Takfir
/tækˈfɪər/noun
The act of declaring another Muslim to be an unbeliever or apostate.
Did you know?Takfir derives from the Arabic root K-F-R, whose earliest sense involved covering or concealing; in Islamic theology, disbelief was metaphorically understood as covering or rejecting truth.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*k-p-r
“To cover, conceal, or deny; a reconstructed Semitic root”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
kippēr
“To cover over, purge, or atone; the source of the religious term associated with Yom Kippur”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
kafara
“To cover, conceal, deny, or reject”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
kāfir
“An unbeliever; literally connected with one who denies or covers over truth”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
takfīr
“The act of judging or declaring someone to be a kāfir”
20th Century–Modern English
English
takfir
“An English loanword for the declaration that another Muslim is an unbeliever or apostate”