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{{Short description|Term for disbelievers in Islam}}
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'''''Kāfir''''' ({{langx|ar|كَافِر}}; {{small|plural:}} {{lang|ar|كَافِرُون}} {{transliteration|ar|kāfirūn}}, {{lang|ar|كُفَّار}} {{transliteration|ar|kuffār}}, or {{lang|ar|كَفَرَة}} {{transliteration|ar|kafara}}; {{small|feminine:}} {{lang|ar|كَافِرَة}} {{transliteration|ar|kāfira}}; {{small|feminine plural:}} {{lang|ar|كَافِرَات}} {{transliteration|ar|kāfirāt}} or {{lang|ar|كَوَافِر}} {{transliteration|ar|kawāfir}}) is an Arabic-language term used by [[Muslims]] to refer to a non-Muslim, more specifically referring to someone who disbelieves in the [[Islamic God]], denies his authority, and rejects the message of [[Islam]] as the truth.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |last=Rabbani |first=Faraz |title=Are All Non-Muslims Deemed "Kafir"? |date=2016-06-06 |url=https://seekersguidance.org/answers/islamic-belief/non-muslims-deemed-kafir/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621064238/https://seekersguidance.org/answers/islamic-belief/non-muslims-deemed-kafir/ |archive-date=2023-06-21 |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=Seekers Guidance}}</ref><ref name="Schirrmacher 2020">{{cite book |author-last=Schirrmacher |author-first=Christine |year=2020 |chapter=Chapter 7: Leaving Islam |chapter-url=https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004331471/BP000008.xml?body=pdf-43180 |editor1-last=Enstedt |editor1-first=Daniel |editor2-last=Larsson |editor2-first=Göran |editor3-last=Mantsinen |editor3-first=Teemu T. |title=Handbook of Leaving Religion |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |series=Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion |volume=18 |doi=10.1163/9789004331471_008 |doi-access=free |pages=81–95 |isbn=978-90-04-33092-4 |issn=1874-6691}}</ref><ref name="Adang 2001">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Adang |author-first=Camilla |year=2001 |title=Belief and Unbelief: choice or destiny? |editor-last=McAuliffe |editor-first=Jane Dammen |editor-link=Jane Dammen McAuliffe |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān]] |volume=I |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |doi=10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQCOM_00025 |isbn=978-90-04-14743-0}}</ref><ref name=Glasse-2001-247>{{cite book|last1=Glasse|first1=Cyril|title=The New Encyclopedia of Islam|date=1989|publisher=Altamira Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0759101890|page=[https://archive.org/details/newencyclopediao0000glas/page/247 247]|edition=Revised 2001|url=https://archive.org/details/newencyclopediao0000glas/page/247}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sevinç |first1=Kenan |last2=Coleman |first2=Thomas J. |last3=Hood |first3=Ralph W. |title=Non-Belief: An Islamic Perspective |journal=Secularism and Nonreligion |date=25 July 2018 |volume=7 |pages=5 |doi=10.5334/snr.111|doi-access=free }}</ref>

''Kafir'' is often translated as '[[infidel]]', 'truth denier',<ref name=TIK/><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ID-bCsGmWLkC&pg=PA27|title=Religious Minorities in Iran|last=Sansarian|first=Eliz|year=2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781139429856}}</ref> 'rejector',<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XvbXAAAAMAAJ&q=kafir+rejector|title=A Faith for All Seasons: Islam and Western Modernity|last=Akhtar|first=Shabbir|year=1990|publisher=Bellew |isbn=9780947792411}}</ref> 'disbeliever',<ref name="Adang 2001"/> 'unbeliever',<ref name="Schirrmacher 2020"/><ref name="Adang 2001"/><ref name="Willis 2018">{{cite book |editor-last=Willis |editor-first=John Ralph |year=2018 |orig-date=1979 |title=Studies in West African Islamic History, Volume 1: The Cultivators of Islam |chapter=Glossary |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rD0sBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA197 |location=[[London]] and [[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |edition=1st |pages=197 |isbn=9781138238534 |quote=''Kufr'': Unbelief; non-Muslim belief (''Kāfir'' = a non-Muslim, one who has received no Dispensation or Book; ''Kuffār'' plural of ''Kāfir'').}}</ref> The term is used in different ways in the [[Quran]], with the most fundamental sense being ungrateful towards God.<ref name=adams/><ref name="EI2">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Björkman |author-first=W. |year=2012 |orig-date=1978 |title=Kāfir |editor1-last=Bosworth |editor1-first=C. E. |editor1-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth |editor2-last=van Donzel |editor2-first=E. J. |editor2-link=Emeri Johannes van Donzel |editor3-last=Heinrichs |editor3-first=W. P. |editor3-link=Wolfhart Heinrichs |editor4-last=Lewis |editor4-first=B. |editor5-last=Pellat |editor5-first=Ch. |editor5-link=Charles Pellat |editor6-last=Schacht |editor6-first=J. |editor6-link=Joseph Schacht |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam#2nd edition, EI2|Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition]] |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |volume=4 |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_3775 |isbn=978-90-04-16121-4}}</ref> ''Kufr'' means 'disbelief', 'unbelief', 'non-belief',<ref name="Schirrmacher 2020"/> 'to be thankless', 'to be faithless', or 'ingratitude'.<ref name="EI2"/> The opposite term of ''kufr'' ('disbelief') is [[iman (Islam)|''iman'']] ('faith'),<ref name="OISO"/> and the opposite of ''kafir'' ('disbeliever') is [[mumin|''mu'min'']] ('believer').<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Jansen |author-first=J. J. G. |year=2012 |orig-date=1993 |title=Muʾmin |editor1-last=Bosworth |editor1-first=C. E. |editor1-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth |editor2-last=van Donzel |editor2-first=E. J. |editor2-link=Emeri Johannes van Donzel |editor3-last=Heinrichs |editor3-first=W. P. |editor3-link=Wolfhart Heinrichs |editor4-last=Lewis |editor4-first=B. |editor5-last=Pellat |editor5-first=Ch. |editor5-link=Charles Pellat |editor6-last=Schacht |editor6-first=J. |editor6-link=Joseph Schacht |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam#2nd edition, EI2|Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition]] |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |volume=7 |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_5493 |isbn=978-90-04-16121-4}}</ref> A [[Atheism|person who denies the existence of a creator]] might be called a [[Glossary of Islam#D|dahri]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Swartz|first=Merlin|title=A medieval critique of Anthropomorphism| page =96|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_5dbo6vYOREC&q=dahriya&pg=PA96|date=30 January 2015|publisher=Brill|access-date=27 July 2017|isbn=978-9004123762}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Dahrīya |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-1/dahriya-SIM_1762?s.num=27&s.start=20 |website=BrillOnline Reference Works |publisher=Brill Online |access-date=9 January 2019|date=2012-04-24 |last1=Goldziher |first1=I. }}</ref>

One type of ''kafir'' is a ''[[Shirk (Islam)|mushrik]]'' (مشرك), another group of religious wrongdoer mentioned frequently in the [[List of Islamic texts|Quran and other Islamic works]]. Several concepts of vice are seen to revolve around the concept of ''kufr'' in the Quran.<ref name="OISO"/> 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]].<ref name="adams" /><ref name="EI2"/> 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 (Islam)|shirk]]''.<ref name="EI2-shirk" />

