KUFR – كفر

 

Literally: Covering over. Concealing. To hide. Conceal. Especially covering up the ni’mahs with ingratitude.

As a Sharî’ah term: Kufr is the opposite of îmân. Unbelief. Concealing the haqiqahs. Not having a certain belief in the requirements of îmân. The essence of îmân is confirmation and the essence of kufr is denial. Like îmân, the path to kufr can be through the heart, speech, or actions. Condemning or treating lightly any Sharî’ah law or the âyah of the Qur'an and considering them of little importance. Saying or claiming anything repugnant to the principles of Islam and the sacred things and matters of religion is kufr. To blaspheme.

(Please refer to the Compilation of Kufr)

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا اُنْزِلَ اِلَيْهِ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللّٰهِ وَمَلٰئِكَتِهِ

 وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ اَحَدٍ مِنْ رُسُلِهِ1

[to the end of the âyah]

An awesome ma’nawî question and a state arising from the unfolding of a vast Ilahî ni’mah were the causes of my explaining a universal, lengthy point about this comprehensive, elevated and sublime âyah. It was like this: it occurred to my rûh in a ma’nawî manner: why does one who denies a part of the haqiqah of îmân become a kâfir, and one who does not accept a part of them cannot be a Muslim? Whereas, îmân in Allah and the âkhirah should dispel the darkness like the sun. Also, why does a person who denies one of the pillars and haqiqah of îmân become a murtad and falls into kufr al-mutlaq, and quits Islam by not accepting it? Whereas if he has îmân in the other pillars of îmân, it should save him from kufr al-mutlaq?

The Answer: Îmân is a single haqiqah, which, composed of its six pillars, cannot be divided up. It is a universal that cannot be separated into parts. It is a whole that cannot be broken up. For each of the pillars of îmân proves the other pillars with the proofs that prove itself. They are all extremely powerful proofs of each other. In which case, a bâtil idea that cannot shake all the pillars together with all their proofs, in the view of haqiqah, cannot negate any one of the pillars, or even a single haqiqah, and cannot deny them. Under the veil of non-acceptance, one might only, by shutting his eyes, commit obstinate kufr. He falls into ‘kufr al-mutlaq’ by degrees and ruins his humanity, and goes to Jahannam, both physically and ma’nawî.” The Rays ( 256 )