Among Abrahamic religions, particularly with Christianity and Islam, there is a popular approach to salvation. This approach states that in order to enter heaven, you need to have believed in a particular set of religious doctrines. To disbelieve in them means to enter Hell in the next life.  

The word kufr is used ubiquitously in the Qur’an. Just a moment ago, we mentioned how kufr is often translated as disbelief and kafir as disbeliever. However, we said that according to the Qur’anic world view, this understanding of kufr is highly problematic.   

Let’s look at the verse that we quoted just now. It said that “there came to them that which they recognized, they disbelieved in it”. The word used for disbelieve is kafarū which comes from the root word kufr.  

Kufr literally means to bury or cover something. In its religious sense, it means to cover up the truth. If one is covering up the truth, doesn’t mean that you believe in it on some level if you've acknowledged it’s the truth? In this sense, kufr is much more than just disbelief.