What does the word KAFIR mean??

Question

I see the muslim people here calling the others this term and am wondering whether it is cursing them or what this term means. Dictionary usage is not always what the accepted meaning is.,,

What I am looking for is the street term, and not wikkipedia.. Thot I said that..
The Mexicans call north americans gringo and this is a derogatory term and can be very bad depending on how they say it..
If I was in Iran for instance and a Iranian saw me on the street and said "Hey kafir what are you doing?" Would everyone look at me as really bad, or would it be just a greeting...??

Answer 1

Kafir is an Arabic word meaning "denier" or "concealer." In a religious context it means a non-Muslim, and it is often used to mean "unbeliever" or "infidel". The noun kufr means "not believing in God" or "blasphemy, atheism." In Fiqh, the term amounts to the equivalent of Christian excommunication. The verb, "to declare someone a kafir" is takfir. For example, the novelist Salman Rushdie was declared a kafir in the Fatwa of Ayatollah Khomeini.

Answer 2

The Arabic word kafir itself comes from the word kafara, which means "to cover up." In fact, farmers in Arabic are called kuffar because they "cover up" their seeds with dirt (such a usage is found in the Qur'an, in verse 57:20). Another meaning of kufr is ingratitude; it is the opposite of shukr, or gratitude. In fact, grammatically, kafir is an active verb, meaning that a kafir is actively "covering up" something. Thus, when the word kafir is used in the Qur'an, it is a voluntary action on the part of the person committing the kufr. Edit: Read the article, it's mean covering up i.e. deceiving yourself from the truth!

Answer 3

Kafir (Arabic: كافر kāfir; plural كفّار kuffār) is an Arabic word meaning an unbeliever, a person who hides, denies, or covers the truth. In cultural terms, it is a derogatory term [1] used to describe an unbeliever, non-Muslims, a Muslim of a differing sect, or an apostate from Islam. It is usually translated into English as "infidel" or "unbeliever".

Answer 4

Term already defined above. I may add here that Crusaders had a similar term to describe someone who did not believe in their religion: Saracen. The term was sometimes applied to moslems and Christains in the Orient!

Answer 5

Thank you for this question.

The word Kafir in the Quranic sense is etymologically derived from the verb كفر (kafara) which means "to cover up". It is originally an agricultural term which refers to the covering of a seed with the soil that nurtures and protects it.

When كفر (kafara) is changed to كفير (kafir) it indicates the person perfoming the action that the verb refers to. So in this case Kafir literally means "coverer."

In religion, the term is used for one who covers truth even though he or she knows it, in other words, one who denies the truth by covering it from their sight or others' sight. This is a common principle in psychology where a person denies a truth in their lives, hence the saying "He (or she) is in denial" literally means they are covering up the truth from themselves.

The word has been incorrectly translated as infidel - which means "not loyal" - and this translation has been passed on through generations of people.

And Allah knows best.

Peace and Blessings,

Salim

Answer 6

kaf·ir (kfr)
n.
Variant of kaffir.
Kaf·fir also Kaf·ir (kfr)
n. pl. Kaffir or Kaf·firs also Kafir or Kaf·irs
1. Offensive
a. A Xhosa.
b. often kaffir Used especially in southern Africa as a disparaging term for a Black person.
2. Kafir A Nuristani.
3. also kaffir Islam An infidel.

kaf·fir also kaf·ir (kfr)
n.
A tropical African variety of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) grown in dry regions and in the Great Plains for grain and forage. Also called kaffir corn.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/kaffir

Answer 7

it's a special interpretation...

let's now turn to Hezekiah chapter 7 for a special understanding you won't find in the bible or taught in any acceptable divinity school

kafir comes from the root word in camel sex jargon, in the original arabic 'repugnant'

a much more modern word for kafir with the special meaning revealed by modern christian translation is

a potential threat because we don't accept other cultures or religions, just go on our own crusades and use same methodology and dominate the world with violence and the sword of the 'lord'

Kaput
Anti-tollerant
Fundamentalist
Ignorant
Religion

usually attributed to christians, heathens, infidels or any one who tries to convince people christianity is peaceful and does not have a history of violence that makes Islam blush, in name of god no less

Answer 8

A Kaffir is a non-believer, a person who hides, denies, or covers the truth. It is similar to the word "infidel".

It is can be muslims and non-muslims may be called this.

Answer 9

Non Beliver.

Answer 10

It simply means non-believer in arabic.