TY - JOUR AU - Cole, Juan PY - 2021/05/17 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Infidel or Paganus? The Polysemy of kafara in the Quran JF - Illuminatio JA - Illuminatio VL - 2 IS - 1 SE - Articles DO - 10.52510/sia.v2i1.25 UR - http://illuminatio.cdv.ba/index.php/casopis/article/view/25 SP - 205-297 AB - <p><span class="fontstyle0">This article explores the meaning of the root </span><span class="fontstyle2">k-f-r </span><span class="fontstyle0">in the Quran, questioning the practice of translating the noun </span><span class="fontstyle2">kāfir </span><span class="fontstyle0">as “infidel.” It argues for a distinction between the idiomatic phrasal verb </span><span class="fontstyle2">kafara bi-</span><span class="fontstyle0">, which does mean to reject or disbelieve, and the simple intransitive verb </span><span class="fontstyle2">kafara </span><span class="fontstyle0">and its deverbal nouns, which are used in the Quran in a large number of different ways. This polysemy is explored through contextual readings of Quran passages. It is argued that the noun </span><span class="fontstyle2">kāfir</span><span class="fontstyle0">, unlike the verb </span><span class="fontstyle2">kafara</span><span class="fontstyle0">, is used only with regard to adherents of traditional polytheism and is not deployed in an unmodified way with regard to Jews and Christians. The possible influence on the Arabic </span><span class="fontstyle2">kafara </span><span class="fontstyle0">of Greek and Latin conceptions is also broached.</span> </p> ER -