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Kafir

For the ethnic slur used in South Africa, see Kaffir (racial term). For other uses, see Kafir (disambiguation).

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Kafir (Arabic: كَافِر, romanized: kāfir; plural: كَافِرُون kāfirūn, كُفَّار kuffār, or كَفَرَة kafara; feminine: كَافِرَة kāfira; feminine plural: كَافِرَات kāfirāt or كَوَافِر kawāfir) is an Arabic term in Islam which refers to a person who disbelieves the God in Islam, denies his authority, rejects the tenets of Islam, or simply is not a Muslim—one who does not believe in the guidance of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet.[1][2][3][4][5]

Kafir is often translated as 'infidel',[6][7] 'pagan', 'rejector',[8] 'denier', 'disbeliever',[3] 'unbeliever',[2][3] 'nonbeliever',[2][3] and 'non-Muslim'.[9] The term is used in different ways in the Quran, with the most fundamental sense being ungrateful toward God.[10][11] Kufr means 'disbelief', 'unbelief', 'non-belief',[2] 'to be thankless', 'to be faithless', or 'ingratitude'.[11] The opposite term of kufr ('disbelief') is iman ('faith'),[12] and the opposite of kafir ('disbeliever') is mu'min ('believer').[13] A person who denies the existence of a creator might be called a dahri.[14][15]

One type of kafir is a mushrik (مشرك), another group of religious wrongdoer mentioned frequently in the Quran and other Islamic works. Several concepts of vice are seen to revolve around the concept of kufr in the Quran.[12] Historically, while Islamic scholars agreed that a mushrik was a kafir, they sometimes disagreed on the propriety of applying the term to Muslims who committed a grave sin or the People of the Book.[10][11] The Quran distinguishes between mushrikūn and People of the Book, reserving the former term for idol worshippers, although some classical commentators considered the Christian doctrine to be a form of shirk.[16]

In modern times, kafir is sometimes applied to self-professed Muslims,[17][18][19] particularly by members of Islamist movements.[20] The act of declaring another self-professed Muslim a kafir is known as takfir,[21] a practice that has been condemned but also employed in theological and political polemics over the centuries.[22]

A dhimmi or mu'ahid is a historical term[23] for non-Muslims living in an Islamic state with legal protection.[24][23][25]: 470  Dhimmis were exempt from certain duties specifically assigned to Muslims if they paid the jizya poll tax, but otherwise equal under the laws of property, contract, and obligation according to some scholars,[26][27][28] whereas others state religious minorities subjected to the status of dhimmis (such as Hindus, Christians, Jews, Samaritans, Gnostics, Mandeans, and Zoroastrians) were inferior to the status of Muslims in Islamic states.[24] Jews and Christians were required to pay the jizya and kharaj taxes,[24] while others, depending on the different rulings of the schools of Islamic jurisprudence, might be required to convert to Islam, pay the jizya, exiled, or subject to the death penalty.[24][29][30][31][32]

In 2019, Nahdlatul Ulama, the world's largest independent Islamic organization, issued a proclamation urging Muslims to refrain from using the word kafir to refer to non-Muslims because the term is both offensive and perceived as "theologically violent".[33][34]

  1. ^ Rabbani, Faraz (6 June 2016). "Are All Non-Muslims Deemed "Kafir"?". Seekers Guidance. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Schirrmacher, Christine (2020). "Chapter 7: Leaving Islam". In Enstedt, Daniel; Larsson, Göran; Mantsinen, Teemu T. (eds.). Handbook of Leaving Religion. Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion. Vol. 18. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. pp. 81–95. doi:10.1163/9789004331471_008. ISBN 978-90-04-33092-4. ISSN 1874-6691.
  3. ^ a b c d Adang, Camilla (2001). "Belief and Unbelief: choice or destiny?". In McAuliffe, Jane Dammen (ed.). Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān. Vol. I. Leiden: Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQCOM_00025. ISBN 978-90-04-14743-0.
  4. ^ Glasse, Cyril (1989). The New Encyclopedia of Islam (Revised 2001 ed.). New York: Altamira Press. p. 247. ISBN 978-0759101890.
  5. ^ Sevinç, Kenan; Coleman, Thomas J.; Hood, Ralph W. (25 July 2018). "Non-Belief: An Islamic Perspective". Secularism and Nonreligion. 7: 5. doi:10.5334/snr.111.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference TIK was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Sansarian, Eliz (2000). Religious Minorities in Iran. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139429856.
  8. ^ Akhtar, Shabbir (1990). A Faith for All Seasons: Islam and Western Modernity. Bellew. ISBN 9780947792411.
  9. ^ Willis, John Ralph, ed. (2018) [1979]. "Glossary". Studies in West African Islamic History, Volume 1: The Cultivators of Islam (1st ed.). London and New York: Routledge. p. 197. ISBN 9781138238534. Kufr: Unbelief; non-Muslim belief (Kāfir = a non-Muslim, one who has received no Dispensation or Book; Kuffār plural of Kāfir).
  10. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference adams was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b c Björkman, W. (2012) [1978]. "Kāfir". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. J.; Heinrichs, W. P.; Lewis, B.; Pellat, Ch.; Schacht, J. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Vol. 4. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_3775. ISBN 978-90-04-16121-4.
  12. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference OISO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Jansen, J. J. G. (2012) [1993]. "Muʾmin". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. J.; Heinrichs, W. P.; Lewis, B.; Pellat, Ch.; Schacht, J. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Vol. 7. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_5493. ISBN 978-90-04-16121-4.
  14. ^ Swartz, Merlin (30 January 2015). A medieval critique of Anthropomorphism. Brill. p. 96. ISBN 978-9004123762. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  15. ^ Goldziher, I. (24 April 2012). "Dahrīya". BrillOnline Reference Works. Brill Online. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference EI2-shirk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Rajan, Julie (30 January 2015). Al Qaeda's Global Crisis: The Islamic State, Takfir and the Genocide of Muslims. Routledge. p. cii. ISBN 9781317645382. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  18. ^ Bunt, Gary (2009). Muslims. The Other Press. p. ccxxiv. ISBN 9789839541694. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  19. ^ Pruniere, Gerard (1 January 2007). Darfur: The Ambiguous Genocide. Cornell University Press. p. xvi. ISBN 9780801446023. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  20. ^ Emmanuel M. Ekwo Racism and Terrorism: Aftermath of 9/11 Author House 2010 ISBN 978-1-452-04748-5 page 143
  21. ^ "kafir". OxfordDictionaries.com. Archived from the original on 12 May 2015.
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference EJBFEI-619 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ a b Juan Eduardo Campo, ed. (12 May 2010). "dhimmi". Encyclopedia of Islam. Infobase Publishing. pp. 194–195. dhimmis are non-Muslims who live within Islamdom and have a regulated and protected status. [...] In the modern period, this term has generally has occasionally been resuscitated, but it is generally obsolete.
  24. ^ a b c d Stillman, Norman A. (1998) [1979]. "Under the New Order". The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society. pp. 22–28. ISBN 978-0-8276-0198-7.
  25. ^ Mohammad Taqi al-Modarresi (26 March 2016). The Laws of Islam (PDF). Enlight Press. ISBN 978-0994240989. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference Patrick was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gustave was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference El Fadl was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bon08 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wai03 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  31. ^ Cite error: The named reference Win02 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  32. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lapid was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  33. ^ Cite error: The named reference pri was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  34. ^ The Jakarta Post (1 March 2019). "NU calls for end to word 'infidels' to describe non-Muslims". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 14 May 2022.

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