109. The Disbelievers
تفسير سورة الكافرون
The Quraysh proposed to the Prophet ﷺ that they would worship Allāh for one year if, in return, he ﷺ worshipped their gods for a year. The Prophet ﷺ sought refuge with Allāh from associating any partners with Him. The Quraysh tried to bargain further: rather than all of their gods, would the Prophet ﷺ worship only some, in exchange for which they would worship his Lord? This sūrah was then revealed, and the Prophet ﷺ went to the mosque the next morning, stood among the leaders of the Quraysh, and recited these verses upon them.
With the name of Allāh, the All-Merciful, the Very-Merciful.
Say, O Muḥammad, to these disbelievers, the leaders of the Quraysh, those who call you to the worship of idols and stones.
These were harsh words for the Prophet ﷺ to speak, and the Quraysh were distraught on hearing them. They knew that the Prophet ﷺ was a kind-hearted, merciful man,1 and that harshness was not his habit.2 What this signals, then, is that Allāh Himself commanded the Prophet ﷺ to speak these words.
I do not worship the idols and deities you worship. I am free from the worship of idols and deities, which neither harm nor benefit.
Nor do you, O polytheists, worship the true Lord, the One whom I worship. He is Allāh, the Lord of the worlds, while you worship stones and idols. There is a stark contrast between the worship of the Most Merciful and the worship of desires and idols.
Neither now nor in the future. I never worshipped your idols in the past, before I was granted prophethood, nor will I begin to worship them now.
Nor will you worship the one true God, Allāh. I have delivered the message of Islam to you, and although you have seen many signs which show that Islam is the truth, you remain stubborn upon polytheism.
For you is your faith of polytheism, and for me my faith of Islam, the religion of monotheism. Our Lord is not the same: I believe in Allāh, and you believe in idols. Nor is the manner of worship the same. Persist, then, upon your faith; you will find your reward on the Day of Judgement for what you believe in, and I will find my reward for my belief in Allāh.