Imam Ibn al-Jawzi and others mention that the Qur’an cites the word ‘Kufr’ in five different cases one of which is to deny the existence of Allah, the Messenger, etc. Linguistically there are various meanings but technically it means when a person does not believe in Allah or Islam.
I don’t want to delve into the deeper meanings of Kufr but when a person says he does not believe in Allah and the last day, should we not consider him to be a Kafir? (disbeliever/non-Muslim). It seems some people, due to their inferiority complex, want to even evade calling a non-Muslim a non-Muslim. Of course we don’t use this term in a derogatory manner at a person’s face but a spade is a spade as they say.
Very true indeed. This is what is referred to when one says that the meanings and default ahkaam of the Quran cannot be changed, but the application may change according to time and place (in reference to another blog post on this blog).
Alhamdullah Br. Hasan you have kindly explanied the term and useage of the word Kafir. Hopefully this will clear up the confusion some people are creating and stop them from thinking the word kafir/kufr is derogatory in itself.
Allahu akbar! Finally, a breath of fresh air.
PC police, go home!
it is excellent that we present fundements of islam in clear and concise way. Unfortunately, we neglect the gretest tool that the Prophet saas adopted in conveying his message. that is ‘jawaami’ul kalim’ (concise comprehensive speech). alot of the times, this issue of kufr is ‘over-intellectialised’ into technical waffle, when Allah SWT Himslef addresses ‘Oh you who disbeleive (kaafiroon)’ all through out the qur’an. not yaa ayyuhal ‘potential muslims’….
lol! “yaa ayyuhal ‘potential muslims’…” :)
Tell the PC police to go home when someone is attacking Islam and Muslims. It’s most often a term employed in an entirely derogatory way.