Kafir & Kufr

The word Kafir is commonly understood to mean someone who is not a Muslim. But verse 136 of Sura al-Nisa shows us the concept of Kufr is not as narrow as that.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ آمِنُواْ بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِيَ أَنزَلَ مِن قَبْلُ وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلالاً بَعِيدًا

"O ye who believe! Believe in Allah and His messenger and the Scripture which He hath revealed unto His messenger, and the Scripture which He revealed aforetime. Whoso disbelieveth in Allah and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers and the Last Day, he verily hath wandered far astray."

This shows that Kufr is about not following God's guidance in a much wider sense. It also shows us that the opposite of Kafir is not Muslim but Mu'min (Believer). Finally this verse also shows us that Kufr is likened to being astray and everyone is prone to going astray.

Kufr is not about "Them verses Us", but about the dangers we can all fall into at one point or more in our lives. Kufr and Eman are states of being that fluctuate within a single person.

No human being is a saint and no human being is sinless. We are not superior to others and we should not call others Kafir or call lifestyles different from ours, Kufr lifestyles because they allude to traits that can be found amongst all individuals, races, nations and ways of life.

I remember the famous saying by Muhammad Abdu the Egyptian reformer when he visited Europe in the 19th century saying 'In Europe I found Islam but no Muslims while back home there are Muslims but no Islam.'

In other words it's not about Muslim & Non-Muslim but about characteristics that can be found in all nations, all people and all societies regardless of the outward label.  We should never think ourselves better or superior to anyone else except in our behaviour and character and God is the judge of that. All of us contain some characteristics of both a Mu'min and a Kafir.

This is very different from the simplistic and popular concept of Kafir that is often used as a swear word for; "them," meaning something dirty, unclean and different from; "us" supposedly the pure and righteous ones.

This sort of simplistic thinking divides humanity into "Us and Them." It implies that those who are different from us are somehow less than fully human and therefore we can treat them in a way wouldn't normally treat other human beings. It is a form or racism.

Disbelief itself is certainly not a crime, since belief is not something we have complete control over and no-one can be held responsible for something he has no control over. No-one can simply choose what to believe. If I asked you right now to believe that grass is made of chocolate and dolphins live in trees, do you think you could? And I mean really believe it - not just pretend or act as if you do - but believe it sincerely with your heart and mind.

We can of course try to believe and nurture beliefs. We can study those beliefs, keep the company of those who believe in them and follow their practices. But whether real belief will result from this is quite another thing.

The fact is our beliefs are largely shaped by our upbringing, our culture, our education and our personal experiences and perspectives. Even our reason and logic is filtered through our emotions and character. So when it comes to religion and metaphysical beliefs it is largely an involuntary act and not something any Just and Merciful God would punish anyone for - let alone torture them in the most gruesome ways imaginable for all eternity.

In other words, belief or disbelief has nothing to do with being an evil or bad person. At the very worst one could argue they are guilty of flawed or faulty reasoning, but no-one in their right mind would say that people with faulty reasoning deserve to be punished.

Some equate Kufr with hiding the truth because Kufr comes from a root meaning to cover up and hide. It's true that Kufr comes from such a root, but to then claim that non-believers secretly know Islam is the truth but maliciously hide it is simply ridiculous. If that really were true then such people would be mentally ill and not responsible for their actions anyway.

If Kufr is alluding to the meaning of covering up and hiding, then it simply means being dishonest which again is something we are all guilty of at times. So I stress again that Kufr is a quality we can all be guilty of. So let's stop pointing fingers at others and instead examine ourselves.

In my opinion the best translation for Kufr is ingratitude. the Quran says:

 إنا هديناه السبيل إما شاكرا وإما كفورا

"Indeed, We guided him to the way, be he grateful or be he ungrateful (Kafoor)." 

But of course Christians, Hindus and those of other religions are just as grateful as anyone else and they express this gratitude through their own respective religious traditions. Atheists are a grateful also and express their gratitude in their own ways.

In other words this is not a "Them v Us" issue. The Qur'an is warning ALL of us to avoid this mentality of ingratitude.

Having a sense of gratitude is to have a positive attitude. It is to appreciates what we have rather than complaining about what we don't have. This mentality is good for us. It creates within us a sense of well-being & happiness. It relieves our pressure and anxiety and helps us cope with hardship.

Gratitude reminds us not to take anything or anyone for granted. Gratitude helps us to slow down and to enjoy what we have rather than missing the 'here and now' as we desperately rush after tomorrow. The Prophet said:

"If the son of Adam has one valley, he will wish that he had a second, and if he had two valleys, he would wish that he had a third.”

Therefore gratitude is about curbing this fretful state of always wanting more. It's about taming our Nafs to understand that if we can’t find happiness in the blessings that we have today, then we won’t be happy with what we have tomorrow.

That of course doesn't mean we shouldn't strive to do better and aim higher - quite the contrary - we must always do our best and aim as high as we can, but having a sense of gratitude is about having the right mentality to help us achieve our best. As the Qur'an says:

 "If you are grateful, I will give you more." (14:7)

Gratitude is about a sense of contentment & fulfilment that makes you stronger and more able to face new challenges with greater confidence and resolution. It's is about controlling unbridled desires, by exercising patience - as the great Muslim scholar Ibn al-Qayyim said, “Patience in resisting desires is easier, than patience in dealing with the consequences of desires."

Gratitude trains our minds to focus on the good things in life. It is about having a positive attitude rather than a negative one. When we look for problems, we will see plenty of them. But if we instead focus on possibilities and solutions, we will find those too. Gratitude is an essential tool that motivates us to achieve the best we can. It also creates love and brings us together. The prophet said:

“He who does not thank people, does not thank God”

Showing gratitude to others makes them know that you appreciate them. You may think it, but if you don't express it they won't know and may even think that you don't like what they have done or think it is not good enough. In this way gratitude increases love, friendship and goodness amongst a family, community or people, bringing them together and creating a positive atmosphere where everyone feels valued and loved.

Gratitude is more than saying "Thank you" it is about going beyond words and being grateful through our actions.

One of God's names is الشكور  The most Grateful/Appreciative. God himself is the most grateful and appreciative. God appreciates everything good we do, no matter how small. Gratitude is at the heart of both the creation and it's creator. It is the key for attracting happiness, prosperity, peace and success.

So let us stop this misleading dichotomy between Muslim and Kafir. Let's stop using Kufr as a dirty word. Let's stop thinking we are different or in anyway superior to any other human being regardless of their religion, nation, race, label or whatever. We are all one human race. There is no battle between "Them v Us". The only battle you need to fight is the one with your own Nafs (Ego). The qualities of a Mu'min and a Kafir are found within in us all. None of us are perfect and we must all struggle to be better. For indeed the struggle against the Nafs (Ego) is the greatest and hardest struggle of them all.