The Recitation of these Surahs in the Optional Prayers
It has been confirmed in Sahih Muslim from Jabir that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited this Surah (Al-Kafirun) and
قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ
(Say: "He is Allah One.") (112:1) in the two Rak`ahs of Tawaf. It is also recorded in Sahih Muslim in a Hadith of Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited these two Surahs in the two Rak`ahs (optional prayer) of the Morning prayer. Imam Ahmad recorded from Ibn `Umar that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited in the two Rak`ahs before the Morning prayer and the two Rak`ahs after the Sunset prayer on approximately ten or twenty different occasions,
Sayyidah ` A'shah ؓ reports that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has said that it is better to recite two surahs in the sunnah prayer of fajr, namely, the Surah Al-Kafirun and Surah Al-Ikhlas. [ Transmitted by Ibn Hisham as quoted by Mazhar ]. Ibn Kathir cites several traditions in which a large number of Companions report that they heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ often recite Surah Al-Kafiru` n and Al-Ikhlas in the sunnah prayer of fajr and maghrib. Some of the Companions requested the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to teach them some supplications to recite at the time of sleeping. He taught them to recite Surah Al-Kafirun and said that this will give them immunity from idolatry. [ Transmitted by Tirmidhi and Abu Dad ]. Sayyidna Jubair Ibn Mut'im ؓ says that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked him whether he wished to be the happiest, most prosperous and well-to-do person among his comrades when he goes out on a journey. He replied: "Yes, Messenger of Allah, I certainly do wish that." The Holy Prophet ﷺ asked him to recite the last five surahs of the Qur'an starting from Surah Al-Kafirun to the end, and to start every surah with Bismillah, and to end with Bismillah. Sayyidna Jubair ؓ says that in those days he used to be distressed, miserable and man of little provisions for journeys compared to his comrades. But when he started acting upon this teaching of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ، he became more prosperous than others. [ Mazhari with reference to Abu Ya` la ]. Sayyidna Ali ؓ reports that once a scorpion bit the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ، so he asked for water and salt. He applied the water on the spot where the scorpion bit him, and he recited Surah Al-Kafirun, Surah Al-Falaq and Surah An-Nas. [ Mazhari ]
This chapter of the Quran, containing six verses, was revealed in the last days of the Makkan period. In the beginning the Prophet used to address people as ‘O my people’ or ‘O my community’. But when in spite of completion of the arguments, the people did not accept him, he addressed them as ‘You who deny the Truth’. At this stage, in fact, this is a statement given directly by God. No human being enjoys the right to declare anyone a deniar. God asks the Prophet not to force non-believers into the faith. The Prophet’s duty was only to bear witness to the truth, spreading the message of God to everyone, without imposing it upon anyone. When, after 13 long years of unremitting efforts, people were not willing to believe, then the Prophet was told by God to say to the unbelievers, ‘I do not worship what you worship, nor do you worship what I worship.’ After the Prophet had fully conveyed God’s message to the people, He was exempted from obligation towards those who rejected his call. This chapter teaches us to practice tolerance towards non-Muslims and tells us to treat them with respect. In his mission to invite the people of Makkah to God’s path, the Prophet was filled with a sense of deep concern for the welfare of those he was addressing, and even though they heaped all sorts of oppression on him, he always beseeched God to guide them. The Prophet continued to do this steadfastly throughout the thirteen long years after receiving his prophethood in Makkah. Even after that, he did not refer to these people as kafirs on his own. It was only later that God revealed this commandment: ‘Say, ‘You who deny the truth’. From this it appears that it was only after these thirteen years of the Prophet’s dedicated mission in Makkah that God declared, those whom the Prophet had addressed but who had rejected him, as ‘deniers’, and it was then that God revealed this commandment.
