Kufr

Disbelief: rejecting or refusing what a person knows Allah has revealed.

Also written · Kufur · Kofr · Kufer · Kafir · Kaffir · Kuffar · Disbelief · Unbelief · Kufr Akbar · Kaafir

What Kufr means in Islam

The root means to cover, the way a farmer covers a seed with soil, so kufr is covering a truth that has already reached you. Scholars separate major kufr, which places someone outside Islam, from the lesser kufr that some texts use for serious sins committed by a believer. Deciding that a particular person is a disbeliever is a scholarly and judicial matter, not a conversational one.

Evidence · Qur’an · Stated directly in the Qur’an

Read beside it

Rooms that name it

The Qur'an uses the word for disbeliever to mean farmerA Light · Root k f r, to cover over
Gratitude shares a root with a beast that thrives on littleA Light · Root sh k r, a return larger than the gift

Words that sit beside it

TakfirDeclaring a specific Muslim to be a disbeliever, a ruling classical scholars fenced with heavy conditions.التَّكْفِير
NifaqHypocrisy: showing belief outwardly while concealing disbelief, or acting against the faith one claims.النِّفَاق
ShirkGiving to something other than Allah what belongs to Allah alone, above all worship.الشِّرْك
ImanFaith: belief in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and the decree.الإِيمَان