Surah Kafirun ayat 1 Tafsir Quran 109:1

﴿قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ﴾
[ الكافرون: 1]

109:1 Say, "O disbelievers,

Say ‘O disbelievers!

Say O Muhammad to those who have rejected Faith: O you infidels

Which was revealed in Makkah The Recitation of these Surahs in the Optional Prayers It has been confirmed in Sahih Muslim from Jabir that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited this Surah ( Al-Kafirun ) and قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ( Say: "He is Allah One." ) ( 112:1 ) in the two Rak`ahs of Tawaf.
It is also recorded in Sahih Muslim in a Hadith of Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited these two Surahs in the two Rak`ahs ( optional prayer ) of the Morning prayer.
Imam Ahmad recorded from Ibn `Umar that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited in the two Rak`ahs before the Morning prayer and the two Rak`ahs after the Sunset prayer on approximately ten or twenty different occasions, قُلْ يأَيُّهَا الْكَـفِرُونَ ( Say: "O Al-Kafirun!" ) and قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ( Say: " He is Allah One." ) ( 112:1 ) Ahmad also recorded that Ibn `Umar said, "I watched the Prophet twenty-four or twenty-five times reciting in the two Rak`ahs before the Morning prayer and the two Rak`ahs after the Sunset prayer, قُلْ يأَيُّهَا الْكَـفِرُونَ ( Say: "O Al-Kafirun!" ) and قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ( Say: "He is Allah One." ) ( 112:1 )" Ahmad recorded that Ibn `Umar said, "I watched the Prophet for a month and he would recite in the two Rak`ahs before the Morning prayer, قُلْ يأَيُّهَا الْكَـفِرُونَ ( Say: "O Al-Kafirun." ) and قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ( Say: "He is Allah One." ) ( 112:1 )" This was also recor- ded by At-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and An-Nasa'i.
At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan." It has already been mentioned previously in a Hadith that it ( Surat Al-Kafirun ) is equivalent to a fourth of the Qur'an and Az-Zalzalah is equivalent to a fourth of the Qur'an. بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The Declaration of Innocence from Shirk This Surah is the Surah of disavowal from the deeds of the idolators.
It commands a complete disavowal of that.
Allah's statement, قُلْ يأَيُّهَا الْكَـفِرُونَ ( Say: "O disbelievers!" ) includes every disbeliever on the face of the earth, however, this statement is particularly directed towards the disbelievers of the Quraysh.
It has been said that in their ignorance they invited the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to worship their idols for a year and they would ( in turn ) worship his God for a year.
Therefore, Allah revealed this Surah and in it He commanded His Messenger to disavow himself from their religion completely Allah said, لاَ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ ( I worship not that which you worship. ) meaning, statues and rival gods. وَلاَ أَنتُمْ عَـبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ ( 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, وَلاَ أَنَآ عَابِدٌ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ وَلاَ أَنتُمْ عَـبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ ( And I shall not worship that which you are worshipping.
Nor will you worship whom I worship. ) meaning, `I do not worship according to your worship, which means that I do not go along with it or follow it.
I only worship Allah in the manner in which He loves and is pleased with.' Thus, Allah says, وَلاَ أَنتُمْ عَـبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ ( Nor will you worship whom I worship. ) meaning, `you do not follow the commands of Allah and His Legislation in His worship.
Rather, you have invented something out of the promptings of your own souls.' This is as Allah says, إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلاَّ الظَّنَّ وَمَا تَهْوَى الاٌّنفُسُ وَلَقَدْ جَآءَهُم مِّن رَّبِّهِمُ الْهُدَى ( They follow but a guess and that which they themselves desire, whereas there has surely come to them the guidance from their Lord! ) ( 53:23 ) Therefore, the disavowal is from all of what they are involved.
For certainly the worshipper must have a god whom he worships and set acts of worship that he follows to get to him.
So the Messenger and his followers worship Allah according to what He has legislated.
This is why the statement of Islam is "There is no God worthy of being worshipped except Allah, and Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah." This means that there is no ( true ) object of worship except Allah and there is no path to Him ( i.e., way of worshipping Him ) other than that which the Messenger came with.
The idolators worship other than Allah, with acts of worship that Allah has not allowed.
This is why the Messenger said to them, لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِىَ دِينِ ( To you be your religion, and to me my religion. ) This is similar to Allah's statement, وَإِن كَذَّبُوكَ فَقُل لِّى عَمَلِى وَلَكُمْ عَمَلُكُمْ أَنتُمْ بَرِيئُونَ مِمَّآ أَعْمَلُ وَأَنَاْ بَرِىءٌ مِّمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ ( And if they belie you, say: "For me are my deeds and for you are your deeds! You are innocent of what I do, and I am innocent of what you do!" ) ( 10:41 ) and He said, لَنَآ أَعْمَـلُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَـلُكُمْ ( To us our deeds, and to you your deeds. ) ( 28:55 ) Al-Bukhari said, "It has been said, لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ ( To you be your religion. ) means disbelief. وَلِىَ دِينِ ( and to me my religion. ) means, Islam.
This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat Qul ya Ayyuhal-Kafirun.

(109:1) Say: 'O unbelievers!' *1

Say, "O disbelievers, meaning

*1) 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 Mauhmmad ( upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings ),
( 3 ) The word used is " O kafirs " and not " O muslmiks "; 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 characterised.
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 to `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 AIlah.
Second, that this is also followed by: wa la antum `abiduna ma a`bud " Nor are you worshippers of Him Whom 1 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 dces 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'?
 

