Calling a kafir a kafir??

[loveProphet]

Is there anything wrong with calling a kafir(like a christian or hindu or atheist) a kafir?/

I noticed that some people object to it(not from SF though Allhumdulilah)..

Its strange. Is there anything wrong??

[Dawood82]

I've read in The Reliance that it should not be done as it may hurt their feelings.

Maybe someone could provide a reference as I'm out of town.

[Kareem]

'eyo, whats up kafir'

not so good dawah technique

[Abdullah Ibn Adam]

'eyo, whats up kafir'

not so good dawah technique

Do you mean the 'eyo' or the kafir?
But I also thought the same.

[loveProphet]

You misunderstood me, its not saying to a kafir "yo kafir", but its a matter of talking to another Muslim and saying such as "what do you think about that kafir who did such and such a horrible thing?".

[Dawood82]

From a website:

Be careful who you call Kafir because only Allah knows who is truly a rejector and who is merely a misguided person. It is not up to us to "sentence" a person to the Hellfire.

We must always maintain courtesy, diplomacy and a never-dying zeal to convey the message to others no matter how discouraging or useless it may seem - don't give up on a non-muslim because most people are good people who simply need a break from the anti-Islamic propaganda around them.

It is always safest to assume that a non-muslim has been misguided, misinformed and fed lies and misconceptions about Islam and Muslims - don't jump to calling him a Kafir. Remove the name-calling from your articles and websites - wouldn't you rather be safe than sorry - name-calling, especially wrongly branding someone as 'evil', 'kafr' and 'manifestation of satan' - GHEEBOT - could entail dire consequences for us on Judgement Day.

[TDR]

From a website:

So if I made a statement like 'Even Bob Woolmer, a kafir, was praising Yousuf' it wouldn't be allowed, even the though the purpose is not to insult him or name-calling?

[daisily]

I thought that Christians and Jews were people of the book and not kuffar. A kafir is not just someone who does not believe. It is someone who rejects Allah and His Messenger. How can people reject what they do not know? In any case it does not seem polite to use the word in such a casual way. It is a very strong word and would seem like an insult to me even if it was not meant to be. Now that I think about it -It Is- an insult. What could be worse than rejecting Allah and His Messenger?

[Sunni Student]

I think some people believe that we should not call someone a Kafir unless we have procalimed the Message of Islam to them, because they can still convert or something like that, I have heard this before but I dont know if there is any truth in it!

[Ibn Ajibah]

Bismillah,

There are two issues here:

1. The worldly rulings that are found in the Sacred Law pertaining to our dealings with people. In this case, our dealings with non-Muslims.

2. The after-worldly rulings that pertain to the non-Muslims.

As for number one, anyone who is not a Muslim, whatever religion they follow, is considered a Kafir in the worldly sense. This means that the rules of Sacred Law dictate that we cant eat their meat (with the exception of the people of the book-with the details of that found in the books of Fiqh), marry our daughters off to their men, inherit from them or have them inherit from us, bury them in the Muslim grave yard, take them as an Imam in Salah, take them as a Khalifah over us, let them live in Makkah permanently, touch the Mushaf, initiate salams to them, respond to their salams (with a difference of opinion on this one), and other such laws that depend on a clear distinction between Muslims and Kuffar.

As for number two, this is where the confusion comes in with many people. Establishing the rules mentioned in case one, does not necessarily mean that those people will be considered as Kuffar in the hereafter by Allah ta'ala. This discussion is found in the books of Aqidah, and there are some differences over it between the scholars. Notably, there is a difference between the Ash'aris and the Maturidis on the position of the Ahlul Fatrah-those who lived in the period between the ascension of Prophet Isa (as), and the coming of the Rasul (saw)-and by extension, any one who hasnt heard of the message of Islam after his appearance.

The second issue is really a mute one though, because even if there are some differences there, the first issue is clear. The non-Muslims are dealt with as non Muslims in this life, and their hereafter is with the knowledge of Allah.

Case in point with this is the issue of the children of the Kuffar. Do they go to hell or not? Well, no. But at the same time, in our Islamic Fiqh, they are buried with their parents in the Kafir graveyard. Not because they are Kaffirs in that sense, but because we are to carry out the rules of the Shariah in this life in that way.

It is surprising to hear people object to calling them what they are: Kafirs. I understand that it is an insult of sorts, and shouldn't be used to address them, however, if someone opines that they are not kuffar, then what are they? In the Quran, we only have Muslims, Kafirs, and Munafiqs (and their kaffirs anyway so really there are only two in that sense.)

If someone insists that the non Muslims are not kafirs then they should be asked: do they share with us in all of those rules mentioned above or not? If not, then why not?

The Jizyah itself is taken from the kuffar under the Muslim state, so if the jews and Christians are not kuffar, then why are they to pay that in lieu of living under the khalifahs protection in the Muslim lands?

wa Allah Alam