In modern times, ''kafir'' is sometimes applied to self-professed Muslims,<ref>{{cite book|last=Rajan|first=Julie|title=Al Qaeda's Global Crisis: The Islamic State, Takfir and the Genocide of Muslims| page =cii|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pz5yBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA102|date=30 January 2015|publisher=Routledge|access-date=27 August 2015|isbn=9781317645382}}</ref><ref name="Bunt 2009">{{cite book|last=Bunt|first=Gary|title=Muslims| page =ccxxiv|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gpz2v-6cnsEC&pg=PA224|date=2009|publisher=The Other Press|access-date=27 August 2015|isbn=9789839541694}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Pruniere|first=Gerard|title=Darfur: The Ambiguous Genocide| page =xvi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MctyAAAAMAAJ&q=kuffar+derogatory|date=1 January 2007|publisher=Cornell University Press|access-date=27 August 2015|isbn=9780801446023}}</ref> particularly by members of [[Islamist movement]]s.<ref>Emmanuel M. Ekwo ''Racism and Terrorism: Aftermath of 9/11'' Author House 2010 {{ISBN|978-1-452-04748-5}} page 143</ref> The act of declaring another self-professed Muslim a ''kafir'' is known as ''[[takfir]]'',<ref name="oxforddictionaries.com">{{cite web |title=kafir |website=[[OxfordDictionaries.com]] |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/kafir |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512211202/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/kafir |archive-date=2015-05-12}}</ref> a practice that has been condemned but also employed in theological and political polemics over the centuries.<ref name="EJBFEI-619" />

A ''[[dhimmi]]'' or ''mu'ahid'' is a historical term<ref name=Campo/> for non-Muslims living in an [[Islamic state]] with legal protection.<ref name="Stillman 1998">{{cite book |last=Stillman |first=Norman A. |author-link=Norman Stillman |year=1998 |orig-date=1979 |title=The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book |chapter=Under the New Order |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bFN2ismyhEYC&pg=PA22 |location=[[Philadelphia]] |publisher=[[Jewish Publication Society]] |pages=22–28 |isbn=978-0-8276-0198-7}}</ref><ref name=Campo>{{cite encyclopedia |title=dhimmi |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Islam]] |editor=Juan Eduardo Campo |pages=194–195 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |date=12 May 2010 |quote= dhimmis are non-Muslims who live within Islamdom and have a regulated and protected status.{{nbsp}}[...] In the modern period, this term has generally has occasionally been resuscitated, but it is generally obsolete.}}</ref><ref name="Modarresi">{{cite book|author=Mohammad Taqi al-Modarresi|author-link=Mohammad Taqi al-Modarresi|title=The Laws of Islam|date=26 March 2016|publisher=Enlight Press|isbn=978-0994240989|url=http://almodarresi.com/en/books/pdf/TheLawsofIslam.pdf|access-date=22 December 2017|ref=Modarresi|archive-date=2 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802163247/http://almodarresi.com/en/books/pdf/TheLawsofIslam.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{rp|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,<ref name="Patrick" /><ref name="Gustave" /><ref name="El Fadl" /> 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.<ref name="Stillman 1998"/> Jews and Christians were required to pay the ''jizya'' and ''[[kharaj]]'' taxes,<ref name="Stillman 1998"/> while others, depending on the different rulings of the [[madhhab|schools of Islamic jurisprudence]], might be required to convert to Islam, pay the ''jizya'', exiled, or subject to the [[capital punishment in Islam|death penalty]].<ref name="Stillman 1998"/><ref name=Bon08/><ref name=Wai03/><ref name=Win02/><ref name=Lapid/> 

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".<ref name=pri /><ref name="The Jakarta Post 2019">{{cite web | author=The Jakarta Post | title=NU calls for end to word 'infidels' to describe non-Muslims | website=The Jakarta Post | date=2019-03-01 | url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/03/01/nu-calls-for-end-to-word-infidels-to-describe-non-muslims.html | access-date=2022-05-14}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The word {{transliteration|ar|DIN|kāfir}} is the active participle of the verb {{langx|ar|كَفَرَ|kafara|label=none}}, from [[triliteral|root]] {{lang|ar|ك-ف-ر}} [[K-P-R|K-F-R]].<ref name="EI2"/> As a pre-Islamic term it described farmers burying seeds in the ground. One of its applications in the Quran has also the same meaning as farmer.<ref>(أَعْجَبَ الْكُفَّارَ نَبَاتُهُ) [https://archive.today/20120723132603/http://www.bookstree.com/books/2/k4/k_p4_p314.htm Surah 57 Al-Hadid (Iron) Ayah 20]</ref> Since farmers cover the seeds with soil while planting, the word {{transliteration|ar|DIN|kāfir}} implies a person who hides or covers.<ref name="EI2"/> Ideologically, it implies a person who hides or covers the truth. Arabic poets personify the darkness of night as {{transliteration|ar|kāfir}}, perhaps as a survival of [[Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia|pre-Islamic Arabian religious or mythological usage]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Goldziher|first1=Ignác|title=Mythology among the Hebrews|date=1877|access-date=2015-06-28|page=193|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/48967/48967-h/48967-h.htm#Page_193}}</ref>

The noun for 'disbelief', 'blasphemy', 'impiety' rather than the person who disbelieves, is {{transliteration|ar|kufr}}.<ref name="EI2"/><ref>{{cite web|last1=Mansour|first1=Ahmed|title=Ahl al-Quran|url=http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=6306|access-date=11 June 2015|date=24 September 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kepel|first1=Gilles|title=Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam|date=2002|publisher=Harvard University Press|page=31|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OLvTNk75hUoC&q=definition+kufr+impiety&pg=PA31|access-date=11 June 2015|isbn=9781845112578}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|Oxford Islamic Studies Online states a better definition of {{transliteration|ar|kufr}} is 'to be thankless,' 'to be faithless.'<ref name="OISO">{{cite web |last1=Adams |first1=Charles |last2=Reinhart |first2=A. Kevin |title=Kufr |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0467 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322140305/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0467 |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 March 2019 |website=Oxford Islamic Studies Online |access-date=2 January 2021}}</ref>|group=note}}

==In the Quran==
The distinction between those who believe in Islam and those who do not is made in the [[Quran]]. {{transliteration|ar|Kafir}}, and its plural {{transliteration|ar|kuffaar}}, is used directly 134 times in Quran, its verbal noun {{transliteration|ar|kufr}} is used 37 times, and the verbal cognates of {{transliteration|ar|kafir}} are used about 250 times.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Campo |first1= Juan Eduardo |year=2009 |title=Encyclopedia of Islam |publisher=Infobase Publishing| isbn=9781438126968| pages=420–22|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OZbyz_Hr-eIC&q=encyclopedia+of+islam+kafir&pg=PA420}}</ref>

By extension of the basic meaning of the root, 'to cover', the term is used in the Quran in the senses of ignore/fail to acknowledge and to spurn/be ungrateful.<ref name="Adang 2001"/> The meaning of 'disbelief', which has come to be regarded as primary, retains all of these connotations in the Quranic usage.<ref name="Adang 2001"/> In the Quranic discourse, the term typifies all things that are unacceptable and offensive to God.<ref name=adams>{{cite encyclopedia |author=Charles Adams |author2=A. Kevin Reinhart |title=Kufr |encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World |editor=John L. Esposito |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2009 |url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195305135.001.0001/acref-9780195305135-e-0467 |url-access=subscription |isbn=9780195305135}}</ref> Within the Quranic context, the term implies an active offense and often bears the connotation of "ungratefulness".<ref>Hawting, Gerald R. The idea of idolatry and the emergence of Islam: From polemic to history. Cambridge University Press, 1999. p. 49</ref> In Surah 26:19, the Pharaoh accuses [[Moses in Islam|Moses]] of being a kafir for being ungrateful to what he has done to him when Moses was a child.<ref>Hawting, Gerald R. The idea of idolatry and the emergence of Islam: From polemic to history. Cambridge University Press, 1999. p. 49</ref> Likewise, [[Iblis]] (Satan) does not deny the existence of God, but is called a {{transliteration|ar|kafir}} for rejecting God.<ref>Juan Cole University of Michigan, Ann Arbor ''Juan Cole University of Michigan, Ann Arbor''</ref> According to [[Al-Damiri]] (1341–1405) it is neither denying God, nor the act of disobedience alone, but Iblis' attitude (claiming that God's command is unjust), which makes him a {{transliteration|ar|kafir}}.<ref>Sharpe, Elizabeth Marie into the realm of smokeless fire: (Qur'an 55:14): A critical translation of al-Damiri's article on the jinn from "[[Hayat al-Hayawan al-Kubra]] 1953 The University of Arizona download date: 15 March 2020</ref> The most fundamental sense of {{transliteration|ar|kufr}} in the Quran is 'ingratitude', the willful refusal to acknowledge or appreciate the benefits that God bestows on humankind, including clear signs and revealed scriptures.<ref name=adams/>

