The name “Al-Kaafiroon” (the disbelievers) has been taken from the first verse and is not the topic of this small Soorah.

The Soorah teaches how the Prophet ŝall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the Muslims should let the disbelievers clearly and categorically know that there can be no compromise or reconciliation between Islam and disbelief when it comes to the exclusive submission, worship and slavery to Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala. They are two different paradigms that cannot be patched together and that lead to totally different paths and destinations.

When the Prophet ŝall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam had started giving the message of Islam to Makkans, they strongly opposed him thinking that their strong reaction would stop him from his mission. When it did not work, they became violent and they tried to stop his mission through aggression and through false propaganda against him. When his mission kept growing despite their violence and false propaganda, they increased the intensity of their brutality and persecution of the believers. When their most vicious efforts, short of killing the Prophet himself, failed to stop him from his mission and failed to stem the growth of his followers, they started offering him compromises in different forms. Some of the offers they made were the following:

According to ‘Abdullaah Ibn ‘Abbaas (as reported by Ibn Jareer, Ibn abee Ĥaatim and Ŧabaraani), the Quraish offered to give him enough wealth to make him the richest man in the city, marry him to any woman he wanted, and accept him as their leader only if he stopped speaking against their gods. When he rejected these offers, they suggested that he join them so that all Makkans would alternate worship of their idols for one year and worship of Allaah as the Prophet ŝall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was inviting them to do the next year. This was their compromise-solution to establish unity and respect for everyone’s religion.

Another attempt was made by Waleed ibn Mugheerah, ‘Aaŝ ibn Waail, Aswad ibn Al-Muŧŧalib and Umayyah ibn Khalaf, as reported by Ibn Jareer, Ibn abee Ĥaatim and Ibn Hishaam. They proposed that the Prophet ŝall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam join the Makkan leadership team so that he could be involved and consulted on all important affairs and so that they could jointly bring the whole Makkan community together to worship all gods, including Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala the way suggested by the Prophet ŝall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, until gradually the best ideas and practices naturally emerge and were adopted.

There are other reports of suggestion from the Makkans along the same lines as noted above indicating that there were multiple attempts made like these. This Soorah is the response to all those proposals. As you can see, the subject matter of this Soorah is not of compromise, reconciliation and tolerance in the sense that some people interpret it nowadays. It is a categorical announcement of there being no possibility of compromise with obstinate opponents who do not want to listen to the Prophet ŝall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and a determined ongoing struggle until Islam is established as it deserves to be established. It is an open defiance of and challenge to the established order in the society at the height of the clash between the two paradigms of life, without any willingness to compromise on the matters of principle.

This dedication to the exclusive servitude to Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala without any compromise and the instruction to convey it unequivocally to the disbelievers was not only for the Prophet ŝall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, but also for the Muslims of all times.

Looking at the order of the Soorahs, you can see that it is preceded by the prediction of the success of the prophetic mission in Soorah Al-Kowthar. After predicting the outcome, this Soorah challenges the diehard adversaries that because the mission of the Prophet ŝall Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam will go ahead until the goals are achieved, they can do what they want. Then, the next Soorah, An-Naŝr, describes the eventual success of the mission and conquer of Makkah.