Surah Kafirun ayat 3 Tafsir Quran 109:3

﴿وَلَا أَنتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ﴾
[ الكافرون: 3]

109:3 Nor are you worshippers of what I worship.

and you do not worship at present what I worship and that is God exalted be He alone

Nor do you worship Allah, Whom I worship

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.

(109:3) neither do you worship Him Whom I worship; *3

Nor are you worshippers of what I meaning

*3) The words used are: ma a'budu.
The word ma in Arabic, is generally used for lifeless or unintelligent things, and the word man for intelligent and rational beings.
The question arises why has ma a `budu been used here instead of man a `budu? The commentators generally give four answers to it: ( 1 ) that ma here is in the meaning of man; ( 2 ) that ma here is in the meaning of alladhi ( i.e.
which or who ); ( 3 ) that in both the sentences ma is in the meaning of a noun of action ( masdar ) and it means: " 1 do not perform the kind of worship that you perform, i.
e.
polytheistic worship, and you do not perform the kind of worship that I perform, i.e.
worship of One God; " ( 4 ) that since in the first sentence ma ta'buduna has been used, in the second ma a `budu has been used to keep the style; in both places there is only the uniformity of the word, there is no uniformity of meaning; instances of this are found elsewhere also in the Qur'an.
For example, in AI-Baqarah: 194, it has been said: '" Therefore, if anyone transgresses a prohibition by attacking you, you may do likewise. " Obviously, to transgress likewise in retaliation is no transgression, but the word transgression ( in retaliation ) Gas been used only for the sake of uniformity in style.
In Surah At-Taubah: 67, it has been said: " They forgot Allah, so Allah forgot them ", whereas Allah does not forget.
what meant to be said is that Allah ignored them.
The word nisyan in respect of AIlah has been used corresponding to their nisyaa ( forgetfulness ) only to keep the uniformity of the study.

Although all these four interpretations are correct in their own way, and there is room in Arabic to take all these meanings, yet none of these explains the real object for which ma a'budu has been used instead of man a `budu.
As a matter of fact, when man is used for a person in Arabic, it is meant to say or ask something about his person, and when ma is used, it is meant to ask or express something about his characteristics and traits.
This can be explained in English by the questions: who is he, and what is he?, about a person.
When it is asked, who is he?, the object is to know something about his person.
But when it is asked, what is he?, the object is to know whether, for example, he belongs to the army, and if so, what is his rank, or whether he belongs to some teaching organisation, and if so, whether he is a lecturer in it, or a reader, or a professor, what science or art subject he teaches, what are his qualifications, etc.
Thus, if in this verse, it was said: La antum abiduna man a `bud, it would mean: " You are not worshippers of the being whom I worship, and in response, the disbelievers and the polytheists could have said that they too believed in the Being of AIIah and also worshipped Him.
But when it was said: La antum 'abiduna ma a `bud, it meant: "You are not worshippers of the Deity who has the attributes of the Deity whom I worship." And this is the real point on the basis of which the religion of the Prophet Muhammad ( upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings ) is absolutely distinguish-ed from the religions of all kinds of disbelievers, besides the deniers of God, for his God is utterly different from the God of all of them.
The God of some of them is such that He stood in need of rest on the seventh day after having created the world in six days, Who is not God of the universe but God of Israel, Who stands in a special relationship to the people of one particular race, which is not shared by other men, Who wrestles with the Prophet Jacob and cannot throw him, Who has also a son, named Ezra.
The God of some others is father of an only son, called Jesus Christ, and He causes His son to be crucified in order to make him an atonement for the sins of others.
The God of some has wife and children, but begets only daughters.
The God of some assumes human form and shape and living in a human body on the earth works like men.
The God of some is merely an Essence, or Cause of causes, or the First Cause, Who after giving the system of the universe the initial push is sitting aside unconcerned, the universe is working by itself according to some relentless laws, and now He and man have nothing to do with each other.
In short, even the unbelievers who acknowledge God do not, in fact, acknowledge the God, Who is the Creator, .
Master, Disposer, Administrator and Ruler of the entire universe, Who has not only set the system of the universe but is running and controlling it by Himself every moment, Who is above every defect, fault, weakness and error, Who is free from every similitude, every physical limitation, every likeness, Who is Self-Sufficient of every companion and associate, Who has no partner in His Being, attributes, powers and entitlement to worship, Who is far too Holy that He should have children, or should take some one for a son, or should have an exclusive relationship with a community or race, Who is directly related to each individual creature of His as His Providence, Sustainer and Guardian, Who hears the prayers and answers them, Who alone possesses all the powers to give Iife and death, to cause profit and loss, and to make and mar destinies, Who not only sustains His creatures but also guides each according to its nature and need, Who is not only our God Whom we worship but also enjoins commands and prohibitions through His Prophets and His Books, which we have to obey, before Whom we are accountable for our deeds, Who will resurrect us after death, call us to account and reward and punish us accordingly.
No one in the world except for Muhammad ( upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings ) and his followers, is worshipping the God with these attributes.
If at alI some others also are worshipping God, they are not worshipping the real and true God but the God who is their self-invented, imaginary God.

 

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.

( Nor worship ye that which I worship ) that which I will worship in the future.

"Nor will you worship that which I worship.

• Previous
• Ayah 3
• Next