According to E. J. Brill's ''First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936, Volume 4'', the term first applied in the Quran to unbelieving Meccans, who endeavoured "to refute and revile the Prophet". A waiting attitude towards the {{transliteration|ar|kafir}} was recommended at first for Muslims; later, Muslims were ordered to keep apart from unbelievers and defend themselves against their attacks and even take the offensive.<ref name=EJBFEI-619/> Most passages in the Quran referring to unbelievers in general talk about their fate on the [[Islamic eschatology|day of judgement]] and destination in [[Jahannam|hell]].<ref name=EJBFEI-619/>

According to scholar Marilyn Waldman, as the Quran "progresses" (as the reader goes from the verses revealed first to later ones), the meaning behind the term {{transliteration|ar|kafir}} does not change but "progresses", i.e. "accumulates meaning over time". As the [[Muhammad in Islam|Islamic prophet Muhammad]]'s views of his opponents change, his use of {{transliteration|ar|kafir}} "undergoes a development". {{transliteration|ar|Kafir}} moves from being {{em|one}} description of Muhammad's opponents to the primary one. Later in the Quran, {{transliteration|ar|kafir}} becomes more and more connected with {{transliteration|ar|[[Shirk (Islam)|shirk]]}}. Finally, towards the end of the [[Quran]], {{transliteration|ar|kafir}} begins to also signify the group of people to be fought by the {{transliteration|ar|mu'minīn}} ('believers').<ref>{{cite journal|last=Waldman|first=Marilyn|title=The Development of the Concept of Kufr in the Qur'an|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|date=Jul–Sep 1968|volume=88|issue=3|pages=442–55|doi=10.2307/596869|jstor=596869}}</ref>

[[Khaled Abou El Fadl]] argues that Quran 2:62 supports religious pluralism, implying that some non-Muslims are not kafirs:  "Those who believe, Jews, Christians, Sabians—whoever believes in God and the Last Day and do good, will have their reward with their Lord and they will not fear, nor grieve." {{qref|2|62}}<ref>El Fadl, Khaled Abou (2005), ''The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam From The Extremists'', Harper San Francisco, p.216-217</ref>

==Types of unbelievers==
===People of the Book===
Charles Adams writes that the Quran reproaches the People of the Book with {{transliteration|ar|kufr}} for rejecting Muhammad's message when they should have been the first to accept it as possessors of earlier revelations, and singles out Christians for disregarding the evidence of God's unity.<ref name=adams/> The Quranic verse {{qref|5:73}} ("Certainly they disbelieve [{{transliteration|ar|kafara}}] who say: God is the third of three"), among other verses, has been traditionally understood in Islam as [[Islamic view of the Trinity|rejection of the Christian doctrine on the Trinity]],<ref name=EoQ-Trinity>{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Thomas |first=David | year= 2006 | title=Trinity|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān|editor=Jane Dammen McAuliffe|url=http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-the-quran/trinity-EQSIM_00428|publisher=Brill|url-access=subscription }}</ref> though modern scholarship has suggested alternative interpretations.{{refn|group=note|That this verse criticizes a deviant form of Trinitarian belief which overstressed distinctiveness of the three persons at the expense of their unity. Modern scholars have also interpreted it as a reference to Jesus, who was often called "the third of three" in Syriac literature and as an intentional over-simplification of Christian doctrine intended to highlight its weakness from a strictly monotheistic perspective.<ref name=EoQ-Trinity/>}} Other Quranic verses strongly deny the [[Hypostatic union|deity of Jesus Christ]], son of Mary, and reproach the people who treat Jesus as equal with God as disbelievers who will have strayed from the path of God which would result in the entrance of [[Lake of fire|hellfire]].<ref>Joseph, Jojo, ''[http://theolibrary.shc.edu/resources/Quran-Gospel.pdf Qur'an-Gospel Convergence: The Qur'an's Message To Christians]'', {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217110118/http://theolibrary.shc.edu/resources/Quran-Gospel.pdf |date=17 February 2022 }}, ''Journal of Dharma'', 1 (January–March 2010), pp. 55–76</ref><ref>Mazuz, Haggai (2012) [https://journal.fi/store/article/download/9525/6759 "Christians in the Qurʾān: Some Insights Derived from the Classical Exegetic Approach"], ''Journal of Dharma'' 35, 1 (January–March 2010), 55–76</ref> While the Quran does not recognize the attribute of Jesus as the Son of God or God himself, it respects Jesus as a prophet and messenger of God sent to children of Israel.<ref>Schirrmacher, Christine, [http://www.worldevangelicals.org ''The Islamic view of Christians: Qur’an and Hadith'']</ref> Some Muslim thinkers such as [[Mohamed Talbi]] have viewed the most extreme Quranic presentations of the dogmas of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus ({{qref|5:19}}, {{qref|5:75}}, {{qref|5:119}}) as non-Christian formulas that were rejected by the Church.<ref>{{cite book|author=Carré, Olivier|year=2003|title=Mysticism and Politics: A Critical Reading of Fī Ẓilāl Al-Qur'ān by Sayyid Quṭb|location=Boston|publisher=Brill|pages=63–64|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N85UaTV-0VoC&pg=PA63|isbn=978-9004125902}}</ref>

On the other hand, modern scholarship has suggested alternative interpretations of verse Q.{{qref|5:73}}.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} Cyril Glasse criticizes the use of {{transliteration|ar|kafirun}} (plural of {{transliteration|ar|kafir}}) to describe Christians as "loose usage".<ref name=Glasse-2001-247/> According to the ''[[Encyclopedia of Islam]]'', in traditional [[Fiqh|Islamic jurisprudence]], {{transliteration|ar|ahl al-kitab}} are "usually regarded more leniently than other {{transliteration|ar|kuffar}} [plural of {{transliteration|ar|kafir}}]" and "in theory" a Muslim commits a punishable offense if they say to a Jew or a Christian: "Thou unbeliever".<ref name="EI2"/> Charles Adams and A. Kevin Reinhart also write that "later thinkers" in Islam distinguished between ''ahl al-kitab'' and the polytheists/''mushrikīn''.<ref name="OISO"/>

Historically, People of the Book permanently residing under Islamic rule were entitled to a special status known as {{transliteration|ar|[[dhimmī]]}}, while those visiting Muslim lands received a different status known as {{transliteration|ar|[[musta'min]]}}.<ref name="EI2"/>

===The Mushrikun===
The mushrikun are those who believe in shirk 'association', which refers to accepting other gods and divinities alongside [[God in Islam|God]].<ref name=EI2-shirk>{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Gimaret |first=D. | year= 2012 | title=S̲h̲irk |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam| edition=2nd|publisher=Brill |editor1-first=P. |editor1-last=Bearman |editor2-first=Th. |editor2-last=Bianquis |editor3-first=C. E. |editor3-last=Bosworth |editor4-first=E. |editor4-last=van Donzel |editor5-first=W. P. |editor5-last=Heinrichs| doi= 10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_6965 }}</ref> The term is often translated as [[polytheist]].<ref name=EI2-shirk/>

