Surah # 109 - Al Kafirun

 (Arabic: سورة الكافرون‎) - Al-Kāfirūn means "The Unbelievers / The Disbelievers."

This is the 109th Surah of the Qur'an.

           PERIOD OF REVELATION

According to Hadrat Abdullah bin Abbas, the Quraish chiefs proposed to the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w ; "We shall give you so much of wealth  that you will become the richest man of Makkah. We shall give you whichever woman you like in marriage. We are prepared to follow and obey you as our leader, only on the condition that you will not speak ill of our Gods. If you do not agree to this, we present another proposal which is to your as well as to our advantage."

When the Prophet s.a.w asked what it was, they said that if he would worship their gods, "Lat" and "Uzza", for a year, they would worship Allah for the same space of time. Prophet s.a.w said: "Wait awhile; let me see what my Lord commands in this regard."

Thereupon the revelation came down: "Qul ya-ayyuhal- kafirun... "

       COMMENTARY

It was revealed in order to exonerate the Muslims from the disbeliever's religion, their rites of worship, and their gods, and to express their total disgust and unconcern with them and to tell them that Islam and kufr (unbelief) had nothing in common and there was no possibility of their being combined and mixed into one entity.

Although it was addressed in the beginning to the disbelieving Quraysh in response to their proposals of compromise, yet it is not confined to them only.

Having made it a part of the Quran, Allah gave the Muslims, the eternal teaching that they should exonerate themselves by word and deed from the creed of kufr wherever and in whatever form it be, and should declare without any reservation that they cannot make any compromise with the disbelievers in the matter of Faith.