Al-Kafirun 109
The DisbelieversHow to read the Hangul
الرَّحْمَٰنِ르r라흐마니 بِسْمِ비스밀
- Bold = the stressed syllable of the word; a little stronger.
- Overline = long vowel (madd): hold it about two beats. Length matters most in recitation.
- Tiny = no vowel in the Arabic here — just the consonant, short.
- Small Latin letter = a sound Korean lacks, on the next syllable: f upper teeth on lower lip · θ/ð tongue tip between the teeth · r rolled tongue tip (a bare ㄹ is l).
How to read the Hangul
beginning the Christ salvation
- Bold, larger (ˈ) = say it strong and a little longer — the stressed syllable.
- Faint = weak and short (a reduced vowel). Don't give every syllable equal weight.
- Tiny 으 · 트 · 스 = barely voiced. English has no vowel there — stop on the consonant.
- Whole word faint (the, of, and, to…) = light and quick in a sentence; stress the content words.
- Small f v θ ð r = sounds Korean doesn't have — f: upper teeth on the lower lip; v: the same, voiced; θ/ð: tongue tip between the teeth; r: tongue curled back, touching nothing.
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Surah
About this surah
Classed as a Meccan sura, it begins with the command 'Say,' and gives the exact words to be spoken to the disbelievers. The message is a clear separation in worship. 'I do not worship what you worship, nor are you worshippers of what I worship' — this idea is stated and then restated across verses 2 to 5, with small changes in wording that cover both the present and what has been and will be. Neither side, the text says, worships what the other worships. The final verse closes the declaration: 'For you is your religion, and for me is my religion.' The sura contains no threat or description of punishment; it is a short, firm statement that the two ways of worship are distinct.
- Words to the disbelievers
- Separation in worship
- A repeated declaration
- To each their religion
The name It is named after 'the disbelievers' (al-Kafirun), who are addressed in verse 1.