Meaning: the disbelievers · Also translated as: disbelievers, disbeliever, a disbeliever, disbelieving
Forms in the Quran
ٱلْكَٰفِرِينَ×52
لِلْكَٰفِرِينَ×23
ٱلْكَٰفِرُونَ×17
كَٰفِرُونَ×15
ٱلْكُفَّارَ×12
كَٰفِرِينَ×8
وَلِلْكَٰفِرِينَ×5
كُفَّارٌ×4
Its root in the classical dictionaries
الكفر في اللغة: ستر الشيء، ووصف الليل بالكافر لستره الأشخاص، والزراع لستره البذر في الأرض، وليس ذلك باسم لهما كما قال بعض أهل اللغة لما سمع:387-ألقت ذكاء يمينها في كافر
قوله تعالى: ﴿إن الذين كفروا﴾ [آل عمران: 4]. الكفر أصله التغطية والستر. وسمي الكافر الشرعي كافرا لأنه ستر الحق وغطى عليه. وسمي الليل كافرا لستره الأشياء بظلامه. وأنشد لثعلبة: [من الكامل]
And obey not (the behests)
Of the Unbelievers
And the Hypocrites,
And heed not their annoyances,
But put thy trust in God.
For enough is God
As a Disposer of affairs.
He it is that has made
You inheritors in the earth:
If, then, any do reject
(God), their rejection (works)
Against themselves: their rejection
But adds to the odium
For the Unbelievers
In the sight of their Lord:
Their rejection but adds
To (their own) undoing.
Who, then, doth more wrong
Than one who utters
A lie concerning God,
And rejects the Truth
When it comes to him
Is there not in Hell
An abode for blasphemers?
The Unbelievers will be
Led to Hell in crowd:
Until, when they arrive there,
Its gates will be opened.
And its Keepers will say,
"Did not apostles come
To you from among yourselves,
Rehearsing to you the Signs
Of your Lord, and warning you
Of the Meeting of this Day
Of yours?" The answer
Will be: "True: but
The Decree of Punishment
Has been proved true
Against the Unbelievers!"
Now, when he came to them
In Truth, from Us,
They said, "Slay the sons
Of those who believe a
With him, and keep alive
Their females," but the plots
Of Unbelievers (end) in nothing
But errors (and delusions)!…
They will say: "Did there
Not come to you
Your apostles with Clear Signs?"
They will say, "Yes".
They will reply, "Then
Pray (as ye like)! But
The Prayer of those
Without Faith is nothing
But (futile wandering)
In (mazes of) error!"
"In derogation of God?"
They will reply: "They have
Left us in the lurch:
Nay, we invoked not,
Of old, anything (that had
Real existence)." Thus
Does God leave
The Unbelievers to stray.
But their professing the Faith
When they (actually) saw
Our Punishment was not going
To profit them.
(Such has been) God's way
Of dealing with His servants
(From the most ancient times).
And even thus did
The rejecters of God
Perish (utterly)!
Behold, the apostles came
To them, from before them
And behind them, (preaching):
"Serve none but God."
They said, "If our Lord
Had so pleased, He would
Certainly have sent down angels
(To preach): now we reject
Your mission (altogether)."
And He listens to
Those who believe and
Do deeds of righteousness,
And gives them increase
Of His Bounty: but
For the Unbelievers there is
A terrible Penalty.
He said: "What!
Even if I brought you
Better guidance than that
Which ye found
Your fathers following?"
They said: "For us,
We deny that ye (prophets)
Are sent (on a mission
At all)."