Surah Kafirun ayat 5 Tafsir Quran 109:5

﴿وَلَا أَنتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ﴾
[ الكافرون: 5]

109:5 Nor will you be worshippers of what I worship.

nor will you worship in the future what I worship God knew that they would never become believers the use of the inanimate mā ‘what’ to refer to God is meant to counter the reference to ‘what thing’ they worship.

Nor do you observe Allah’s ordinances or such advice as Allah inclines you to propound

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.

(109:5) nor are you going to worship Him Whom I worship. *4

Nor will you be worshippers of what meaning

*4) A section of the commentators is of the view that both these sentences are a repetition of the theme of the first two sentences and the repetition is meant to strengthen the statement in the first two sentences.
But many commentators do not regard it as a repetition.
They say that a new theme has been expressed in these which is different from the theme of the first two sentences.
In our opinion they arc correct in so far as there is no repetition in these sentences, for in these only " nor are you worshippers of Him Whom 1 worship " Gas been repeated, and this repetition also is not in the sense in which this sentence was used first.
But after negating the repetition the meanings that this section of the commentators has given of these two sentenses are very different from each other.
There is no occasion here to take up and discuss each of the meanings given by the conunentators.
Avoiding details we shall only discuss the meaning which is correct in our opinion.

In the first sentence, it has been said: " Nor am 1 a worshipper of chase whom you have worshipped. " Its theme is absolutely different from the theme of verse2, in which it was said: " I do not worship those whom you warship, " These two things widely differ in two aspects.
First, that although there is denial, and a forceful denial, in saying that " I do not, or shall not, do such and such a thing ", yet there is much greater force in saying that " 1 am not a doer of such and such a thing ", for it means: " It is such an evil thing that nothing to say of committing it; it is not possible that I would even think of it, or have intention of doing it. " Second, that the sentence " whom you worship " applies to only those gods whom the disbelievers are worshipping now.
On the contrary, the sentence " whom you have worshipped " applies to aII those gods whom the disbelievers and their forefathers have been worshipping in the past.
Now, it is a well known fact that the gods of the polytheists and disbelievers have always been changing and their number increasing and decreasing.
In different ages different groups of them have been worshipping different gods and the gods of all the disbelievers have never always been the same everywhere.
Therefore, the verse means: " I exonerate myself not only from your gods of today but also from the gods of your forefathers, and I am not a person who would even think of worshipping such gods.
"
As for the second sentence, although its words in verse 5 are the same as in verse 3, yet its meaning at the two places is different.
In verse 3, it follows this sentence: " I do not worship those whom you worship. " Therefore, it means: " Nor are you worshippers of the God having the attributes of the One God Whom I worship. " And in verse 5, it follows this sentence: " Nor am I a worshipper of those whom you have worshipped. " Therefore, it means: " Nor dces it seem you would become worshippers of the One God Whom I worship. " Or, in other words, " It is not possible that 1 should become a worshipper of each of those gods whom you and your forefathers have worshipped, and on account of your aversion to adopting worship of One God, instead of many gads, it cannot be expected that you would desist from this wrong worship and will become worshipper of Him Whom 1 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.

( Nor will ye worship that which I worship ) that which I worshipped in the past; it is also said this means: I do not believe in the divinity in which you believe nor will I believe in the divinity which you believe in beside Allah nor will you believe in the divine Oneness of Allah which I believe in.

"Nor will you worship that which I worship.

Page 603 English transliteration