بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ قُلْ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is told to say: 'O you who reject faith,
Pickthall (1930): Say: O disbelievers!
Quran · Surah 109 · 6 ayat
Surah Al-Kafirun
The Disbelievers
ٱلْكَافِرُون
Awaiting review by a scholar of this tradition. Original texts are public domain; the plain meanings and notes are written by IndiaDigital and are being checked. We describe what each tradition teaches, in its own terms, and never rank faiths. Report a correction
About this surah
Surah Al-Kafirun ('Those Who Reject Faith') has 6 ayat and is Meccan. Commentators report that some leaders of Makkah proposed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that they would worship his God for a time if he would worship their gods for a time, and this surah declined that offer. It ends with the words 'To you your religion, and to me mine', which is widely read as a statement that each community keeps its own way of worship. A hadith in Muslim reports that the Prophet recited it, together with Surah Al-Ikhlas, in the two voluntary units of prayer before the dawn prayer, and many Muslims do the same.
Clarity in matters of worshipEach community keeps its own way of worshipSteadfastness in faith
Read the surah
Arabic exactly as in the Tanzil text, then a plain meaning in your language. The Arabic is never read by a machine voice; "Listen" reads only the meanings.
لَآ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ
I do not worship what you worship,
Pickthall (1930): I worship not that which ye worship;
وَلَآ أَنتُمْ عَـٰبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ
nor do you worship what I worship.
Pickthall (1930): Nor worship ye that which I worship.
وَلَآ أَنَا۠ عَابِدٌ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ
Nor will I worship what you have worshipped,
Pickthall (1930): And I shall not worship that which ye worship.
وَلَآ أَنتُمْ عَـٰبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ
nor will you worship what I worship.
Pickthall (1930): Nor will ye worship that which I worship.
لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِىَ دِينِ
To you your religion, and to me mine.'
Pickthall (1930): Unto you your religion, and unto me my religion.
Quick quiz
What are the closing words of this surah?
According to a hadith in Muslim, which surah did the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) recite together with this one before the dawn prayer?
What does ayah 2 say?
Your score: 0 / 3
Tanzil Quran Text (Uthmani, Version 1.1), tanzil.net, CC BY 3.0, verbatim: tanzil.net. Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain; text from English Wikisource. Al-Fatiha aligned to the Hafs count (basmala as verse 1, his verses 6 and 7 joined); Quraysh: his verses 4 and 5 joined.. Plain meanings, introductions and quiz: IndiaDigital, awaiting review by an Islamic scholar.
Corrections from members of every tradition are welcome at support@indiadigital.org. Last checked: .