Commentary on Surat al-Kāfirūn

﴿In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful﴾

﴿Say, “O disbelievers! * I do not worship what you worship, * nor do you worship what I worship. * Nor am I a worshipper of what you worship, * nor are you worshippers of what I worship. * You have your religion, and I have mine.”﴾

The basmala was discussed previously.

This surah is one of the two surahs of sincere devotion, for the two are ﴿Say, “O disbelievers!”﴾ and ﴿Say, “He is Allah, the One.”﴾ The Prophet—may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him—would recite them in the Sunnah prayer of Fajr (1), the Sunnah prayer of Maghrib (2), and the two units of prayer following circumambulation (3). This is because they embody sincere devotion to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, while Surat ﴿Say, “He is Allah, the One”﴾ also praises Him through His perfect attributes.

﴿Say, “O disbelievers!”﴾ He addresses them, openly proclaiming: ﴿O disbelievers!﴾ This includes every disbeliever, whether an idolater, a Jew, a Christian, a communist, or anyone else. You must address every disbeliever in your heart—or verbally if he is present—so as to disassociate yourself from him and his worship: ﴿Say, “O disbelievers! I do not worship what you worship, nor are you