In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The brief commentary on the book "Identification Cards
for the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an"
by Dr. Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz Ibn 'Umar Nasif,
may Allah preserve him.
Surah al-Kafirun.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds,
and may peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers,
and upon his family and all his Companions.
We are still continuing with
the brief commentary on the identification cards,
and we have arrived at Surah al-Kafirun.
I have three points of reflection regarding it.
The first reflection concerns the virtues of the Surah,
as it was mentioned here that among its virtues
is that it is recited in specific instances,
including the first rak'ah of the Sunnah prayer of Fajr.
What I have noticed is that
in these instances where we recite Surah al-Kafirun,
the address in the Surah
is directed to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and the believer follows his lead
in words spoken to the disbelievers.
Yet when you recite it in these instances where
it is prescribed for you to recite this Surah,
the disbelievers do not actually hear you,
nor are they aware of you.
When you recite it in the Sunnah of Fajr, for example,
in the first rak'ah after al-Fatihah,
"Say, 'O disbelievers,'" which of the disbelievers hears you?
In principle, none of them hears you,
and that is indeed the reality.
Why then do you recite this Surah,
addressing the disbelievers when they are not present?
The truth,
as it occurred to me,
is that by doing so you are reminding yourself
of a fundamental reality that must firmly settle in your heart,
which you constantly need to renew
regarding your stance toward the disbelievers:
“I worship not that which ye worship;” (109:2)
"Nor are you worshippers of what I worship.
Nor will I be a worshipper of what you worship.
Nor will you be worshippers of what I worship.
For you is your religion, and for me is my religion."
As for the second reflection,
it is that the Surah begins with a command:
“Say: O disbelievers!” (109:1)
The Surah clarifies the Muslim's stance
toward the disbeliever.
So who defines this stance?
It is Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He.
Thus, this command—"Say, 'O disbelievers'"—reminds you,
O Muslim,
that your stance toward the disbeliever is not something you decide yourself;
rather, you receive it from the revelation sent down to the Prophet, peace be upon him.
As for the third reflection, it relates to the theme of the Surah, as it was mentioned that it clearly speaks
of disavowal of the disbelievers and steadfastness upon this religion.
This draws our attention to an extremely important matter,
for it is often claimed that the issue of disavowal of disbelievers was merely an idea
invented or fabricated by certain Muslim scholars during a particular era
due to specific circumstances—and this is categorically false.
The Qur'an is explicit on this matter;
an example of this is this very Surah,
along with other Surahs and verses that frequently address this.
Disavowal of the disbelievers is an unambiguous principle in this religion,
and it is made clear in this Surah, which we are prescribed to repeat and recite in various places
to reaffirm this stance within ourselves and to live by it in interacting with others,
along with the regulations and details found in other verses,
in the hadiths of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and in the texts of the scholars.
As for the claim that this is an extraneous innovation in the religion,
a Surah like this is a definitive refutation of such an allegation.
And Allah knows best.
May Allah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and all his Companions,
and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.