Author: Rahmatullah Rahmani
The Afflictions and Sins of the Tongue (Part 7)
The Seventh affliction: Damn and Cursing
A Muslim is obliged to compare all his actions with the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH) in order to know what is permissible and what is not. Lest Allah punish us publicly on the terrible Day of Resurrection, a Day when neither wealth nor children will benefit. Damn means to reject and keep something away from the mercy of Allah, and if someone keep something or someone away from the mercy of Allah is a very reprehensible and undesirable act and is one of the Afflictions of the tongue.
Literally, damn means to reject and keep away. [1] And the essence of cursing if it is from the Creator means to reject and keep away from the mercy of Allah, and from the created it means to speak ill of and condemn a person for his wrongdoings and to pray for evil of him. [2] It is said: «لَعَنَ فُلاناً»meaning to speak ill of and humiliate him. [3]
Raghib Isfahani (MABH) says: “damn: To expel and drive away with anger, which if it is from Allah in the Hereafter means punishment and torment, and in this world means being away from Allah’s mercy and success. And from a human being, it means cursing another.” [4]
Damn and cursing someone who does not deserve it is one of the major sins. It was narrated from Thabit bin Zahhak (MABH) that the Prophet (PBUH) said: “Cursing a believer is like killing him.” [5]
In another place, the Prophet (PBUH) said: «اَلمُومِنُ لَيْسَ بِلِعَانِ)“Translation: “A true believer never curses”. [6] The Prophet (PBUH) also said: (لَا يَكُونُ اللَّعْانُونَ شُفَعَاءَ وَلَا شُهَدَاءَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ) Translation: “Those who curse will not be intercessors or witnesses on the Day of Resurrection.” [7] The Prophet (PBUH) said in a Hadith: “Whenever a person curses, his curse ascends to the heavens and the gates of the heavens are closed against him; then it returns to the earth and the gates of the earth are closed against him; then it goes to the east and the west; and if it does not find a way through them, it goes to the one who has been cursed, and if he does not deserve the curse, it returns to the one who cursed.”
It was narrated from Hazrat Ayesha (RA) that one day the Prophet (PBUH) heard Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) cursing one of his servants. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) looked at him and said: «يَا اَبَابَكر ألِعَانِينَ وَصِدِّيقِينَ ؟ كَلَّا وَ رَبِّ الكعبة» Translation: “O Abu Bakr, do you want to be both the cursers and the truthful? No, by the Lord of the Kaaba.” [8] The Prophet (PBUH) repeated this word three times. Then Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) Freed his servant that same day and went to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and expressed his regret, repenting for what he had done and saying: I will never repeat such words again.
The Prophet (PBUH) even disliked cursing time and forbade it. Sometimes a person curses time because of some problems and troubles that have occurred in his life and because of actions that have gone against his calculations. Hazrat Abu Hurairah (MABH) said that the Prophet (PBUH) said: Allah the Almighty says: «يَسُبُّ بَنُو آدَمَ الدَّهْرَ وَ أَنَا الدَّهْرُ وَ بِيَدِيَ اللَّيْلُ وَالنَّهَارُ» Translation: “The children of Adam curse time, and I am time, and in My hands is the night and the day.” [9]
Sometimes some people get sick, and they curse the diseases because of illness. While diseases are from Allah and reach humans by divine decree and there are various wisdoms in it. Diseases raise a person’s ranks on the Day of Judgment and cause forgiveness of sins. The hardships that a person experiences through illness cause liberation from the fire of Hell. Hazrat Ayesha (MABH) said that the Prophet (PBUH) said: Whenever a thorn or more hits the foot of a believer, Allah forgives one of his sins and increases his ranks by one degree.
Another ignorance and stupidity of people is cursing natural disasters and calamities. Sometimes a disaster befalls a person and he starts cursing, while these disasters and calamities are from Allah. Sometimes such calamities come in the form of storms, earthquakes, floods and other types of calamities and people start cursing nature out of ignorance. It is narrated in Muslim That the wind blew away a man’s tent and the man Started cursing the wind. The Prophet (PBUH) said: Do not curse the wind, because the wind is a messenger. Whoever curses something that cannot be cursed, the curse will eventually return to the one who curses.