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.<ref name=EI2-shirk/> Shirk is held to be the worst form of disbelief and it is identified in the Quran as the only sin that God will not pardon ({{qref|4:48}}, {{qref|4:116}}).<ref name=EI2-shirk/>

Accusations of {{transliteration|ar|shirk}} have been common in religious polemics within Islam.<ref name=EI2-shirk/> Thus, in the early Islamic debates on free will and [[theodicy]], Sunni theologians charged their [[Mutazila]] adversaries with {{transliteration|ar|shirk}}, accusing them of attributing to man creative powers comparable to those of God in both originating and executing actions.<ref name=EI2-shirk/> Mu'tazila theologians, in turn, charged the Sunnis with shirk because under their doctrine a voluntary human act results from an "association" between God, who creates the act, and the individual who appropriates it by carrying it out.<ref name=EI2-shirk/>

In classical jurisprudence, Islamic [[religious tolerance]] applied only to the People of the Book, while mushrikun, based on the [[Sword Verse]], faced a choice between conversion to Islam and fight to the death,<ref name=hallaq>{{cite book|first=Wael B. |last=Hallaq|author-link = Wael Hallaq|title=Sharī'a: Theory, Practice, Transformations|year=2009|publisher=Cambridge University Press |edition=Kindle |page=327 }}</ref> which may be substituted by enslavement.<ref name=lewis-1995-230>{{cite book|last1=Lewis|first1=Bernard|title=The Middle East, A Brief History of the Last 2000 Years|date=1995|publisher=Touchstone|isbn=978-0684832807|page=230}}</ref> In practice, the designation of People of the Book and the dhimmī status was extended even to non-monotheistic religions of conquered peoples, such as Hinduism.<ref name=hallaq/> Following destruction of major Hindu temples during the [[Muslim conquests of the Indian subcontinent|Muslim conquests in South Asia]], Hindus and Muslims on the subcontinent came to share a number of popular religious practices and beliefs, such as veneration of [[wali|Sufi saints]] and worship at Sufi [[dargah]]s, although Hindus may worship at Hindu shrines also.<ref>{{Cite book| last = Lapidus | first = Ira M. | author-link=Ira M. Lapidus | title = A History of Islamic Societies | publisher = Cambridge University Press |edition=Kindle | year = 2014| isbn=978-0-521-51430-9 | pages= 391, 396}}</ref>

In the 18th century, followers of [[Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab]], known as [[Wahhabism|Wahhabis]], believed kufr or shirk was found in the Muslim community itself, especially in "the practice of popular religion":
{{blockquote|[S]hirk took many forms: the attribution to prophets, saints, astrologers, and soothsayers of knowledge of the unseen world, which only God possesses and can grant; the attribution of power to any being except God, including the power of intercession; reverence given in any way to any created thing, even to the tomb of the Prophet; such superstitious customs as belief in omens and in auspicious and inauspicious days; and swearing by the names of the Prophet, ʿAlī, the Shīʿī imams, or the saints. Thus the Wahhābīs acted even to destroy the cemetery where many of the Prophet's most notable companions were buried, on the grounds that it was a center of idolatry.<ref name="OISO"/>}}

While ibn Abd al-Wahhab and the Wahhābīs were "the best-known premodern" revivalist and "sectarian movement" of that era, other revivalists included [[Shah Ismail Dehlvi]] and [[Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi]], leaders of the [[Shah Ismail Dehlvi#Establishment of Islamic State|Mujāhidīn movement on the North-West frontier of India]] in the early 19th century.<ref name="OISO"/>

===Sinners===
Whether a Muslim could commit a sin great enough to become a {{transliteration|ar|kafir}} was disputed by jurists in the early centuries of Islam. The most tolerant view (that of the {{transliteration|ar|[[Murji'ah]]}}) was that even those who had committed a major sin ({{transliteration|ar|kabira}}) were still believers and "their fate was left to God".<ref name=EJBFEI-619/> The most strict view (that of Kharidji Ibadis, descended from the [[Kharijites]]) was that every Muslim who dies having not repented of their sins was considered a {{transliteration|ar|kafir}}. In between these two positions, the {{transliteration|ar|Mu'tazila}} believed that there was a status between believer and unbeliever called "rejected" or {{transliteration|ar|[[fasiq]]}}.<ref name=EJBFEI-619/>

==={{transliteration|ar|Takfir}}===
{{main|Takfir}}
{{further|Takfiri}}

The [[Kharijites]]' view that the self-proclaimed Muslim who had sinned and "failed to repent had ipso facto excluded himself from the community, and was hence a {{transliteration|ar|kafir}}" (a practice known as {{transliteration|ar|[[takfir]]}})<ref name="Izutsu 2006">{{cite book |last=Izutsu |first=Toshihiko |author-link=Toshihiko Izutsu |year=2006 |orig-date=1965 |title=The Concept of Belief in Islamic Theology: A Semantic Analysis of Imān and Islām |chapter=The Infidel (''Kāfir''): The Khārijites and the origin of the problem |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PDxHG5MtLawC&pg=PA1 |location=[[Tokyo]] |publisher=Keio Institute of Cultural and Linguistic Studies at [[Keio University]] |pages=1–20 |isbn=983-9154-70-2}}</ref> was considered so extreme by the [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] majority that they in turn declared the [[Kharijites]] to be {{transliteration|ar|kuffar}},<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ruthven|first=Malise|title=The Eleventh of September and the Sudanese mahdiya in the Context of Ibn Khaldun's Theory of Islamic History|journal=International Affairs|date=April 2002|volume=78|issue=2|pages=344–45|doi=10.1111/1468-2346.00254}}<!--|access-date=2 December 2012--></ref> following the hadith that declared, "If a Muslim charges a fellow Muslim with {{transliteration|ar|kufr}}, he is himself a {{transliteration|ar|kafir}} if the accusation should prove untrue".<ref name=EJBFEI-619/>

Nevertheless, in [[Islamic theology|Islamic theological polemics]] {{transliteration|ar|kafir}} was "a frequent term for the Muslim protagonist" holding the opposite view, according to ''Brill's Islamic Encyclopedia''.<ref name=EJBFEI-619>{{cite book|editor1-last=Houtsma|editor1-first=M. Th.|title=E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936 |volume=4|publisher=Brill|page=619|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7CP7fYghBFQC&q=kafir+ahl+al-kitab&pg=PA619|access-date=29 June 2015|isbn=978-9004097902|year=1993}}</ref>

Present-day Muslims who make interpretations that differ from what others believe are declared {{transliteration|ar|kafirs}}; {{transliteration|ar|[[fatwa]]s}} (edicts by Islamic religious leaders) are issued ordering Muslims to kill them, and some such people have been killed also.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/16266154.you-will-get-your-head-chopped-off-scots-muslim-writer-threatened-by-extremists/ |title='You will get your head chopped off' – Scots Muslim writer threatened by extremists|newspaper= The Herald |date=2018-06-03 |access-date=2019-08-21}}</ref>

==={{transliteration|ar|Murtad}}===
Another group that are "distinguished from the mass of {{transliteration|ar|kafirun}}"<ref name=EJBFEI-619/> are the {{transliteration|ar|[[Apostasy in Islam|murtad]]}}, or apostate ex-Muslims, who are considered renegades and traitors.<ref name=EJBFEI-619/> Their traditional punishment is death, even, according to some scholars, if they recant their abandonment of Islam.<ref name=lewis-1995-230q>{{cite book|last1=Lewis|first1=Bernard|title=The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2000 Years|date=1995|publisher=Touchstone|isbn=978-0684832807|page=230|quote=Tolerance may in no circumstances be extended to the apostate, the renegade Muslim, whose punishment is death. Some authorities allow the remission of this punishment if the apostate recants. Others insist on the death penalty even then. God may pardon him the world to come; the law must punish him in this world.}}</ref>

