah transforming into infinitive the verb it governs. In this Surah, the first ma is a relative pronoun in the sense of al-ladhi, and the second ma is an infinitival particle. Thus in verses [2 & 3] the particle is a relative pronoun and may be paraphrased thus: 'I do not worship the deities that you worship nor do you worship the One Whom I worship' and in verses [4 & 5] the particle is an infinitival particle and may be paraphrased thus: 'I will never adopt your mode or manner of worship, nor will you adopt the manner in which I worship. In this way, verses [2 & 3] show that the objects of worship are different from each other, and verses [4&5] show the differences in the modes of worship. In sum, 'neither our objects of worship, nor our manner of worship, are commonly shared by us; they are different.' In this way, it is seen that there is no real repetition, because while the formal expressions might be identical or near identical, but deeper semantic meanings are different . The mode of worship was revealed to the Prophet by Allah and passed on to the Muslims through him. The pagan manner of worship is self-fabricated. Ibn Kathir prefers this interpretation, and says that this is the exact meaning that emanates from the credo of Islam: ''There is no object worthy of worship except Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah". Only the mode and manner of worship sanctioned by Allah is credible, and should be followed by Muslims.

Tafseer Mufti Taqi Usmani

Tafseer Shaikh Ashiq Ilahi

Tafseer Tafheem Ul-Quran

(Combined tafsir 4-5) A section of the commentators is of the view that both these sentences are a repetition of the theme of the first two sentences and the repetition is meant to strengthen the statement in the first two sentences. But many commentators do not regard it as a repetition. They say that a new theme has been expressed in these which is different from the theme of the first two sentences. In our opinion they arc correct in so far as there is no repetition in these sentences, for in these only "nor are you worshipers of Him Whom I worship" Gas been repeated, and this repetition also is not in the sense in which this sentence was used first. But after negating the repetition the meanings that this section of the commentators has given of these two sentences are very different from each other. There is no occasion here to take up and discuss each of the meanings given by the commentators. Avoiding details we shall only discuss the meaning which is correct in our opinion.
In the first sentence, it has been said: "Nor am I a worshiper of those whom you have worshiped." Its theme is absolutely different from the theme of verse 2, in which it was said: "I do not worship those whom you warship," These two things widely differ in two aspects. First, that although there is denial, and a forceful denial, in saying that "I do not, or shall not, do such and such a thing", yet there is much greater force in saying that "1 am not a doer of such and such a thing", for it means: "It is such an evil thing that nothing to say of committing it; it is not possible that I would even think of it, or have intention of doing it." Second, that the sentence "whom you worship" applies to only those gods whom the disbelievers are worshiping now. On the contrary, the sentence "whom you have worshiped" applies to all those gods whom the disbelievers and their forefathers have been worshiping in the past. Now, it is a well known fact that the gods of the polytheists and disbelievers have always been changing and their number increasing and decreasing. In different ages different groups of them have been worshiping different gods and the gods of all the disbelievers have never always been the same everywhere. Therefore, the verse means: "I exonerate myself not only from your gods of today but also from the gods of your forefathers, and I am not a person who would even think of worshiping such gods."
As for the second sentence, although its words in verse 5 are the same as in verse 3, yet its meaning at the two places is different. In verse 3, it follows this sentence: "I do not worship those whom you worship." Therefore, it means: "Nor are you worshipers of the God having the attributes of the One God Whom I worship." And in verse 5, it follows this sentence: "Nor am I a worshiper of those whom you have worshiped." Therefore, it means: "Nor does it seem you would become worshipers of the One God Whom I worship." Or, in other words, "It is not possible that I should become a worshiper of each of those gods whom you and your forefathers have worshiped, and on account of your aversion to adopting worship of One God, instead of many gads, it cannot be expected that you would desist from this wrong worship and will become worshiper of Him Whom I worship."

Transliteration

Ayah 4

Wala ana AAabidun ma AAabadtum

Ayah 5

Wala antum AAabidoona ma aAAbudu

Word-by-word

Ayah 4

#	Arabic	Pronunciation	Meaning	Root
1	وَلَآ	Wala	And not	—
2	أَنَا	ana	I am	—
3	عَابِدٌ	AAabidun	a worshipper	ع ب د
4	مَّا	ma	(of) what	—
5	عَبَدتُّمْ	AAabadtum	you worship	ع ب د

Ayah 5

#	Arabic	Pronunciation	Meaning	Root
1	وَلَآ	Wala	And not	—
2	أَنتُمْ	antum	you	—
3	عَابِدُونَ	AAabidoona	(are) worshippers	ع ب د
4	مَآ	ma	(of) what	—
5	أَعْبُدُ	aAAbudu	I worship	ع ب د

