a. Identifying the Disbelievers (Kuffar)
    In the Qur’an, the word Kafir is used as a term to denote a person who denies a Messenger of the Almighty even though he is convinced of the truth of his message⁵.
    It is humanly impossible for a person to determine whether an individual or a group of individuals is deliberately denying a Messenger since no one can know what is in a person’s heart; neither can any one be correctly aware of the excuses and hindrances a person may have in this regard. It is only the Almighty who on the basis of His all embracing knowledge can inform us of such a denial, for it is He alone who knows what is in the hearts. In times when He used to send His Messengers, He chose to impart this information to them through Wahi (revelation). However, after the termination of the institution of Wahi, people who have deliberately denied a Messenger cannot be pinpointed. In other words, after the departure of Muhammad (sws), the last Messenger, no Muslim is in a position to ascertain who among his addressees is guilty of deliberately denying the message of Muhammad (sws). Therefore, now, only on the Day of Judgement will it be known whether a particular person is a Kafir or not.
    As a consequence, the Christians and Jews and followers of other religions who live after the age of the Prophet (sws) cannot be called Kafirs; the right name for them is non-Muslims.