==={{transliteration|ar|Muʿāhid}} / {{transliteration|ar|Dhimmī}}===
{{transliteration|ar|[[Dhimmī]]}} are non-Muslims living under the protection of an [[Islamic state]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Glossary and Index of Terms: muʿāhad |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam |edition=2nd |editor1-first=P. J. |editor1-last=Bearman |editor2-first=Th. |editor2-last=Banquis |editor3-first=C. E. |editor3-last=Bowworth |editor4-first=E.  |editor4-last=van Donzel |editor5-first=W. P. |editor5-last=Heinrichs Bowworth |access-date=6 August 2018 |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei2glos_SIM_gi_03145 |isbn=9789004144484 |pages=137–592 |date=2009-05-01|doi=10.1163/1573-3912_ei2glos_SIM_gi_03145 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Muʿāhid |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam |edition=2nd |editor1-first=P. J. |editor1-last=Bearman |editor2-first=Th. |editor2-last=Banquis |editor3-first=C. E.  |editor3-last=Bowworth |editor4-first=E.  |editor4-last=van Donzel |editor5-first=W. P. |editor5-last=Heinrichs Bowworth |access-date=6 August 2018 |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_DUM_3909 |isbn=9789004161214 |pages=137–592 |date=2009-05-01|doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_DUM_3909 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> {{transliteration|ar|Dhimmī}} are exempt from certain duties assigned specifically to Muslims if they paid the poll tax ({{transliteration|ar|[[jizya]]}}) but were otherwise equal under the laws of property, contract, and obligation according to some scholars,<ref name="Patrick">H. Patrick Glenn, ''Legal Traditions of the World''. [[Oxford University Press]], 2007, p. 219.</ref><ref name="Gustave">The French scholar Gustave Le Bon (author of ''La civilisation des Arabes'') writes "that despite the fact that the incidence of taxation fell more heavily on a Muslim than a non-Muslim, the non-Muslim was free to enjoy equally well with every Muslim all the privileges afforded to the citizens of the state. The only privilege that was reserved for the Muslims was the seat of the caliphate, and this, because of certain religious functions attached to it, which could not naturally be discharged by a non-Muslim." Mun'im Sirry (2014), ''Scriptural Polemics: The Qur'an and Other Religions'', p.179. [[Oxford University Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0199359363}}.</ref><ref name="El Fadl">{{cite book|last1=Abou El Fadl|first1=Khaled|author-link=Khaled Abou El Fadl|title=The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists|date=2007|publisher=[[HarperOne]]|isbn=978-0061189036|page=204|quote = According to the dhimma status system, non-Muslims must pay a poll tax in return for Muslim protection and the privilege of living in Muslim territory. Per this system, non-Muslims are exempt from military service, but they are excluded from occupying high positions that involve dealing with high state interests, like being the president or prime minister of the country. In Islamic history, non-Muslims did occupy high positions, especially in matters that related to fiscal policies or tax collection.}}</ref> whereas others state that religious minorities subjected to the status of {{transliteration|ar|Dhimmī}} (such as [[Jews]], [[Samaritans]], [[Gnostics]], [[Mandeans]], and [[Zoroastrians]]) were inferior to the status of Muslims in Islamic states.<ref name="Stillman 1998"/> Jews and Christians were required to pay the {{transliteration|ar|jizyah}} while pagans, depending on the different rulings of the four {{transliteration|ar|[[madhhab]]}}, might be required to accept Islam, pay the jizya, be exiled, or be killed under the Islamic death penalty.<ref name="Stillman 1998"/><ref name=Bon08>{{cite book|author=Michael Bonner|title=Jihad in Islamic History|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2008|pages= 89–90|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qxq7eykoJgoC&pg=PA89|quote=To begin with, there was no forced conversion, no choice between "Islam and the Sword". Islamic law, following a clear Quranic principle (2:256), prohibited any such things{{nbsp}}[...] although there have been instances of forced conversion in Islamic history, these have been exceptional.|isbn=978-1400827381}}</ref><ref name=Wai03>Waines (2003). "An Introduction to Islam". ''Cambridge University Press''. p. 53</ref><ref name=Win02>Winter, T. J., & Williams, J. A. (2002). ''Understanding Islam and the Muslims: The Muslim Family Islam and World Peace''. Louisville, Kentucky: Fons Vitae. p. 82. {{ISBN|978-1-887752-47-3}}. Quote: The laws of Muslim warfare forbid any forced conversions, and regard them as invalid if they occur.</ref><ref name=Lapid>{{cite book|title=Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: A Global History|first=Ira M. |last=Lapidus|page=345}}</ref> Some historians believe that forced conversion was rare in Islamic history, and most conversions to Islam were voluntary. Muslim rulers were often more interested in conquest than conversion.<ref name="Lapid" />

Upon payment of the tax ({{transliteration|ar|jizya}}), the {{transliteration|ar|dhimmī}} would receive a receipt of payment, either in the form of a piece of paper or parchment or as a seal humiliatingly placed upon their neck, and was thereafter compelled to carry this receipt wherever they went within the realms of Islam. Failure to produce an up-to-date {{transliteration|ar|jizya}} receipt on the request of a Muslim could result in death or forced conversion to Islam of the {{transliteration|ar|dhimmī}} in question.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ye'or|first1=B|title=The decline of Eastern Christianity under Islam|date=2011|location=Madison, New Jersey |publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson University Press|page=79}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=October 2022}}

==Types of disbelief==
Various types of unbelief recognized by legal scholars include:
* {{transliteration|ar|kufr bi-l-qawl}} (verbally expressed unbelief)<ref name="Adang-2015-11">{{cite book |last1=Adang |first1=Camilla |last2=Ansari |first2=Hassan |last3=Fierro |first3=Maribel |title=Accusations of Unbelief in Islam: A Diachronic Perspective on Takfīr |date=2015 |publisher=Brill |page=11 |isbn=9789004307834 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nf_dCgAAQBAJ&q=takfir+in+islam |access-date=25 December 2020}}</ref>
* {{transliteration|ar|kufr bi-l-fi'l}} (unbelief expressed through action)<ref name="Adang-2015-11"/>
* {{transliteration|ar|kufr bi-l-i'tiqad}} (unbelief of convictions)<ref name="Adang-2015-11"/>
* {{transliteration|ar|kufr akbar}} (major unbelief)<ref name="Adang-2015-11"/>
* {{transliteration|ar|kufr asghar}} (minor unbelief)<ref name="Adang-2015-11"/>
* {{transliteration|ar|takfir 'amm}} (general charge of unbelief, i.e. charged against a community like ahmadiyya<ref name="Adang-2015-11"/>
* {{transliteration|ar|takfir al-mu'ayyan}} (charge of unbelief against a particular individual)<ref name="Adang-2015-11"/>
* {{transliteration|ar|takfir al-'awamm}} (charge of unbelief against "rank and file Muslims" for example following taqlid.<ref name="Adang-2015-11"/>
* {{transliteration|ar|takfir al-mutlaq}} (category covers general statements such as 'whoever says X or does Y is guilty of unbelief')<ref name="Adang-2015-11"/>
* {{transliteration|ar|kufr asli}} (original unbelief of non-Muslims, those born to non-Muslim family)<ref name="Adang-2015-11"/>
* {{transliteration|ar|kufr tari}} (acquired unbelief of formerly observant Muslims, i.e. apostates)<ref name="Adang-2015-11"/>

===Iman===
Muslim belief/doctrine is often summarized in "[[Iman (concept)#The Six Articles of Faith|the Six Articles of Faith]]",<ref name=RF>{{cite web|title=Six Articles of the Islamic Faith|url=http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/practices/six-articles|website=Religion Facts|access-date=17 June 2015}}</ref> (the first five are mentioned together in the {{qref|2:285|}}).