References

Tafseer — Abdullah Yusuf
Tafseer — Dr. Farooq Azam
Tafseer — Ibn Abbas
Tafseer — Jalalain
Tafseer — Ma’arif Ul-Quran
Tafseer — Mufti Taqi Usmani
Tafseer — Shaikh Ashiq Ilahi
Tafseer — Tafheem Ul-Quran
Translation — Sahih International

Ayat 6

لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِىَ دِينِ.(6)

Nor will I be a worshipper of what you worship.(4) [Al-Kaafiroon: 6]

Back to surah / Surah 109 · Al-Kaafiroon / Ayah 6

Section 01

Traditional understanding

Translation, tafseer from classical and modern scholars, transliteration, word-by-word grammar.

Translation Sahih International

Nor will I be a worshipper of what you worship.(4)

Tafseer Abdullah Yusuf

‘I’, having been given the Truth, cannot come to your false ways; you, having your vested interests, will not give them up. For your ways the responsibility is yours: I have shown you the Truth. For my ways the responsibility is mine; you have no right to ask me to abandon the Truth. Your persecutions will be in vain; the Truth must prevail in the end'. This was the attitude of Faith then: but it is true for all time. Hold fast to Truth, "in scorn of consequence".

Tafseer Dr. Farooq Azam

You have your religion, and I have mine.

Tafseer Ibn Abbas

(Unto you your religion) of disbelief and ascribing partners to Allah, (and unto me my religion) Islam and faith in Allah. The verses of fighting then abrogated this and the Prophet (pbuh) did fight them' And of the surah in which Succour is mentioned which is all Meccan and consists of 3 verses, 23 words and 77 letters

Tafseer Jalalain

: You have your religion, idolatry, and I have a religion’, Islam: this was [revealed] before he was commanded to wage war [against the idolaters] (all seven Qur’ānic readers omit the yā’ of the genitive possessive construction [in wa-liya dīni] whether with a pause or without; Ya‘qūb, however, retains it in both cases). This was revealed at Minā during the Farewell Pilgrimage, hence it is considered Medinese: it was the last sūra to be revealed; it consists of 3 verses.

Tafseer Ma’arif Ul-Quran

Their basic argument pivots around the verse (For you is your faith, and for me, my faith). They contend that this is apparently in conflict with the ordinances of jihad, but this is not true, because the verse does not guarantee, nor does it even permit, the infidels to maintain their infidelity. It simply means what is stated in [28:55] (For us, our deeds, and for you, your deeds), that is, as you sow, so shall you reap. In fact, the correct position held by the majority of the scholars is that this Siirah is not abrogated. The proposals of compromise that were offered by the pagans at the time of the revelation of the present Siirah are still prohibited, and the peace treaties allowed by 8:61 or entered into by the Holy Prophet are still permissible. It is necessary to understand the circumstances and conditions of the treaty and take a proper decision accordingly. In one of his Traditions, the Holy Prophet $& laid down the general principle of peace treaty with the infidels and pagans, thus: (Every compromise is permitted except the one which turns prohibited things into lawful and lawful things into forbidden.) If the various peace proposals made by the pagans are carefully analyzed, they were all certainly and definitely purported to mix elements of pagan beliefs and practices with Islamic beliefs and practices, thus creating confusion; and in some cases they required Muslims to renounce Islam [albeit temporarily] and commit themselves to paganism. Surah Al-Kafirun denounces such treaties, and declares dissociation from paganism. Analyzing the peace pact with the Jews, on the other hand, it is seen clearly that it did not in anyway require Muslims to denounce or renounce Islam, nor did it require them to mix elements of un-Islamic beliefs with the true faith. Islam is the religion that stands for tolerance, kindness, politeness and peace more than any other religion. However, all these ethical principles can be applied in the matters of human rights. There is no room for compromise in the matter of Divine Law or the basic tenets of Divine religion. Allah knows best!

Tafseer Mufti Taqi Usmani

This is not a license given to them to continue with their false faith. Instead, it is an expression to reject their suggestion, which means that such a compromise being unacceptable, you are responsible for what you do, while I am responsible for what I do.

