Is it permissible to curse other people in Islam?

 

Assalamu Alaikum My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Islam today in this article you can get deep Islamic Knowledge on whether Is it permissible to curse other people in Islam? Let us walk through the Hadiths and Facts related to this. Keep reading till the end, Insha Allah. 
Are Muslim People allowed to curse fellow human beings? A “cursing” in the Islamic Religion means a request for someone to be deprived of the mercy of Allah Azzawajal. 

According to  Ibn Manzur:

وَاللَّعْنُ الْإِبْعَادُ وَالطَّرْدُ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ وَقِيلَ الطَّرْدُ وَالْإِبْعَادُ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَمِنَ الْخَلْقِ السَّبُّ وَالدُّعَاءُ

Meaning: Cursing can be defined as being expelled and removed from goodness. It is said that it is a supplication for expulsion and removal from Allah and the creation.

Source: Lisan Al-Arab - 13/387

For a Muslim, it is not permissible to curse a specific human being, or any other Living ( An Animal ) and Non ( An Object ) - living by its name. It is only permissible to curse wrongdoers or oppressors in a general sense without mentioning their proper names. 

Let us see this Hadith :
 
Abdullah ibn Umar ( Rail ) Peace be upon him reported: He heard the Messenger of Allah ( Prophet Muhammed ), peace, be upon him, raising his head from the last bowing in Subah prayer and saying:

اللَّهُمَّ الْعَنْ فُلَانًا وَفُلَانًا وَفُلَانًا

Meaning: O Allah, curse this person and this person.

Then, Allah Azzawajal revealed the Following Quranic verse:

لَيْسَ لَكَ مِنَ الْأَمْرِ شَيْءٌ أَوْ يَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِمْ أَوْ يُعَذِّبَهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ ظَالِمُونَ

Meaning: You do not have any decision in the matter of whether He will forgive them or punish them. Verily, they are wrongdoers. Holy Quran (3:128)

Source: Sahih Bukhari 4559

So After this shocking incident, the Prophet Muhammed( Sal ) Stopped cursing specific people by their names and he warned us not to indulge in curses.

Also Read 👉 

Do You know Where is the island of Dajjal?

It is Reported by Anas ibn Malik ( Rali ) The Prophet Muhammed ( Sal ), peace be upon him, would not abuse fellow Humans, he would not use bad words, and he would not curse people. If he wanted to warn anyone of us, he used to say:

مَا لَهُ تَرِبَ جَبِينُهُ

Meaning: What is wrong with him? His forehead is dusted!

Source: Sahih Bukhari 6031

Abu Huraira reported that The Prophet Muhammed ( Sal ), peace be upon him, said:

 لَا يَنْبَغِي لِصِدِّيقٍ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَعَّانًا

Meaning: It is not befitting the truth that they are in the habit of cursing others.

Source: Sahih Muslim 2597

We all know that it is also impossible for us to know the fate of a specific sinner or an unbeliever unless it is mentioned by divine revelation or any supreme signs, so cursing others in the sense of asking Allah to deprive them of mercy is an ineffective gesture, especially if they are believers of Islam.

اعلم أن لعن المسلم المصونِ حرامٌ بإجماع المسلمين ويجوزُ لعنُ أصحابِ الأوصافِ المذمومةِ كقولك لعن الله الظالمين … لأن اللعن هو الإبعادُ عن رحمةِ الله تعالى وما ندري ما يختم به لهذا الفاسقِ أو الكافر

Meaning: Understand that cursing a protected Muslim is generally forbidden for Muslims. It is permissible to curse someone with blameworthy characteristics but make sure you should not use their names, such as saying: The curse of Allah is upon the wrongdoers… cursing is to distance someone from the mercy of Allah Azzawajal, and we do not know and we cannot predict what was the fate of this sinner, or this unbeliever.

Source: Al-Adhkar lil-Nawawi 1/560

On a Specific occasion, the Prophet Muhammed ( Sal ) refused to curse the idolaters who were persecuting the Muslims at the time. These idolaters were the ones who harmed Muslims and if any creature deserved to be cursed, it was them the idolaters, but the Prophet Muhammed ( Sal ) peace be upon him refrained from doing so.

Abu Huraira ( Rali ) Said that The Messenger of Allah was told, “O Messenger of Allah, pray against the idolaters!” The Prophet ( Sal )said:

إِنِّي لَمْ أُبْعَثْ لَعَّانًا وَإِنَّمَا بُعِثْتُ رَحْمَةً

Meaning: Verily, I was not sent to invoke curses, but rather I was only sent as a mercy. 

Source: Sahih Muslim 2599

So we can understand that it is not permissible to curse specific animals or objects by their name. How much more so does this apply to people? Let's look into this.