# [[God in Islam|God]]<ref name=q-trans/>
# His [[Islamic view of angels|angels]]<ref name=q-trans/>
# His [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|Messengers]]<ref name=q-trans/>
# His [[Islamic holy books|Revealed Books]],<ref name=q-trans/>
# The [[Islamic eschatology|Day of Resurrection]]<ref name=q-trans/>
# {{transliteration|ar|[[Predestination in Islam|Al-Qadar]]}}, Divine Preordainments, i.e. whatever God has ordained must come to pass<ref name=q-trans/>

According to the [[Salafi]] scholar [[Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali]], "{{transliteration|ar|kufr}} is basically disbelief in any of the articles of faith." He also lists several different types of major disbelief, (disbelief so severe it excludes those who practice it completely from the fold of Islam):

# {{transliteration|ar|Kufr-at-Takdhib}}: disbelief in divine truth or the denial of any of the articles of Faith (Quran 39:32)<ref name=q-trans/>
# {{transliteration|ar|Kufr-al-iba wat-takabbur ma'at-Tasdiq}}: refusing to submit to God's Commandments after conviction of their truth (Quran 2:34)<ref name=q-trans/>
# {{transliteration|ar|Kufr-ash-Shakk waz-Zann}}: doubting or lacking conviction in the six articles of Faith. (Quran 18:35–38)<ref name=q-trans/>
# {{transliteration|ar|Kufr-al-I'raadh}}: turning away from the truth knowingly or deviating from the obvious signs which God has revealed. (Quran 46:3)<ref name=q-trans/>
# {{transliteration|ar|[[Munafiq|Kufr-an-Nifaaq]]}}: hypocritical disbelief (Quran 63:2–3)<ref name=q-trans>{{cite book|last1=Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali|first1=Muhammad|first2=Muhammad Muhsin|last2=Khan|title=The Holy Quran Translation|publisher=ideas4islam|pages=901–02|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dMK6fNcjg44C&q=Al-Kufr+al-Akbar&pg=PA901|access-date=16 June 2015|isbn=9781591440000|year=2000}}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Minor disbelief or {{transliteration|ar|Kufran-Ni'mah}} indicates "ungratefulness of God's Blessings or Favours".<ref name=q-trans/>

According to another source, a paraphrase of the {{transliteration|ar|[[tafsir]]}} by [[Ibn Kathir]],<ref name=TIK>{{cite web|url=http://www.sunnahonline.com/ilm/aqeedah/0038.htm|title=Types of Kufr (Disbelief)|access-date=3 January 2016|publisher=SunnaOnline.com|author=Adapted from [[Ibn Kathir]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205125838/http://www.sunnahonline.com/ilm/aqeedah/0038.htm|archive-date=5 February 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=January 2017}} there are eight kinds of {{transliteration|ar|Al-Kufr al-Akbar}} (major unbelief), some are the same as those described by Al-Hilali ({{transliteration|ar|Kufr-al-I'rad}}, {{transliteration|ar|Kufr-an-Nifaaq}}) and some different.

# {{transliteration|ar|Kufrul-'Inaad}}: Disbelief out of stubbornness. This applies to someone who knows the Truth and admits to knowing the Truth, and knowing it with their tongue, but refuses to accept it and refrains from making a declaration.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ali|first=Abdullah Yusuf|title=The Qur'an|year=2001|publisher=Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an |section = verse 50:24}}</ref>
# {{transliteration|ar|Kufrul-Inkaar}}: Disbelief out of denial. This applies to someone who denies with both heart and tongue.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ali|first=Abdullah Yusuf|title=The Qur'an|year=2001|publisher=Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an|section = verse 16:83}}</ref>
# {{transliteration|ar|Kufrul-Juhood}}: Disbelief out of rejection. This applies to someone who acknowledges the truth in their heart, but rejects it with their tongue. This type of {{transliteration|ar|kufr}} is applicable to those who call themselves Muslims but who reject any necessary and accepted norms of [[Islam]] such as {{transliteration|ar|[[Salah]]}} and {{transliteration|ar|[[Zakat]]}}.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ali|first=Abdullah Yusuf|title=The Qur'an|year=2001|publisher=Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an|section=verse 27:14}}</ref>
# {{transliteration|ar|[[Munafiq|Kufrul-Nifaaq]]}}: Disbelief out of hypocrisy. This applies to someone who pretends to be a believer but conceals their disbelief. Such a person is called a {{transliteration|ar|[[munafiq]]}} or hypocrite.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ali|first=Abdullah Yusuf|title=The Qur'an|year=2001|publisher=Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an |section=verse 4:145}}</ref>
# {{transliteration|ar|Kufrul-Kurh}}: Disbelief out of detesting any of God's commands.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ali|first=Abdullah Yusuf|title=The Qur'an|year=2001|publisher=Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an|section=verse 47:8–9}}</ref>
# {{transliteration|ar|Kufrul-Istihzaha}}: Disbelief due to mockery and derision.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ali|first=Abdullah Yusuf|title=The Qur'an|year=2001|publisher=Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an |section=verse 9:65–66 }}</ref>
# {{transliteration|ar|Kufrul-I'raadh}}: Disbelief due to avoidance. This applies to those who turn away and avoid the truth.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ali|first=Abdullah Yusuf|title=The Qur'an|year=2001|publisher=Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an|section=verse 18:57 }}</ref>
# {{transliteration|ar|Kufrul-Istibdaal}}: Disbelief because of trying to substitute [[Sharia|God's Laws]] with man-made laws.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ali|first=Abdullah Yusuf|title=The Qur'an|year=2001|publisher=Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an|section=verse 42:8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Ali|first=Abdullah Yusuf|title=The Qur'an|year=2001|publisher=Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an |section=verse 16:116}}</ref>

===Ignorance===
In Islam, {{transliteration|ar|[[jahiliyyah]]}} ('ignorance') refers to the time of [[Pre-Islamic Arabia|Arabia before Islam]].

==History of the usage of the term==
===Usage in the earliest sense===
{{Further|Islam and other religions}}

When the Islamic empire expanded, the word {{transliteration|ar|kafir}} was broadly used as a descriptive term for all [[pagan]]s and anyone else who disbelieved in Islam.<ref name=HMP/><ref name=HoI/>
Historically, the attitude toward unbelievers in Islam was determined more by socio-political conditions than by religious doctrine.<ref name=EJBFEI-619/> A tolerance toward unbelievers "impossible to imagine in contemporary Christendom" prevailed even to the time of the [[Crusades]], particularly with respect to the People of the Book.<ref name=EJBFEI-619/> However, due to animosity towards [[Farang|Franks]], the term {{transliteration|ar|kafir}} developed into a term of abuse. During the [[Mahdist War]], the [[Mahdist State]] used the term {{transliteration|ar|kuffar}} against Ottoman Turks,<ref name=EJBFEI-619/> and the Turks themselves used the term {{transliteration|ar|kuffar}} towards Persians during the [[Ottoman–Persian Wars|Ottoman-Safavid wars]].<ref name=EJBFEI-619/> In modern Muslim popular imagination, the {{transliteration|ar|[[dajjal]]}} ([[Antichrist]]-like figure) will have k-f-r written on his forehead.<ref name=EJBFEI-619/>