Tafseer Shaikh Ashiq Ilahi

Allah Ta'ala concludes the Surah by stating that the disbelievers should be told, "For you is your religion and for me is mine " Commentators state that this verse summarises the message of the Surah, serving as emphasis. The Islam of the Muslims is based on Oneness of Allah while the religion of the disbelievers is based on the antithesis of Oneness of Allah i.e. on disbelief and polytheism. The two are therefore irreconcilable. In addition to this, each party is staunch in their respective religions. As a result, neither will worship the deity of the other. Other commentators have interpreted the verse as: "O disbelievers! The message of the truth has reached you and the path to salvation has been outlined. If you do not want to accept, then do not try to veer me off the path." A third interpretation is: "O disbelievers! Every person will see the fruit of his beliefs and deeds. While you shall suffer the consequences of your disbelief we (Muslims) shall be amply rewarded for our belief in Oneness of Allah and our adherence to the commands of Allah. You people wish to make us suffer the same punishment you are destined to suffer by inviting us to accept your religion. I will not barter my salvation for punishment." Some commentators have mentioned that Surah Kafirun has been abrogated because it outlaws entering into a treaty with the disbelievers, an act which the Holy Prophet himself did when he entered into a treaty with the Jews of Madinah and the polytheists of Makkah afterwards. However, this interpretation is unnecessary because Surah Kafirun outlaws only those treaties that require Muslims to denounce Islam or that require them to violate the laws of the Shari'ah. The Surah does not refer to treaties that do not entail these evils. Treaties that conform with the injunctions of the Shari'ah are permissible. NOTE: Certain sects claim to be Muslims despite holding beliefs that remove them from the fold of Islam. When they are advised to return to the correct teachings of the Qur'an and the Ahadith, they excuse themselves by saying, "For you is your religion and for me is mine." Such people misconstrue this verse to mean that every person is at liberty to adopt the beliefs and practices he wishes. The Surah clearly addresses the disbelievers, making it clear that their religion is irreconcilable with Islam. No beliefs can be entertained which contradict the teachings of the Qur'an and the clear Ahadith of the Holy Prophet because these will remove a person from the fold of Islam. The leaders of these sects have beguiled their followers into adopting this attitude of "Do as you please and we will do as we please."

Tafseer Tafheem Ul-Quran

That is, "My religion is entirely distinct and separate from your religion. I am not a worshiper of your gods and you are not worshipers of my God. I cannot worship your gods and you are not prepared to worship my God, Therefore, you and I can never follow and walk one and the same path together." This is not a message of tolerance to the disbelievers, but a declaration of immunity, disgust with and dissociation from them as long as they are disbelievers. Its object is to disappoint them absolutely and finally that in the matter of religion the party of Allah's Messenger and his followers would ever come to terms with them. This same declaration of immunity and expression of disgust has been made in the Makki Surahs revealed after this Surah successively.
Thus, in Surah Yunus, it was said: "If these people deny you, say to them: 1 am responsible for my deeds and you are responsible for yours: you are not accountable for what I do, and I am not accountable for what you do." (v. 41). Then further on in the same Surah it was said: "O Prophet, say: O mankind, if you are still in doubt concerning my Faith, know that I do not worship those whom you worship beside Allah, but I worship that Allah alone, Who has the power to cause your death." (v. 104).
In Surah Ash-Shu'ara it was said: "If they disobey you, tell them: I am not responsible for what you do." (v. 216).
In Surah Saba it was said: "Say to them: you will not be questioned for the errors we have committed, nor shall we be answerable for what you are doing. Say, our Lord will gather us together, then He will judge between us rightly." (w. 25-26).
In Surah az-Zumar: "Tell them plainly: O my people, do whatever you will, so shall I. Soon you shall come to know as to whom comes the disgraceful torment and who gets the enduring punishment." (w. 39-40).
Then the same lesson was taught in Madinah to all the Muslims: "There is indeed an excellent example for you in Abraham and his companions when they said to their people plainly: `We have nothing to do with you and your gods, whom you worship beside God: we have renounced you and there has arisen between us and you enmity and hatred for ever, until you believe in Allah, the One." (Al-Mumtahinah: 4).
These continuous explanations of the Qur'an do not leave any room whatever for the doubt that the verse Lakum dims kum wa liya din dces not mean: "You may go on following your religion and allow me to follow mine", but it is the kind of declaration made in Surah Az-Zumar: 14: "O Prophet, say to them: I shall serve Allah alone, making my religion sincerely His. As for you, you may serve whomever you please beside Him." (v. 14).
From this verse lmam Abu Hanifah and Imam Shafe`i have deduced that kufr (unbelief ), as a whole, is one community, however discordant and different from each other be the religions of the unbelievers; therefore, a Jew can inherit a Christian, and a Christian a Jew, and likewise the unbeliever of one religion can inherit the un-believer of another religion, if there exists between them a relationship by descent or marriage, or some other connection, which necessitates the passage of inheritance of one to another. On the contrary, Imam Malik, Imam Auza`i and Imam Ahmad hold the view that the followers of one religion cannot inherit the followers of another religion. They deduce this from the Hadith which has been related on the authority of Hadrat 'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin al-As, saying that Allah's Messenger (upon whom be peace) said: "The people of two different communities cannot inherit each other." (Musnad Ahmad, Abu Da'ud, Ibn Majah, Daraqutni).
A Hadith with almost the same content has been related by Tirmidhi from Hadrat Jabir, by Ibn Hibban from Hadrat `Ahdullah bin `Umar, and by Bazzar from Hadrat Abu Hurairah. Dealing with this legal problem comprehensively, the well known Hanafi Imam; Shamsul-A'immah Sarakhsi, writes: "The unbelievers can inherit each other mutually for all those reasons for which the Muslims inherit each other mutually, and they can also inherit each other in certain other cases in which the Muslims do not inherit each other ... The fact is that Allah recognizes only two ways of life, the religion of Truth and the religion of falsehood; that is why He has declared: Lakum dine-kum wa liya din. And He has classified the people also into two groups, one group will go to Paradise and this consists of the believers, and the second group will go to Hell and this consists of the disbelievers collectively. And He has declared the two groups only as the potential opponents of each other: "These are the two parties who have disputed about their Lord." (AI-Hajj: 19).
That is, one group comprises all the disbelievers collectively and they are opposed to the believers ... We do not admit that they are separate and distinct communities according to their beliefs, but as against the Muslims they all form one community. For the Muslims affirm faith in the prophethood of Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) and in the Qur'an and they refuse to affirm faith. For this very reason they have been declared to be unbelievers and are one community as opposed to the Muslims ... The Hadith, La yata-warith ahl millatain, points to the same thing as explained above. For the Holy Prophet has explained the word millatain (two communities) by his saying: La yarithul Muslim al-kafir wa lal-kafir al-Maslim: "The Muslim cannot inherit the disbeliever, nor the disbeliever can inherit the Muslim." (Al Mabsut vol. 30, pp. 30-32). The Hadith cited here by Imam Sarakhsi has been related by Bukhari, Muslim, Nasa'i, Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Abu Da'ud on the authority of Hadrat Usamah bin Zaid.

