काफ़िरी

Meaning

Infidelity, impiety, disbelief, or the conduct of an unbeliever.

Detailed Meaning

In classical thought and poetry, 'kāfirī' denotes spiritual infidelity, paganism, or straying from the divine path. In this couplet, it represents the severe irony of turning to worldly idols with hope while abandoning faith in God, defining true unfaithfulness not merely as formal disbelief but as despairing of divine grace. Urdu poets frequently invoke this term either in spiritual admonition or playfully to contrast orthodox piety with the devotion of earthly love.

Etymology

From Arabic 'kāfir' (unbeliever, from the root k-f-r meaning to conceal or deny) combined with the Persian abstract noun suffix '-ī'.

Usage

In classical Urdu ghazal, poets often subvert the charge of 'kāfirī' to mock the hypocrisy of the ascetic or redefine true disbelief as despair and lack of love.

Examples

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Related Words