The Infidels

This little surah is one of those short ones in the last part of the Qur'an that are recited frequently and committed to memory by many Muslims. At the same time, it has been understood in many different, often contraditctory ways. Sometimes it is quoted as a proof text for religious tolerance: "You have your religion and I have mine." But it is also used to emphasize a demarcation line between "Us" and the "Other" that promotes a simplistic world view linked with exclusion and discrimination - sometimes even behind the veil of tolerance. Then the fact that the word kâfirûn, deniers or rejecters, is often rendered as "disbelievers" or "infidels" cannot necessarily be blamed on the translator: in everyday language, the word soon developed into an invective for people who do not share one's views. It would therefore be useful to rediscover some of the language and history of the surah and to make it relevant for our complex world.

The word kâfir comes from the Arabic root kafara, to cover, to hide. It describes someone who deliberately covers something. In this sense it was used e.g. for a farmer or gardener who covers seede with earth in order to enable them to grow into plants. The Qur'an uses it in a metaphorical sense for someone who denies or rejects something, and not necessarily in a negative way. Traces of a more neutral and general or even positive usage can still be found, e.g.: "... so whoever rejects (yakfur) the forces of tyranny and has faith in God has indeed grasped a strong support that never breaks" (2:256). The intensive form kaffara is mainly associated with atonement for human failures and shortcomings: "Those who have faith and work towards peace and order - We shall certainly blot out (nukaffiranna) their bad actions and reward them according to the best of what they used to do" (29:7).

On the whole, however, the word kâfir and related words are used in the Qur'an most often for people who consciously reject the contents of the divine message: serving the One God, living in the consciousness of resposibility before God and building up individual and social life on ethical principles. It is also connected with ungratefulness: the failure to recognize the numerous gifts and opportunities we have been given by our Creator and to unfold and enjoy them in a way that is beneficial for ourselves and others.

It is well-known that the surah is a rather early Makkan one. The Prophet had just recently started to call the city notables, most of them relatives of his, to give up idolatry and superstition and to remember their responsibility for promoting honesty, charity and justice in their society. The response was rejection and denial: the rich and influential businessmen rather considered the message and the movement that gradually evolved from it a threat to their profits and privileges. One of their counter-measures was an attempt to offer the Prophet some personal advantages in exchange for a compromise.

There is generally nothing wrong with a compromise that resolves an ordinary conflict. But basic ethical principles are not at our desposal. In this case, the conflict necessarily remains unresolved: you follow your conscience and I follow my conscience, leaving the final judgement to the Ultimate Judge. There is a clear red line against serving economical or power interests or any other man-made concept or institution that I am not ready to cross.

Later on in the revelation, the word kafara and derived words were sometimes used to criticize actions and attitudes that contradict ethical monotheism. It is never applied to non-Muslims in general, for "those who have faith in God and on the Last Day and act towards order and peace shall experience neither fear nor grief" (2:62). It occurs, however, in stories of typical figures like Pharaoh or people who reject a prophetic teacher's message, denying ethical values, lessons from experience, and their human responsibility. Well, in any case this refers to the past and/or to the "Others", doesn't it?

Except that a Holy Scripture is not simply a political programme about "Us" and the "Other" that builds on self-interest and on inclusion and exclusion - that would be no better than any human ideology. God's perspective is that of the Creator of all human beings, both "Us" and "Them". References to past experiences can contain lessons on many levels, and for the sake of justice critical remarks that apparently refer to history or to "others" may also apply in self-criticism. The Prophet may not have thought about it, but in the course of the 1400 years that lie in between the revelation he brought and today's world, there have indeed been several "Muslim Pharaohs" who "denied God's signs" by following their ambitions rather than fulfilling their responsibility; there have been and there are many individuals and groups who, while enthusiastically reciting poems about the noble personality of the Prophet and emulating little gestures of his in everyday life, fail to get the point of his teachings. Do not misunderstand me. There is nothing wrong with little gestures of affectionate remembrance. But the Prophet himself would be deeply disappointed if his message were tretated like a doctor's prescription that the patient keeps in a place of honour instead of taking the medicine. He was sent as a "mercy to the worlds", that is, to improve the happiness of its inhabitants. He came in order to "present God's signs": the signs in the Scripture that, in turn, are keys that help us to understand the signs in creation and to learn from them.

The Qur'an points out the signs in nature. And indeed, Muslims enthusiastically admire the perfection of the changes of the seasons and marvel at the stars and the molecules, insisting that this can be nothing less than but the glorious work of the great Creator. But why do we turn a blind eye to the signs that warn of the consequences of human exploitation of the earth, like global warming, the destruction of animal and plant life and other damages to the environment, rather than thinking of possible contributions to a positive change that could preserve the earth and life on it?

The Qur'an points out the signs in history. And indeed, Muslims enthusiastically remember occasions of "God's help and victory". But why do we avoid to face the experiences of failure and disaster in our own recent past when, often enough in the name of religion or ideology, human behaviour led to persecution, war, cruelty and genocide, rather than taking lessons from them in order to avoid them in the future and to promote justice and understanding instead?

May God protect us from being our own Pharaohs. May God protect us from denying anything that can help us to understand, to learn and to grow and to work towards a future that is more fitting for our dignity as human beings. May God protect us from our own little acts of kufr.

Our Creator and Sustainer, we have heard an announcer inviting us to faith: "Have faith in your Creator and Sustainer!", and we do have faith. Our Creator and Sustainer, forgive us therefore our offenses and blot out our bad actions and let us complete our lives as people who are righteous. Our Creator and Sustainer, give us what You have promised us through Your messengers and do not expose us to shame on the Day of Resurrection. You do not break Your promise. (3:193-194)

(c) Halima Krausen, 2007