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كَافِر disbeliever in Arabic

كَافِر is how you say “disbeliever” in Arabic.

Root ك ف ر k-f-r. noun (active participle). kāfir.

Arabic

English

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Meaning of disbeliever in Arabic

  1. disbeliever, unbeliever one who rejects or denies belief in God; opposite of a believer
  2. one who denies or is ungrateful for a favor extends the verb's sense of concealing or disacknowledging a benefit

Example sentence

اشْتَدَّ الْجِهَادُ وَصَعُبَ الأَمْرُ بِخِلافِ جِهَادِ الْكُفَّارِ

The struggle becomes intense and the matter becomes difficult, unlike the struggle against the disbelievers.

الْكُفَّارِ the disbelievers

al- = 'the'; kuffar means 'disbelievers' (plural) — the 'of…' word: 'against the disbelievers'.

From Resisting Temptation

The English is machine-translated.

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How it is used

The root's core sense is physical covering or concealment (covering sown seed, clouds covering the sky); كَافِر extends this to one who "covers over" or denies the truth of God, and by the same logic, one who denies or fails to acknowledge a favor. It is the standard Qur'anic term for a disbeliever, contrasted with a believer (muʾmin).

Words from the same root

More example sentences

الكافر لا يقوم له وزنٌ لأن أعماله لا ترتبط بأصل الحقّ؛

The disbeliever has no weight because his deeds are not connected to the source of truth;

الْكَافِرُ The disbeliever

'the disbeliever', fronted subject, nominative; an active participle (the one who covers over the truth).

From When Hidden Deeds Are Shown

أَتَرَى لم يسمع الروافض الكفّار

Do you think the disbelieving rejectors haven't heard?

الْكُفَّارُ the disbelievers

A broken plural 'the disbelievers', a further description of 'the rejectors', nominative to agree — 'the disbelieving rejectors'. It brands them as unbelievers.

From Abu Bakr: First Champion of Islam

ودجالا أفاكا كافرا عند أعدائه،

And a deceitful, lying disbeliever in the view of his enemies.

كَافِرًا a disbeliever

A further coordinated accusative descriptor, a disbeliever, an active participle naming one who rejects faith, indefinite accusative. It completes the trio of harsh labels, all accusative predicates of how he was reckoned.

From Unity Over Partisanship

وأجمعوا على أن من جحد منه حرفا مما أجمع عليه أو زاد حرفا لم يقرأ به أحد وهو عالم بذلك فهو كافر

And they unanimously agree that whoever denies any letter upon which there is consensus or adds a letter not recited by anyone, while being aware, is a disbeliever.

كَافِرٌ a disbeliever

The predicate noun of the result clause, 'a disbeliever', in the nominative as what the offender becomes. Indefinite, it states a category rather than a specific person. It delivers the verdict that the whole conditional was building toward.

From Honoring the Quran

فهو كافر بإجماع المسلمين

he is a disbeliever according to the consensus of Muslims.

كَافِرٌ a disbeliever

The predicate noun of the verdict, 'a disbeliever', in the nominative as what the offender is judged to be. Indefinite, it states a category rather than a named person. It delivers the ruling the whole passage built toward.

From Honoring the Quran

وكذلك إذا جحد التوراة والانجيل أو كتب الله المنزلة أو كفر بها أو سبها أو استخف بها فهو كافر

Likewise, if one denies the Torah, the Gospel, or the revealed books of Allah, or disbelieves in them, or insults them, or disparages them, he is a disbeliever.

كَافِرٌ a disbeliever

The predicate noun of the verdict, 'a disbeliever', in the nominative as what the offender is judged to be. Indefinite, it states a category, not a named person. It closes the parallel ruling that 'and likewise' set up.

From Honoring the Quran

Common questions

How do you say "disbeliever" in Arabic?
كَافِر (kāfir).
What does the root of كافر literally mean?
The root ك ف ر (kafara) means "to cover or conceal"; a disbeliever is literally one who covers over or denies the truth.

Related words

Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).