However, there was extensive [[religious violence in India]] between Muslims and non-Muslims during the [[Delhi Sultanate]] and [[Mughal Empire]] (before the political decline of Islam).<ref name=mgat>{{cite journal |last=Gaborieau |first=Marc |date=June 1985 |title=From Al-Beruni to Jinnah: Idiom, Ritual and Ideology of the Hindu-Muslim Confrontation in South Asia |journal=Anthropology Today |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=7–14 |doi=10.2307/3033123 |jstor=3033123}}</ref><ref>Holt et al., The Cambridge History of Islam – The Indian sub-continent, south-east Asia, Africa and the Muslim west, {{ISBN|978-0521291378}}</ref><ref>Scott Levi (2002), Hindu beyond Hindu Kush: Indians in Central Asian Slave Trade, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol 12, Part 3, pp. 281–83</ref> In their memoirs on Muslim invasions, enslavement and plunder of this period, many Muslim historians in South Asia used the term {{transliteration|ar|kafir}} for [[Hindus]], [[Buddhist]]s, [[Sikhs]] and [[Jain]]s.<ref name=HMP>{{cite journal |last=Engineer |first=Ashghar Ali |date=13–19 February 1999 |title=Hindu-Muslim Problem: An Approach |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=37 |issue=7 |pages=396–400 |jstor=4407649}}</ref><ref name=HoI>Elliot and Dowson, [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924073036745#page/n285/mode/2up Tarikh-i Mubarak-Shahi], [[The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians]] – The Muhammadan Period, Vol 4, Trubner London, p. 273</ref><ref>Elliot and Dowson, [https://archive.org/stream/historyindiaast04elligoog#page/n363/mode/2up Tabakat-i-Nasiri], The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians – The Muhammadan Period, Vol 2, Trubner London, pp. 347–67</ref><ref>Elliot and Dowson, [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924073036745#page/n81/mode/2up Tarikh-i Mubarak-Shahi], The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians – The Muhammadan Period, Vol 4, Trubner London, pp. 68–69</ref> [[Raziuddin Aquil]] states that "non-Muslims were often condemned as {{transliteration|ar|kafirs}}, in medieval Indian Islamic literature, including court chronicles, Sufi texts and literary compositions" and {{transliteration|ar|fatwas}} were issued that justified persecution of the non-Muslims.<ref>Raziuddin Aquil (2008), On Islam and Kufr in the Delhi Sultanate, in Rethinking a Millennium: Perspectives on Indian History (Editor: Rajat Datta), {{ISBN|978-8189833367}}, Chapter 7, pp. 168–85</ref>

Relations between [[Judaism|Jews]] and Muslims in the Arab world and use of the word {{transliteration|ar|kafir}} were equally as complex, and over the last century, issues regarding {{transliteration|ar|kafir}} have arisen over the conflict in [[Israel]] and [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]].<ref name="Taji-Farouki2000">{{cite journal |last=Taji-Farouki |first=Suha |date=October 2000 |title=Islamists and the Threat of Jihad: Hizb al-Tahrir and al-Muhajiroun on Israel and the Jews|journal=Middle Eastern Studies |volume=36 |issue=4 |pages=21–46 |doi=10.1080/00263200008701330 |jstor=4284112|s2cid=144653647 }}</ref> Calling the Jews of Israel, "the usurping {{transliteration|ar|kafir}}", [[Yasser Arafat]] turned on the Muslim resistance and "allegedly set a precedent for preventing Muslims from mobilizing against 'aggressor disbelievers' in other Muslim lands, and enabled 'the cowardly, alien {{transliteration|ar|kafir}}' to achieve new levels of intervention in Muslim affairs."<ref name="Taji-Farouki2000" />

In 2019, [[Nahdlatul Ulama]], the largest independent Islamic organization in the world, issued a proclamation urging Muslims to refrain from using the word {{transliteration|ar|kafir}} to refer to non-Muslims, as the term is both offensive and perceived to be "theologically violent".<ref name=pri>{{cite news |work=The World, [[Public Radio International]] |first1=Patrick |last1=Winn |title=The world's largest Islamic group wants Muslims to stop saying 'infidel' |date=8 March 2019|url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-03-08/world-s-largest-islamic-group-wants-muslims-stop-saying-infidel |access-date=3 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/03/01/nu-calls-for-end-to-word-infidels-to-describe-non-muslims.html |title=NU calls for end to word 'infidels' to describe non-Muslims |date=1 March 2019 |work=[[The Jakarta Post]] |publisher=Niskala Media Tenggara |access-date=28 September 2020}}</ref>

====Muhammad's parents====
{{Further|Banu Hashim}}
{{See also|Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia}}

According to Islamic sources, none of forefathers of [[Muhammad]] were {{transliteration|ar|kafirs}}.<ref>Alusi. ''Roohul Ma'ani.'' Vol. 7. pp. 194-195.</ref><ref>Jalaludheen Suyuti. ''Masalikul Hunafa.'' p''.''  33.</ref> According to Ibn Hajar, the Quran clearly declares that [[Ahl al-Fatrah]] were among the Muslims.<ref name="auto">Ibn Hajar. ''Al-Minah al-Makkiyyah.'' p. 151.</ref> Ibn Hajar is of opinion that none of the Muhammad's parents who were non-prophets were {{transliteration|ar|kafirs}} (disbelievers) and all the hadiths on this subject (although some hadiths{{which|date=August 2023}} seem to contradict it) mean that.<ref name="auto"/> Ibn Hajar says about Muhammad saying his {{transliteration|ar|[[Ab (Semitic)#Arabic|ab]]}} is in the Hell, that the {{transliteration|ar|ab}} in the hadith refers to [[Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib|the paternal uncle]] and that Arabs widely use {{transliteration|ar|ab}} to refer to {{transliteration|ar|'amm}} (paternal uncle).<ref>[[Ibn Hajar al-Haytami|Al-Haytami, Ibn Hajar]]. ''Al-Minah al-Makkiyyah.'' p. 153.</ref> Most [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] scholars hold the view that the parents of Muhammad are saved and inhabitants of [[Jannah|Heaven]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weltch |first=Yusuf |date=2023-04-07 |title=Are the Parents of the Prophet (Blessings and Peace upon Him) Saved? |url=https://seekersguidance.org/answers/adab/are-the-parents-of-the-prophet-blessings-and-peace-upon-him-saved/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240716033241/https://seekersguidance.org/answers/adab/are-the-parents-of-the-prophet-blessings-and-peace-upon-him-saved/ |archive-date=2024-07-16 |access-date=2024-07-16 |website=SeekersGuidance |language=en}}</ref>

[[Shia Islam|Shia Muslim]] scholars likewise consider Muhammad's parents to be in Paradise.<ref>alhassanain. [http://www.alhassanain.com/english/book/book/beliefs_library/religions_and_sects/devils_deception_of_the_nasibi_wahabis/003.html The Nasibis Kufr Fatwa – that the Prophet (s)'sparents were Kaafir (God forbid)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018135534/http://www.alhassanain.com/english/book/book/beliefs_library/religions_and_sects/devils_deception_of_the_nasibi_wahabis/003.html |date=18 October 2017 }}</ref><ref>Shia Pen. [http://www.shiapen.com/comprehensive/non-egalitarian-imamate/monotheistic-lineage-prophets-imams.html Chapter Four – The pure monotheistic lineage of Prophets and Imams (as)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818214543/http://www.shiapen.com/comprehensive/non-egalitarian-imamate/monotheistic-lineage-prophets-imams.html |date=18 August 2017 }}</ref> In contrast, the [[Salafi]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Gauvain |first=Richard |year=2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AJ6gL2iwhy8C&pg=PA335 |title=Salafi Ritual Purity: In the Presence of God |location=[[Abingdon-on-Thames|Abingdon, Oxford]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |series=Routledge Islamic studies series |page=335 |isbn=978-0-7103-1356-0}}</ref> website [[IslamQA.info]], founded by the [[Saudi Arabia]]n Salafi scholar [[Muhammad Al-Munajjid]], argues that Islamic tradition teaches that Muhammad's parents were {{transliteration|ar|kuffār}} ('disbelievers') who are in Hell.<ref name="Al-Munajjid">{{cite web |url=https://islamqa.info/en/answers/47170/are-the-parents-of-the-prophet-peace-and-blessings-of-allaah-be-upon-him-in-paradise-or-in-hell |title=Are the parents of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in Paradise or in Hell? |last=Al-Munajjid |first=Muhammad |author-link=Muhammad Al-Munajjid |date=16 February 2004 |website=[[IslamQA]] |access-date=20 July 2020}}</ref>