It was reported by Abu Barzah al-Aslami ( Rali ): A young lady was riding a strong camel upon which was other people’s luggage. When she saw the Prophet Muhammed ( Sal ), peace be upon him, and the pass of the mountain became narrow, the young lady said to the camel, “Go ahead!” When the camel did not move, she said, “O Allah, curse it!” The Prophet Muhammed ( Sal )said:

لَا تُصَاحِبْنَا نَاقَةٌ عَلَيْهَا لَعْنَةٌ

Meaning: We will not be accompanied by a camel that has been cursed.

Source: Sahih Muslim 2596

Many numerous dangers arise from cursing fellow people without any rights. Those who indulged in curses will not be granted the honor of interceding or witnessing on the Day of Resurrection 

( Day of Qiyama ).

Abu Darda ( Rali ) reported: Prophet Muhammed ( Sal ), peace be upon him, said:

لَا يَكُونُ اللَّعَّانُونَ شُفَعَاءَ وَلَا شُهَدَاءَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ

Meaning: Those in the habit of cursing others will not be intercessors or witnesses on the Day of Qiyama.

Source: Sahih Muslim 2595

If a Muslim curses another fellow human who does not deserve it, then that curse will return against him in this life and the Hereafter. May Allah protect us from cursing others.
This was reported by Abu Darda ( Rali ) The Messenger of Allah, peace, and blessings be upon him, said:

إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا لَعَنَ شَيْئًا صَعِدَتْ اللَّعْنَةُ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَتُغْلَقُ أَبْوَابُ السَّمَاءِ دُونَهَا ثُمَّ تَهْبِطُ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ فَتُغْلَقُ أَبْوَابُهَا دُونَهَا ثُمَّ تَأْخُذُ يَمِينًا وَشِمَالًا فَإِذَا لَمْ تَجِدْ مَسَاغًا رَجَعَتْ إِلَى الَّذِي لُعِنَ فَإِنْ كَانَ لِذَلِكَ أَهْلًا وَإِلَّا رَجَعَتْ إِلَى قَائِلِهَا

Meaning: Verily, when a servant curses something, the curse rises to heaven and the gates of heaven close upon that curse. It then turns right and left and if it does not find a place to go, it will again return to that which was cursed, only if it deserved to be a curse; otherwise, the curse will return upon the one who made it.

Source: Sunan Abi Dawood 4905

Allah Azzawajal only knows if a human is truly deserving of His curse, so a Muslim who curses others is taking a serious risk. May almighty protect us from this. For this reason, the reality that we can understand as a Matured Man is that most people who curse others are cursing themselves.

Ali ibn Abi Talib said, 

‏ لُعِنَ اللَّعَّانُونَ

Meaning: Those who curse others are themselves cursed.

Source: Al-Adab al-Mufrad 315

It is only permissible to curse any wrongdoers in general without using their names, as is done several times in the Holy Quran and Sunnah to warn all human beings about their evil deeds.
Allah the almighty said:

أَلَا لَعْنَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَى الظَّالِمِينَ

Meaning: Is not the curse of Allah upon the oppressors?

Refer to the above verse in Surat Hud 11:18

In this Dunya sometime we get angry and feel very strongly that we want to curse whoever has wronged us. Even the Prophet Muhammed ( Sal ) would get angry same like other humans and sometimes curse people, but he would expiate this deed for himself by asking Allah Azzawajal to have mercy upon whoever he cursed in his anger.

Salman ( Rali ) reported: The Messenger of Allah Muhammed 

( Sal ), said:

أَيُّمَا رَجُلٍ مِنْ أُمَّتِي سَبَبْتُهُ سَبَّةً أَوْ لَعَنْتُهُ لَعْنَةً فِي غَضَبِي فَإِنَّمَا أَنَا مِنْ وَلَدِ آدَمَ أَغْضَبُ كَمَا يَغْضَبُونَ وَإِنَّمَا بَعَثَنِي رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ فَاجْعَلْهَا عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَاةً يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ

Meaning: If I scolded a man among my own nation, or if I curse him in my anger strongly, then know that I am only a son of Adam. I get angry as they do. Verily, I was only sent as a mercy to the world ( Dunya ), so turn these curses into blessings on the Day of Resurrection ( Day of Qiyama ).

Source: Sunan Abi Dawud 4659


Always remember that a Muslim should never desire for others to be destroyed and put down. The Prophets were all sent to their people with sincere goodwill and a desire to save their people from Hellfire ( Jahannam ). They all taught us to love our neighbors and fellow humans and animals what we love for ourselves, and we would never love destruction upon ourselves, so we should never love it upon anyone else in this dunya.

We should understand that Muslims may not curse specific people or animals by their names. It is only permitted to curse wrongdoers in a general sense without naming them. If one does curse another person in anger strongly, they should Supplicate and ask Tawbah from Allah to grant them mercy, especially if they are Muslim believers. So always keep in mind don't curse anyone when you are living in this world. We cannot tell at what time we will have to leave this world. So May allah bestow his Mercy upon us. 

Jazakallah for reading this article. If you find this helpful Please share this with your Friends, Neighbours.