KÂFIR – كافر

 

One who does not see haqq or covers it. Who denies a benefit. Ungrateful. Who repays a benefit by denial of it. A misbeliever. A disbeliever in the pillars of îmân or one of them.

(Please refer to the Compilation of Kâfir)

 

“Îmân establishes brotherhood and affinity among all things. Thus one does not find strong feelings of greed, enmity, hatred, or desolation in the rûh of mu’min. The mu’mins see even the strongest enemy as brothers in humanity. Kufr causes separation and alienation, which manifest in kâfirs as strong feelings of greed, enmity, iltizâm of nafs, and self-reliance. Such feelings help them succeed in this life, for they see their virtues rewarded mostly here and now, whereas mu’mins suffer the consequences of some of their shortcomings and sins. That is why the Prophet declared: “The world is a prison for a mu’min, but a Jannah for a kâfir.”

KNOW, O FRIEND, that if îmân enters your heart, you become like a jewel worthy of eternity and Jannah. Kufr, however, reduces you to a valueless, perishable stone devoid of most sublime feelings and virtues. Îmân unveils the sound, pleasant kernel or essence within the perishable covering, and displays the supposed perishable foam as a radiant diamond. Kufr shows the covering as the kernel, clings to it firmly, and reduces you from resembling a diamond to resembling a piece of glass, ice, or foam. This is what I have observed concerning îmân and kufr.” Al-Mathnawi al-Nuri (111-112)

 

“There are riwâyât which say: "At the âkhirzaman, no one will remain who will say: Allah! Allah!" 1 لاَ يَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ اِلاَّ اللّٰهُ , an interpretation of this must be as follows: the takkas2 , the places of dhikr, and the madrasas will be closed, and a name other than 'Allah' will be used in the shaâ’er, such as the adhan and iqâmah. It does not mean that all mankind is going to fall into kufr al-mutlaq, for denial of Allah is as irrational as denying the universe. It is not reasonable to suppose it should be thus even with the majority of people, let alone all of them. The kâfirs do not deny Allah, they are in error only concerning His attributes.

Another interpretation is this: so that they do not experience its terror, the rûhs of the mu’mins will be seized a little previously to the qiyâmah. Qiyâmah will erupt over the heads of the kâfirs.” The Rays ( 104 )