Kafir

Kafir (Arabic: كافر‎ kāfir; plural كفّار kuffār; feminine كافرة kāfirah) is an Arabic term (from the root K-F-R "to cover") "unbeliever", "disbeliever", or "infidel". It is used as a derogatory term. The term alludes to a person who rejects or disbelieves in God and the religious truth revealed through the mission of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and thus demonstrates ingratitude towards God; denies, refuses to accept the dominion and authority of God; or otherwise does not heed the beliefs and prescriptions held by the religion of Islam. Unbelief is called kufr. Kafir is sometimes used interchangeably with mushrik (مشرك, those who commit polytheism), another type of religious wrongdoer mentioned frequently in the Quran and Islamic works. The practice of declaring another self-professed Muslim a kafir is known as takfir.

Etymology

The word kāfir is the active participle of the root K-F-R "to cover". As a pre-Islamic term it described farmers burying seeds in the ground, covering them with soil while planting. Thus, the word kāfir implies a person who hides or covers. Poets personify the darkness of night as kâfir, perhaps as a survival of pre-Islamic religious or mythological usage. The noun for disbelief, "blasphemy", "impiety" rather than the person who disbelieves, is kufr.