The Command to Refrain from Labelling Non Muslims as Kafir or Infidels: A Call for Dialogue and Understanding

By Dr. Khwaja Iftikhar Ahmad, Tr. New Age Islam Translated into English from Urdu by New Age Islam 4 February 2025 The Command To Not Call Even A Nonbeliever A Kafir Or Infidel. Understanding 'Infidelity' And Declaring Someone An 'Infidel' Requires A Detailed Explanation. Main Points: 1. Understanding ‘Kufr’ or Infidelity: The term 'Kafir' or infidel is a complex religious classification in Islam, which cannot be applied lightly. Kufr or infidelity involves not just a rejection of faith but also deviations, mixing personal opinions with divine beliefs, and outright denial of divine guidance. 2. The Role of Dialogue: Islam encourages dialogue and peaceful propagation (Dawah), emphasizing that force or violence is never justified against nonbelievers. Calling someone an infidel mockingly is forbidden, as one can never know when faith might illuminate their heart. 3. Historical Context: Despite present-day portrayals of Hindus as Kafir or infidels, Islamic history shows a more nuanced relationship between Hindus and Muslims, with Hindus continuing to hold high offices under Muslim rulers and preserving their religious practices and temples. 4. Political over Religious Divisions: The issue of infidelity is often rooted more in politics than in religion. Understanding the past, such as the opposition to the creation of Pakistan by prominent Muslim scholars, can help clarify the distinction between faith-based divisions and political manoeuvring. ------- As promised today, I address a controversy that has deeply affected the psyche, thoughts, speech, actions, and practices of the majority community, aggressive Hindu groups, and the average Hindu in the context of Islam and Muslims. This influence is so profound that it has captured the Indian society in a grip of bigotry and religious hatred. Islam did not just emerge today, and Hindus and Muslims have not only begun living together now. Moreover, the Islamic terms of 'infidelity' and 'infidel' are not new discoveries or revelations. For understanding and clarity, there are two essential requirements: First, providing the necessary information to the concerned party (Muslims) so that they can explain when needed; and second, ensuring that the inquirer is satisfied with the response. Understanding 'infidelity' and declaring someone an 'infidel' requires a detailed explanation. In my view, infidelity can manifest through denial (completely rejecting Islam, i.e., detaching oneself from its structure and identity), deviation (adopting a hypocritical attitude, neither fully accepting nor entirely rejecting, keeping one’s belief in a state of ambiguity with the freedom to choose), mixing (placing one's personal opinions, desires, and judgments above the divine views, assuming oneself as the authority on what is right or wrong in religious matters), and disagreement (those free thinkers who reject the very idea of divinely inspired religion, believing in human autonomy and the freedom to make decisions about all matters). Based on these four grounds, we can decide whether any statement, act, behaviour, composition, research, interpretation, criticism, or even a movement, organization, community, or individual falls within the category of infidelity or not. The concept of 'Sanatan Dharma' (eternal religion), God, divinity, liberation (moksha), and worship carries its own interpretations. It includes a Vedic concept of trinity with Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, which is a unique aspect of Hindu beliefs. However, this is a private matter. To understand the context of being called an infidel, two key points should be understood: First, the unconditional acceptance of divinity, and second, the outright rejection or acknowledgment of Islam. The foundation of the Sanatan belief is Ekam Satya, Prah (the belief that God is one). The paths to reach or access this God might differ. Sanatan Dharma and Hindu faith rest on this belief. From this perspective, the question arises: can we directly categorize Sanatan or Vedic or Hindu Dharma as a rejection, deviation, or denial of Islam? How can a Hindu or Sanatani be labelled an infidel then? This is an important question. The general attitude may indeed be unclear here. Polytheism (shirk) is a separate topic, but there are various statements and actions that may indeed fall into the category of infidelity or acts of infidelity. From my limited understanding, I consider Hindus as falling under the category of 'mixing' (in matters of belief). Infidelity is a state in which even a Muslim, knowingly or unknowingly, may be involved in their