Explanations are simplified from tafsirs by Ibn Kathir, Mufti Muhammad Shafi, and Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. Spot an inaccuracy? Let us know.
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
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1
١
qul yāayyuhā l-kāfirūna
Say, "O disbelievers,
2
٢
lā aʿbudu mā taʿbudūna
I do not worship what you worship.
3
٣
walā antum ʿābidūna mā aʿbudu
Nor are you worshippers of what I worship.
4
٤
walā anā ʿābidun mā ʿabadttum
Nor will I be a worshipper of what you worship.
5
٥
walā antum ʿābidūna mā aʿbudu
Nor will you be worshippers of what I worship.
6
٦
lakum dīnukum waliya dīni
For you is your religion, and for me is my religion."
Surah Al-Kafirun (The Disbelievers) — Full Text
Ayah 1
قُلْ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ
Say, "O disbelievers,
This surah opens with God Himself telling the Prophet to directly address those who reject the truth. Here's the backstory: after 13 years of nonstop effort inviting the people of Makkah to Islam, the Quraysh leaders came to him with a "compromise" — you worship our gods for a year, we'll worship yours for a year. Instead of negotiating, God revealed this surah as a clean, firm, no-room-for-misunderstanding response. And it's worth noting that the Prophet never called anyone a disbeliever on his own — it was only after God made this declaration that the label was used.
Ayah 2
لَآ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ
I do not worship what you worship.
Right out of the gate, the line is drawn: I don't worship what you worship. This isn't just about saying "we're different" — it's a total rejection of the idols, false gods, and made-up deities that the Quraysh had built their entire culture around. The Prophet's worship was directed at Allah alone, pure and undivided, while theirs was scattered across a collection of statues and invented traditions. Two completely different worlds.
Ayah 3
وَلَآ أَنتُمْ عَـٰبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ
Nor are you worshippers of what I worship.
Now it flips the mirror: and you don't worship what I worship. Even though the Quraysh claimed to acknowledge Allah as a supreme god, they diluted that by mixing in hundreds of other idols and partners. True worship of Allah means worshipping Him alone, with nothing and no one beside Him — and that's something they were simply not willing to do. So the separation goes both ways.
Ayah 4
وَلَآ أَنَا۠ عَابِدٌ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ
Nor will I be a worshipper of what you worship.
This takes it from the present into the future: I will never worship what you worship. The repetition isn't an accident — it's shutting down any hope that maybe the Prophet would eventually cave, soften his stance, or agree to some kind of half-and-half deal down the line. The answer isn't just "no" for now; it's "no" forever. There's also a deeper layer here: it's not just about different gods, but different entire approaches to worship. Their way was self-invented; his way was revealed by God.
Ayah 5
وَلَآ أَنتُمْ عَـٰبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ
Nor will you be worshippers of what I worship.
And you will never worship what I worship. This is God confirming a reality about these specific people — that despite every effort, every sign, and every invitation, they had made their choice and were not going to change. It's not giving up on humanity; it's acknowledging that after the message has been fully delivered, people have free will. You can lead someone to the truth, but you can't force their heart to accept it.
Ayah 6
لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِىَ دِينِ
For you is your religion, and for me is my religion."
The ultimate mic drop: you have your way and I have mine. This isn't saying "all paths are equal" — it's drawing the clearest possible boundary. Your choices are yours and you'll deal with their consequences; my path is mine and I'm not budging. It's actually one of the most powerful statements of religious coexistence in the Quran: no forced conversions, no messy compromises on core beliefs, no pretending we believe the same thing when we don't. Just honesty, clarity, and letting the results speak for themselves.