Ali Khamenei from Iran asking to reconsider the management of Hajj and the Grand Mufti from Saudi Arabia accusing Iranians of being non-Muslims has forced us to ask a few questions. Who is a ‘kafir’? A non-Muslim? Or a non-believer? Is it another name for the set comprising all non-Muslims? Or could it also be a subset of Muslims? Is it what we believe or has it been clearly described in the Holy Qur’an, the Last Testament whose words and verses are not different in text but only in meaning in different parts of the world? Even if a kafir is simply someone who does not believe, does he become worthy of our hatred? If yes, then why did Allah allow believing men to marry non-believing women? Is spousal love not the highest degree of affection? Or is God denying the nature He has Himself incorporated in us? Obviously, one question leads to another and eventually, makes us question the claim of the Qur’an being free of all discrepancies based on various interpretations. Let us start understanding and analysing with an open mind, forgetting what we have been told since forever. It has always been the inadequacies of interpretation that has made us believe that a kafir being a non-believer deserves all our hatred but is strangely the subject of our daawah: that he is someone whom we are not supposed to befriend but to whom we have been commanded to spread the message of peace. It is the absence of wisdom that has made us miss the gist. Before we proclaim someone as a kafir we first need to correct our definition. He is not someone who merely does not believe, i.e. a non-believer; in fact, he is someone to whom the message has been conveyed and who deliberately chooses to reject it. Now why would someone reject the message despite knowing what the truth is? For the very same reason that has made us live in an illusion for many years. For the very same reason that has made the state of being a believer and that of taking birth in a Muslim family synonyms of each other. For the very same reason that would keep a few people firm on their original belief even after reading this article. Allah provides us a clear definition of kafir in Surah Ale ‘Imran (3), ayah 32: “Say,“Obey Allah and the Messenger. But if they turn away, then indeed, Allah does not like the disbelievers.” Disbelieving (kufr) has been equated to turning away from truth, and this is precisely what eradicates all confusion. In spite of living in the age of social media, there are millions of souls to whom the message has not yet been conveyed in its true meaning and in a proper manner. Did we know till now what this simple term kafir meant? How can we expect a non-believer to browse the Internet and only believe the accurate things and push aside all that is being wrongly portrayed? He would believe every single word he gets to read and every single thing he gets to watch. Someone has to take responsibility of dismissing a pool of interpretations, most of them unfortunately being based on uneducated guesses. This is what happens when a non-driver gets to sit behind the steering wheel of a car; this is what happens when an untrained doctor operates a patient; this is what happens when Islam is restricted to growing a beard and wearing a burqa. This increases our difficulty to distinguish between the believers and disbelievers as it is plainly based on ‘turning away’. It has been implied that this distinction exists on the pillars of our knowledge about the message and our intentions of following or barring it from consideration. Well, if it is entirely based on what lies in our hearts — and no human has the ability to pierce through it and gain insights of what dwells in there — then why are we always so curious about classifying humans under these two categories? Has it become our survival instinct to see others losing in this race called life? Why do we not throw a furtive glance inside our beings and realise the prospects of losing despite trying anything and everything? How difficult is it to acknowledge the fact that Allah will judge us according to our individual capacities and not as winners and losers in a competition? It is all about helping others, dear readers, not at all about a definite win of only one. Turning away may be caused due to ego, stubbornness, unwillingness to question our beliefs, reluctance to forgo our ideology, hesitancy to face the obstacles and persecutions that might be inflicted upon, and fear of losing the dear ones. But what about the satisfaction that one would get after rejecting the falsehood? What about the relief you would get after knowing that you can befriend every person in this whole wide world except for those who ridicule you, your family and friends, and your religious ideology. Even in the latter case, we have been prescribed not to hate the haters. We must remain steadfast and determined to follow our path, but must not try to impose our creed and tenets on others. We must recognise the faint line between imposing and letting others know because this is what usually and mostly results in violent extremism. After all, this world has to be made a liveable and loveable place, as ordained by the peaceful religion of Islam. We, the Muslim ummah, are left with no other choice but to choose one of the poles. In the midst of showing dutiful obeisance to one of them, the continuum of ummah has been obnubilated. If we are to perform Hajj, we should completely abide by the laws drafted by the Saudis, while allegiance to them is reciprocal of having fealty for the other. Which version of Islam is the correct one? Instead of reaching a conclusion for this point, why do we not follow what we know is right and reject all those assumptions that seem not to be benefitting us in any way? After all, this range of versions is bound to exist owing to differences in people’s ability to comprehend and their capacities to follow the injunctions. Let us accept the diversity and focus on the commonalities. Let us give this a chance because this is our only chance. Dr Khalid is a Fellow of Al-Mawrid, and is the author of the book Rediscovering Islam. Aminah Qureshi is a student of Biotechnology