KAFIR AND KUFR — Who Are Kafirs?

Another issue to consider is: Is it permissible to call an individual a kafir? From the Islamic view point, there is always a great risk involved in calling anyone a kafir, a sinner or a hypocrite, for hardly anyone but God can claim to know a person well enough to make such a pronouncement. That is why the Hadith gives us stern warning regarding such acts. The Prophet of Islam said: 'Whenever one person accuses another of being a kafir or fasiq (sinner), then surely, this accusation applies to the accuser if the second person was not so.’ (Musnad Ahmad) This is a law that God has established in nature. It can be compared to the boomerang — the harder and faster you throw it, the faster and more violently it comes back at you. If somebody speaks ill of another or accuses him of being a fasiq or kafir, he is doing it based on his personal feelings. The accuser considers it as a one-sided matter under the assumption that the whole issue is only about the accused and that it has nothing to do with himself. This is a dangerous misconception because if the other person is not as the former has perceived him to be, his accusation falls back on himself. He will be guilty of what he had been accusing the other person of. The usage of the word kafir in the Quran is not in legal terms, rather it is in the language of admonition. Fisq and kufr are matters related to a person's heart, and only God knows what is in a person's heart. The act of kufr is related to the question of intention, and only God knows what a person’s intention truly is. Making a claim about someone being a kafir is trying to enter the domain of God. Every person who fears God will be extremely fearful in using such words for others. If he sees some wrong in another person, he will counsel him with the utmost well wishing manner, but he will definitely not use words of contempt such as fisq and kufr to address him. He will leave this matter to God, realizing that his responsibility is only to the extent of advising others with beauty and wisdom. According to the teachings of the Quran, the right thing for people to do is to follow God's commands, and as far as other people are concerned, they should never issue edicts against them. Rather, as their well-wishers, they should consider it their responsibility to convey God's message to them peacefully, till their last breath. All else relates to God, not man. o