Which was revealed in Makkah The Recitation of these Surahs in the Optional Prayers It has been confirmed in Sahih Muslim from Jabir that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited this Surah ( Al-Kafirun ) and قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ( Say: "He is Allah One." ) ( 112:1 ) in the two Rak`ahs of Tawaf.
It is also recorded in Sahih Muslim in a Hadith of Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited these two Surahs in the two Rak`ahs ( optional prayer ) of the Morning prayer.
Imam Ahmad recorded from Ibn `Umar that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited in the two Rak`ahs before the Morning prayer and the two Rak`ahs after the Sunset prayer on approximately ten or twenty different occasions, قُلْ يأَيُّهَا الْكَـفِرُونَ ( Say: "O Al-Kafirun!" ) and قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ( Say: " He is Allah One." ) ( 112:1 ) Ahmad also recorded that Ibn `Umar said, "I watched the Prophet twenty-four or twenty-five times reciting in the two Rak`ahs before the Morning prayer and the two Rak`ahs after the Sunset prayer, قُلْ يأَيُّهَا الْكَـفِرُونَ ( Say: "O Al-Kafirun!" ) and قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ( Say: "He is Allah One." ) ( 112:1 )" Ahmad recorded that Ibn `Umar said, "I watched the Prophet for a month and he would recite in the two Rak`ahs before the Morning prayer, قُلْ يأَيُّهَا الْكَـفِرُونَ ( Say: "O Al-Kafirun." ) and قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ( Say: "He is Allah One." ) ( 112:1 )" This was also recor- ded by At-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and An-Nasa'i.
At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan." It has already been mentioned previously in a Hadith that it ( Surat Al-Kafirun ) is equivalent to a fourth of the Qur'an and Az-Zalzalah is equivalent to a fourth of the Qur'an. بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The Declaration of Innocence from Shirk This Surah is the Surah of disavowal from the deeds of the idolators.
It commands a complete disavowal of that.
Allah's statement, قُلْ يأَيُّهَا الْكَـفِرُونَ ( Say: "O disbelievers!" ) includes every disbeliever on the face of the earth, however, this statement is particularly directed towards the disbelievers of the Quraysh.
It has been said that in their ignorance they invited the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to worship their idols for a year and they would ( in turn ) worship his God for a year.
Therefore, Allah revealed this Surah and in it He commanded His Messenger to disavow himself from their religion completely Allah said, لاَ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ ( I worship not that which you worship. ) meaning, statues and rival gods. وَلاَ أَنتُمْ عَـبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ ( 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, وَلاَ أَنَآ عَابِدٌ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ وَلاَ أَنتُمْ عَـبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ ( And I shall not worship that which you are worshipping.
Nor will you worship whom I worship. ) meaning, `I do not worship according to your worship, which means that I do not go along with it or follow it.
I only worship Allah in the manner in which He loves and is pleased with.' Thus, Allah says, وَلاَ أَنتُمْ عَـبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ ( Nor will you worship whom I worship. ) meaning, `you do not follow the commands of Allah and His Legislation in His worship.
Rather, you have invented something out of the promptings of your own souls.' This is as Allah says, إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلاَّ الظَّنَّ وَمَا تَهْوَى الاٌّنفُسُ وَلَقَدْ جَآءَهُم مِّن رَّبِّهِمُ الْهُدَى ( They follow but a guess and that which they themselves desire, whereas there has surely come to them the guidance from their Lord! ) ( 53:23 ) Therefore, the disavowal is from all of what they are involved.
For certainly the worshipper must have a god whom he worships and set acts of worship that he follows to get to him.
So the Messenger and his followers worship Allah according to what He has legislated.
This is why the statement of Islam is "There is no God worthy of being worshipped except Allah, and Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah." This means that there is no ( true ) object of worship except Allah and there is no path to Him ( i.e., way of worshipping Him ) other than that which the Messenger came with.
The idolators worship other than Allah, with acts of worship that Allah has not allowed.
This is why the Messenger said to them, لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِىَ دِينِ ( To you be your religion, and to me my religion. ) This is similar to Allah's statement, وَإِن كَذَّبُوكَ فَقُل لِّى عَمَلِى وَلَكُمْ عَمَلُكُمْ أَنتُمْ بَرِيئُونَ مِمَّآ أَعْمَلُ وَأَنَاْ بَرِىءٌ مِّمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ ( And if they belie you, say: "For me are my deeds and for you are your deeds! You are innocent of what I do, and I am innocent of what you do!" ) ( 10:41 ) and He said, لَنَآ أَعْمَـلُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَـلُكُمْ ( To us our deeds, and to you your deeds. ) ( 28:55 ) Al-Bukhari said, "It has been said, لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ ( To you be your religion. ) means disbelief. وَلِىَ دِينِ ( and to me my religion. ) means, Islam.
This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat Qul ya Ayyuhal-Kafirun.

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.

Say (O Muhammad (Peace be upon him) to these Mushrikun and Kafirun): "O Al-Kafirun (disbelievers in Allah, in His Oneness, in His Angels, in His Books, in His Messengers, in the Day of Resurrection, and in Al-Qadar, etc.)!

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