daily life. When describing the delicate and beautiful qualities of a woman in Urdu poetry, there is often an allusion to those demonic whispers that manifest in some form of infidelity! Wherever faith is threatened, infidelity will inevitably emerge. Ungratefulness, rejecting blessings, and heresy are considered forms of infidelity and misguided practices. I would only like to say this to our Hindu brothers: anyone who deviates from the Qur'an and Sunnah knowingly, at any moment or in any situation, engages in what is considered infidelity in that context. Declaring an entire community or individual as infidel is not a decision that can be made lightly; it is a matter for those in authority or scholars to deliberate on. Islamic scholars and jurists have been cautious about issuing fatwas declaring the entire Hindu community as infidels. Islam encourages dialogue and has made it a collective duty (Fard Kifayah) through invitation and propagation (Dawah). No compulsion, cruelty, or justification for violence is allowed against those who outright reject Islam. It is forbidden to mockingly label a nonbeliever as an infidel. One never knows when such a person might be illuminated by the light of faith. 'Infidel' is merely an identification in Islam, just as terms like polytheist (Mushrik), hypocrite (Munafiq), or sinful (Fasiq) exist. A person who fully and unconditionally accepts Islam is called a Muslim, while others fall into different categories. As for your belief, you do not even reject any faith at all (so how can you call someone an infidel?). As for the suggestion that we should stop calling Hindus infidels, well, the matter of whether or not to make such a declaration is already a moot point. Let us look at a few other aspects. Today, this issue is being presented as if all Hindus are infidels and that infidels are to be killed according to Islam, that they are unworthy of dignity or life, that they should be considered impure and filthy, hated, and despised. The idea is to treat them as untouchables, never allowing any interaction with them. To understand the reality behind such extreme behaviour, we must look at 1,446 years of Islamic history, the life of the Prophet, Hindu-Muslim relationships, the role of scholars in the independence struggle, their opposition to the theory of Pakistan and partition, the concept of united nationhood as imagined by Muslim scholars, and current diplomatic, political, and cultural relations between Muslim nations and India. If the ideas being spread today are indeed accurate, we must ask: why did the Hindu society 1,400 years ago welcome Muslims by building mosques in Gujarat, Chennai, and Kerala? Why did the oppressed Hindus, suffering under the cruelty of high-caste Hindus, invite the Arab Muslim ruler Muhammad bin Qasim to end the persecution and establish justice? Why did Hindus continue to hold high offices and participate in governance during the Mughal period when Muslims ruled for 350 years? If killing infidels was obligatory, why were there no massacres of Hindus under Muslim rule? Why were the religious cities, temples, and places of worship of Hindus allowed to flourish? Why weren’t they destroyed? These historical facts speak for themselves. The issue of rejecting or accepting a religion has more to do with politics and governance than with religious beliefs. Why did Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, a prominent Islamic scholar, oppose the creation of Pakistan, and why did the majority of Muslims stand against it? Why do Muslim countries support India on the international front instead of Pakistan? Why do millions of Hindu workers in the Gulf countries receive employment and treatment in Muslim nations? Why is India receiving billions in investment from Arab countries? Falsehoods and superstitions have no place in reasoning or logic. Islam is a religion of peace and reconciliation. Every subject and issue in Islam has a defined term. 'Infidel' is merely one such identification. In Hinduism, terms like 'Shudra' and 'Mlechha' serve as similar markers. Your belief is that a person is not born a Shudra but becomes one based on their actions. However, we also have a history of ethnic cleansing and discrimination. The issue at hand is one of correcting thought, which is not just our responsibility, but yours. Is this the real issue, or is it merely political in nature today? --- January 31, 2025, courtesy of: Urdu Inquilab newspaper, New Delhi URL for Urdu Article: https://newageislam.com/urdu-section/forbidden-kaafir-call/d/134495 URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/non-muslims-kafir-infidels/d/134518 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism