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 We have set none
But angels as guardians
Of the Fire; and We
Have fixed their number
Only as a trial
For Unbelievers,—in order
That the People of the Book
May arrive at certainty,
And the Believers may increase
In Faith,—and that no doubts
May be left for the People
Of the Book and the Believers,
And that those in whose hearts
Is a disease and the Unbelievers
May say, "What symbol
Doth God intend by this?
Thus doth God leave to stray
Whom He pleaseth, and guide
Whom He pleaseth: and none
Can know the forces
Of thy Lord, except He.
And this is no other than
A warning to mankind.
Verily, we have warned you
Of a Penalty near,—
The Day when man will
See (the Deeds) which
His hands have sent forth,
And the Unbeliever will say,
"Woe unto me! Would that
I were mere dust!"