Surah al-Kafirun (109)

This Surah was named Surah al-Kāfirūn or 'Qul Yā Ayyuhal-Kāfirūn', and was revealed in Makkah.


Cause Of Revelation:

Ibn `Abbᾱs reported that when once the Prophet was making ṭawᾱf, al-Walīd bin al-Mughīrah, al-`Ᾱṣ bin Wᾱ’il, al-Aswad bin al-Muṭṭalib and Umayyah bin Khalaf met him (peace be upon him) and said, “O Muhammad, let us agree that we would worship your lord and you would worship our gods, and we would be partners in all our affairs. So if what you have brought was better than what we possess, we would be partners in it with you and have our share in it. But if what we possess is better than what you have brought, you would be partners in it with us and have your share of it.” He replied, “I seek refuge in Allah from taking any partner with Him.” Thus, Allah (subhānahū wa-ta`ālā) sent down ( قل ياأيها الكافرون...- the Sūrah). On the following day, the Prophet came to al-Ka`bah where the Quraysh assembled and recited the Sūrah to them. With the revelation of this Sūrah, the dispute between the chiefs of Quraysh and the Prophet (peace be upon him) was brought to an end. 

Ayah 1: قُلْ يأَيُّهَا الْكَـفِرُونَ

Say, ‘O disbelievers,’

Say indicates that this is a message to be delivered to mankind, and conveys the message that it is a clear divine order telling that the whole affair belongs to Allah alone, and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) had only to deliver the message, whereas Allah is the one who orders and decides.

The disbelievers are all those who do not acknowledge Muhammad (peace be upon him) as Allah’s Messenger, and the teachings brought by him as the teachings given by Allah Himself, then they die in a state of disbelief. They may be the Jews, the Christians, the Zoroastrians, the polytheists, or the pagans and their likes.

Ayah 2: لاَ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ

I do not worship what you worship.

Definition of `ibādah: Imam Ibn Taymiyah believed that a servant of Allah has to fulfill 5 conditions:

1. Be Obedient to Allah. 

2. Love Allah more than anything else. The believers are intense in their love for Allah (والذين آمنوا أشد حباً لله (2:165). 

3. Trust Allah & rely on Him. 

4. When doing anything [especially an act of worship] he should do it sincerely for the sake of Allah alone.

5. Be a true slave of Allah. He is not in a position to discuss a command of Allah, for 'Ubūdiyyah is not just worship but also slavery.

Ayah 3: وَلاَ أَنتُمْ عَـبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ

Nor are you worshippers of what I worship.

Worshipper is a noun, which signifies that never have you been in the past, nor are you now, nor will you ever be in the future, in any way, worshipping the same God that I worship. 

Ayah 4: وَلا أَنَآ عَابِدٌ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ

Nor will I be a worshipper of what you worship.

And I am not a worshipper of what you worshiped. I have never ever been enslaved to what you worshipped. Don't think that your god was the same as mine and don't think mine was the same as yours. 

Ayah 5:  وَلاَ أَنتُمْ عَـبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ

Verses 3 and verse 5 “nor will you be worshippers of what I worship” looks identical.

It indicates that the disbelievers repeated their proposal to the Prophet, so Allah repeated it to give a decisive and final decision of refusing their proposals. It also refers to the past and the future. And it implies anger of Allah with them. 

The word ما is significantly used instead of من. 

Allah didn't say: and you don't worship “WHO” I worship”. He said "What" I worship.

Who involves an identity (like a name). What involves a quality. The use of ‘ما’ is significant, because if you say: “I do not worship whom you worship”, the disbelievers will say, “We worship the same god that you worship [i.e., Allah],” so  ‘ما’ leaves no confusion or ambiguity, it gives the meaning: “You are not worshippers of the deity who has the attributes of the Deity whom I worship.” 

The Muslim’s God is different from the gods of all of the disbelievers.

The Deity of the Muslims is the One who sets the system of the universe, and who runs and controls it. 

Allah says: 

He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, knower of the unseen and the witnessed. He is the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Perfection, the Bestower of faith, the Overseer, the Exalted in Might, the Compeller, and the Superior. Exalted is Allah above whatever they associate with Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Inventor, the Fashioner; to Him belong the best names. Whatever is in the heavens and earth is exalting Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise. 

Ayah 6:  لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِىَ دِينِ

To you is your religion and for me is my religion.

It sums up the entire argument. Islam is not a message of tolerance with kufr or shirk, rather it is a declaration of disassociation and distinction from the disbelievers as long as they are disbelievers. 

The message is “You, who are disbelievers, and I who am a Muslim, are very far apart without any bridge to connect us. My religion is entirely distinct and separate from yours. We would never come to terms with you, because there is no room for half-solutions or compromise in our religion. It is based on absolute monotheism whose concepts, values, beliefs and laws include all aspects of human life and that which is received from Allah (subhanahu wa-ta’ala) and none else.”

Your judgment will be only for you. And my judgment will be only for me. And you'll find out the consequences of your kufr when the Day of Judgment comes.