—in general terms it is unobjectionable to pronounce a curse. One may say, for example: “May Allah’s curse be upon the wrongdoers; may Allah’s curse be upon the disbelievers; may Allah’s curse be upon the sinners. May Allah curse the one who consumes ribā, the one who pays it, its two witnesses, and the one who records it.”
Cursing the perpetrators of grave crimes in general—crimes of polytheism, disbelief, and the major sins—is therefore permissible. As for cursing an individual person by name, the scholars have differed, and the sounder opinion is that it is not allowed, because you do not know how that person’s life will end.
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Uttering a Curse
Question: What is the ruling concerning someone who pronounces a word of curse against a specific individual?
Answer: It is impermissible to utter curses, insults, or abusive language, or to belittle people. Allah the Exalted says: “And do not call one another by offensive nicknames” (al-Ḥujurāt 49:11). The Prophet ﷺ said, “Cursing a believer is like killing him,” and he also said, “The believer is not one who is given to taunting, or cursing, or obscene or foul speech.”
Thus the believer must safeguard his tongue from invective and abuse, the most serious of which is cursing. If a curse issues from him toward someone who does not deserve it, it will return upon him, as the Prophet ﷺ informed us. It is therefore impermissible for a believer to employ cursing—whether against human beings, animals, dwellings, or anything else—for this is a vile and repugnant expression unbefitting a Muslim.