===Other uses===
{{See also|Kaffir (racial term)|Kafiristan|Kaffrine|Kaffraria}}
[[File:011 Kafirs of Natal.jpg|thumb|''The'' {{transliteration|ar|Kafirs}} ''of Natal and the Zulu Country'' by Rev. Joseph Shooter]]
By the 15th century, [[Islam in Africa|Muslims in Africa]] were using the word {{transliteration|ar|kaffir}} in reference to the non-Muslim African natives. Many of those {{transliteration|ar|kufari}} were [[Slavery|enslaved]] and sold to European and Asian merchants by their Muslim captors, most of the merchants were from [[Portugal]], which had established trading outposts along the coast of West Africa by that time. These European traders adopted the Arabic word and its derivatives.<ref>{{cite book|last=Campo|first=Juan Eduardo|title=Encyclopedia of Islam|year=2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-5454-1 |page=422|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OZbyz_Hr-eIC}}</ref>

Some of the earliest records of European usage of the word can be found in ''The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation'' (1589) by [[Richard Hakluyt]].<ref>{{gutenberg author|id=1212| name=Richard Hakluyt}}</ref> In volume 4, Hakluyt writes: "calling them ''Cafars'' and ''Gawars'', which is, infidels or disbelievers".<ref>{{gutenberg|author=Richard Hakluyt|name=The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation – Volume 04|no=7769}}</ref> Volume 9 refers to the slaves (slaves called ''Cafari'') and inhabitants of Ethiopia ("and they use to go in small shippes, and trade with the ''Cafars''") by two different but similar names. The word is also used in reference to the coast of Africa as "land of Cafraria".<ref>{{gutenberg|author=Richard Hakluyt|name=The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation – Volume 09|no=10673}}</ref> The 16th century explorer [[Leo Africanus]] described the ''Cafri'' as "[[negro]]es", and he also stated that they constituted one of five principal population groups in Africa. He identified their geographical heartland as being located in a remote region of southern Africa, an area which he designated as ''Cafraria''.<ref name="Leo5153">{{cite book|last1=Africanus|first1=Leo|title=The History and Description of Africa|date=1526|publisher=Hakluyt Society|pages=20, 53 & 65|url=https://archive.org/stream/historyanddescr03porygoog#page/n180/mode/2up|access-date=27 July 2017}}</ref>

By the late 19th century, the word was in use in English-language newspapers and books.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B02E2DD163DE433A25756C1A9609C94669ED7CF|title=Barnato a Suicide; The Kafir King Leaps Overboard....|year=1897|work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=23 October 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E00E6DB1F3DE633A2575BC1A9669D946497D6CF|title=Kafir Band in Jail and Mighty Glad, Too|date=1905-10-18|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=2008-10-23}}</ref><ref>{{gutenberg|no=20491|name=Kafir Stories| author=W. C. Scully}}</ref><ref>{{gutenberg|no=25277|name=The Right of American Slavery|author=T. W. Hoit}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/hsmith/autobiography/harry.html|title=The Autobiography of Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Smith|access-date=23 October 2008}}</ref> One of the [[Union-Castle Line]] ships operating off the South African coast was named SS {{transliteration|ar|Kafir}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/union.html|title=Union Steamship Company|access-date=23 October 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922185140/http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/union.html|archive-date=22 September 2008}}</ref> In the early 20th century, in his book ''The Essential'' {{transliteration|ar|Kafir}}, Dudley Kidd writes that the word {{transliteration|ar|kafir}} had come to be used for all dark-skinned South African tribes. Thus, in many parts of South Africa, {{transliteration|ar|kafir}} became synonymous with the word "native".<ref name="Kidd 1925 v">{{cite book|last=Kidd|first=Dudley|title=The Essential Kafir|year=1925|publisher=The MacMillan Company|location=New York|pages=v}}</ref> Currently in [[South Africa]], however, the word ''[[Kaffir (racial term)|kaffir]]'' is regarded as a racial slur, applied pejoratively or offensively to blacks.<ref>{{cite book|last=Theal|first=Georg McCall|title=Kaffir (Xhosa) Folk-Lore: A Selection from the Traditional Tales Current among the People Living on the Eastern Border of the Cape Colony with Copious Explanatory Notes|year=1970|publisher=Negro Universities|location=Westport, CT}}</ref>

The song "Kafir" by the American technical death metal band [[Nile (band)|Nile]] on its sixth album ''[[Those Whom the Gods Detest]]'' uses the violent attitudes that [[Islamic extremism|Muslim extremists]] have towards {{transliteration|ar|kafirs}} as subject matter.<ref>{{cite web|title=Song Lyrics|url=http://www.songlyrics.com/nile/kafir!-lyrics/|publisher=Sound Media; Tone Media|access-date=4 December 2012}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=August 2023}}

The [[Nuristani people]] were formerly known as the Kaffirs of [[Kafiristan]] before the [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] [[Islamization]] of the region.

The [[Kalash people]] who live in the Hindu Kush mountain range which is located south west of [[Chitral]] are referred to as {{transliteration|ar|kafirs}} by the Muslim population of Chitral.<ref>{{cite web|last=Welker|first=Glenn|title=Kalash Kafirs of Chitral|url=http://www.indigenouspeople.net/Kalash%20Kafirs%20of%20Chitral.htm|publisher=Indigenous Peoples' Literature|access-date=5 December 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412035117/http://www.indigenouspeople.net/Kalash%20Kafirs%20of%20Chitral.htm|archive-date=12 April 2012}}</ref>

In modern [[Spanish language|Spanish]], the word {{lang|es|[[wikt:es:cafre|cafre]]}}, derived from the Arabic word {{transliteration|ar|kafir}} by way of the [[Portuguese language]], also means 'uncouth' or 'savage'.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Collins Spanish Dictionary |title=cafre|url=http://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=cafre }}</ref>

==See also==
{{columns-list|
* [[Outline of Islam]]
* [[Glossary of Islam]]
* [[Index of Islam-related articles]]
* [[Kofer]]
* [[Ahl al-Fatrah]]
* [[Divisions of the world in Islam]]
* [[Giaour]]
* [[Al-Kafirun|Kafirun (Sura)]]
* [[Kaffir (racial term)]]
* [[Takfir]]
* [[Takfiri]]
* [[Mumin]]
* [[Zandaqa]]
* [[Dar al-harb]]
}}

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=note}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wiktionary}}
* [https://www.secularismandnonreligion.org/articles/10.5334/snr.111/ Nonbelief: An Islamic Perspective]
* [https://www.quranlightuponlight.com/2021/04/quran-towards-non-muslims.html Qur'an verses that speak about non-Muslims] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314054631/https://www.quranlightuponlight.com/2021/04/quran-towards-non-muslims.html |date=14 March 2022 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130604190706/http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=216&CATE=13 Takfir – Anathematizing]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130604191943/http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=2534&CATE=124 Universal Validity of Religions and the Issue of Takfir]
* [http://www.inminds.co.uk/imam-cassiem-talk.html Inminds.co.uk]
* [http://www.islamfrominside.com/Pages/Articles/Hermeneutics%20of%20takfir.html Hermeneutics of takfir]

{{Quranic people}}
{{Ethnic slurs}}
{{Religious slurs}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ethno-cultural designations]]
[[Category:Islam and other religions]]
[[Category:Religious exonyms]]
[[Category:Islam-related slurs]]
[[Category:Islamic belief and doctrine]]
[[Category:Islamic terminology]]
[[Category:Sin in Islam]]