Kafir | EPFL Graph Search

Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?

Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of GraphSearch.

Kafir (كافر DIN; plural كَافِرُونَ DIN, كفّار DIN or كَفَرَة DIN; feminine كافرة DIN; feminine plural كافرات DIN or كوافر DIN) is an Arabic and Islamic term which, in the Islamic tradition, refers to a person who disbelieves in God as per Islam, denies his authority, or rejects the tenets of Islam; or simply all those who are not Muslims—those who do not believe in the guidance of Islamic prophet Muhammad. Thus the term DIN is the opposite of the term Muslim. The term is often translated as 'infidel,' 'pagan,' 'rejector,' 'denier,' 'disbeliever,' 'unbeliever,' 'nonbeliever,' and 'non-Muslim.' The term is used in different ways in the Quran, with the most fundamental sense being 'ungrateful' (toward God). Kufr means 'unbelief' or 'non-belief,' 'to be thankless,' 'to be faithless,' or 'ingratitude.' The opposite term of kufr is īmān ('faith'), and the opposite of kāfir is muʾmin ('believer'). A person who denies the existence of a creator might be called a dahri. Kafir is sometimes used interchangeably with mushrik (مشرك, those who practice polytheism), another type of religious wrongdoer mentioned frequently in the Quran and other Islamic works. (Other, sometimes overlapping Quranic terms for wrong-doers are ẓallām ('villain', 'oppressor') and fāsiq ('sinner', 'fornicator').) Historically, while Islamic scholars agreed that a polytheist/mushrik was a kafir, they sometimes disagreed on the propriety of applying the term to Muslims who committed a grave sin or to the People of the Book. The Quran distinguishes between mushrikun 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. In modern times, kafir is sometimes applied towards self-professed Muslims particularly by members of Islamist movements. The act of declaring another self-professed Muslim a kafir is known as takfir, a practice that has been condemned but also employed in theological and political polemics over the centuries.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related concepts (30)

Salafi movement

The Salafi movement or Salafism (سلفیة) is a revival movement within Sunni Islam. The movement was formed as a socio-religious resistance to European imperialism during the late 19th century and has remained influential in the Islamic World for over a century. The name "Salafiyya" refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (salaf), the first three generations of Muslims (the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his companions, the Sahabah, then the Tabi'in, and the third generation, the Taba al-Tabi'in), who are believed to exemplify the pure form of Islam.

Shirk (Islam)

Shirk (شرك širk) in Islam is the sin of idolatry or polytheism (i.e., the deification or worship of anyone or anything besides God). Islam teaches that God does not share his divine attributes with anyone. Associating partners with God is disallowed according to the Islamic doctrine of Tawhid (oneness). Mušrikūn مشركون (pl. of mušrik مشرك) are those who practice shirk, which literally means "association" and refers to accepting other gods and divinities alongside God (as God’s "associates").

Divisions of the world in Islam

In classical Islamic law, the major divisions are dar al-Islam (lit. territory of Islam/voluntary submission to God), denoting regions where Islamic law prevails, dar al-sulh (lit. territory of treaty) denoting non-Islamic lands which have concluded an armistice with a Muslim government, and dar al-harb (lit. territory of war), denoting adjoining non-Islamic lands whose rulers are called upon to accept Islam. The Arabic singular form dar (دار), translated literally, may mean "house", "abode", "structure", "place", "land", or "country".