Transliteration

Ayah 6

Lakum deenukum waliya deeni

Word-by-word

Ayah 6

#	Arabic	Pronunciation	Meaning	Root
1	لَكُمْ	Lakum	For you	—
2	دِينُكُمْ	deenukum	(is) your religion	د ي ن
3	وَلِىَ	waliya	and for me	—
4	دِينِ	deeni	(is) my religion	د ي ن

Section 02

Cross-references

Similar verses elsewhere in the Qur’an and authentic ahadith narrated about this ayah.

Section 03

Articles & resources

Long-form articles, scientific commentary, and historical context linked from the legacy archive.

Articles

Misconceptions

Historical Data

Section 04

Audio & video lectures

16 videos · 8 audio lectures from contemporary scholars.

DON'T COMPROMISE YOUR DEEN - Ahmad Musa Jibril Ahmad Musa Jibril Video · youtube

Those Who Stand Upright | Sh. Muhammad Tim Humble Muhammed Tim Humble Video · youtube

THOSE WHO SELL THE HEREAFTER - Tim Humble Animated Muhammad Tim Humble Video · youtube

Seerah of Prophet Muhammed 13 - Opposition from the Quraysh - Yasir Qadhi | October 2011 Yasir Qadhi Video · youtube

Compromising Your Deen for Non Muslim ? ᴴᴰ ┇Mufti Menk┇ Dawah Team Ismail Ibn Musa Menk Video · youtube

There Is No Compromise by Mufti Ismail Menk with English Subtitle | Mufti Menk Lectures Ismail Ibn Musa Menk Video · youtube

Why Did the Quraysh Oppose Islam? Nouman Ali Khan Video · youtube

Stubborn Quraish ~ Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan Nouman Ali Khan Video · youtube

References

Tafseer — Abdullah Yusuf
Tafseer — Dr. Farooq Azam
Tafseer — Ibn Abbas
Tafseer — Jalalain
Tafseer — Ma’arif Ul-Quran
Tafseer — Mufti Taqi Usmani
Tafseer — Shaikh Ashiq Ilahi
Tafseer — Tafheem Ul-Quran
Translation — Sahih International
Hadith collections — 20 narrations from Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and others (see Cross-references)
Linked articles — 14 long-form pieces

سورة الكافرون

Related Hadeeths 6 narrations

Articles

References

Related Hadeeths 20 narrations

Articles

Misconceptions

References

References

Related Hadeeths 20 narrations

Articles

Misconceptions

Historical Data

References