Imam Muhammad Ghazali (MABH) said: “There are three characteristics that are specific to cursing: one is disbelief, the second is innovation and the third is corruption and going outside the religion.” [10]
In short: According to the hadiths of Sahih al-Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi and Abu Dawood, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) cursed some people, including:
1. A woman who, on her own initiative, grafts a hair or something else (because she interferes with Allah’s creation);
2. A usurer, a witness to usurpation, a scribe of usurpation, and a giver of usurpation;
3. A person who changes the boundaries of the earth for her own benefit;
4. A person who hurts her parents;
5. A person who does the deed of the people of Lut (buggery);
6. A person who commits an indecent act with her mother;
7. A person who puts the name of his master on himself and introduces himself in his place;
8. A person who has sexual intercourse with an animal;
9. The Jews who have turned the graves of their prophets into mosques;
10. A person who intentionally mentions the name of someone else when slaughtering an animal instead of saying the name of Allah;
11. Men who liken themselves to women and women who liken themselves to men;
12. A person who annoys his neighbor;
13. One who shelters a person who commits an evil deed in Medina.
One day, a man lost the reins of his horse and said: Curse be upon Satan. The Prophet (PBUH) said: “Do not say that, but instead say Bismillah so that Satan may be humiliated in this way.”
It was narrated from Imran bin Hussain (MABH) that: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was traveling with a caravan. Suddenly, a woman from the Ansar, whose camel was bothering her, cursed the camel. The Prophet (PBUH) said: “Unload the camel and free it in the desert, for it has been cursed.” [11] May Allah Almighty protect us all from these evil Affliction.
Continues…
Previous Part
[1] Al-Qamus Al-Muhit by Firoozabadi, p. 1588.
[2] Al-Nihayah by Ibn al-Athir, vol. 4, p. 255.
[3] Al-Mu’jam Al-Wasit, vol. 2, p. 829.
[4] Mufradat Alfaz al-Quran by Ragheb Al-Asfahani, p. 471.
[5] Sahih Bukhari, “Chapter: Whoever accuses his brother of disbelief without interpretation, it is as he said,” Hadith No: (6104) from Thabit bin Dhahhak from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who said: “Whoever swears by a religion other than Islam falsely, it is as he said. And whoever kills himself with something will be punished with it in the Hellfire. And cursing a believer is like killing him. And whoever accuses a believer of disbelief, it is like killing him.” Also see: Sahih Muslim, “Chapter on the emphatic prohibition of a person killing himself, and that whoever kills himself with something will be punished with it in the Fire, and that no one will enter Paradise except a Muslim soul,” Hadith No: 110.
[6] Sunan Tirmidhi, “Chapter: What was narrated about cursing,” Hadith No: 1977, with the words: “The believer is not one who taunts, nor one who curses, nor one who is obscene, nor one who is indecent.” Also see: Musnad Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him), Hadith No: 3839.
[7] Sahih Muslim: “Chapter on the prohibition of cursing animals and others,” Hadith No: 2598.
[8] Narrated by Ibn Abi al-Dunya in Al-Samt and his Sheikh Bashar bin Musa al-Khaffaf. See: Ihya Uloom al-Din by Imam Muhammad Ghazali (may Allah have mercy on him), p. 1012, published by Dar Ibn Hazm.
[9] Narrated by Bukhari, No: 7491. And Muslim, No: 2246.
[10] Ihya Uloom al-Din by Imam Muhammad Ghazali (may Allah have mercy on him), p. 1012, published by Dar Ibn Hazm.
[11] Sahih Muslim, Hadith No: 2598. While the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was on one of his journeys, a woman from the Ansar was on a camel. She became annoyed and cursed it. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) heard that and said: “Take what is on it and leave it. For it is cursed.”
