Allah’s mercy is deprived of life in the Hereafter, whereas murder deprives the slain of life in this world.
Know, then, that cursing a believer is one of the major sins; it is prohibited. When someone curses a believer, the curse travels to the one cursed: if he deserves it, it alights on him, but if he is not deserving it rebounds on the speaker—Allah’s refuge is sought—so he becomes the accursed, expelled from Allah’s mercy. Allah alone grants success.
1552 – Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “It is not fitting for a truthful believer to be one who curses.” Reported by Muslim.
1553 – Abu al-Dardāʾ (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ declared, “Those who habitually curse will not be intercessors or witnesses on the Day of Resurrection.” Reported by Muslim.
Explanation
We discussed earlier the first ḥadith of Abū Zayd Thābit ibn al-Ḍaḥḥāk (may Allah be pleased with him); one sentence remained, the Prophet’s ﷺ words: “There is no vow binding on the son of Adam regarding what he does not own.” In other words, if someone vows, “I pledge—for Allah’s sake—to give in charity so-and-so’s money,” the vow is mere talk and does not take effect, for that property is not his to dispose of.
Bear in mind that making vows (nadhr) is disliked. The Prophet ﷺ forbade it, saying, “It brings no good and does not avert destiny; it is only a means of extracting something from the miser.” Many people, when a loved one is ill or property is lost, vow, “If Allah heals my patient I will fast, perform ḥajj, give charity, make ʿumrah,” and so on. When Allah grants the cure they ask scholars how to escape what they pledged, or they simply grow lax and leave it unfulfilled. This is extremely dangerous. If you pledge something to Allah on condition that He grant your request, and He does grant it, then you fail to fulfil that pledge, you are in grave peril, confirmed by His words:
“Among them are those who pledged to Allah: ‘If He grants us of His bounty, we will surely give charity and be among the righteous.’ But when He gave them of His bounty they became stingy, turned away in aversion, so He placed hypocrisy in their hearts until the Day they meet Him, because they broke their promise to Allah and because they used to lie.” (Q 9:75–77)
This is a severe warning. The Prophet ﷺ therefore discouraged vows, because a person burdens himself with what he could have done freely and at ease. If you want Allah to heal your patient or restore your property, simply ask: “O Allah, heal my sick one; O Allah, return my property.” No avenue is closed to you except by making a vow.
The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) have classified vows into four types:
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A vow of obedience: to pray, fast, give charity, perform ḥajj or ʿumrah, and so forth. Such a vow must be fulfilled, for the Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever vows to obey Allah, let him obey Him,” whether the vow is conditional or not.
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A vow of disobedience: this must not be carried out—for example, vowing to cut off relations with a fellow believer. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever vows to disobey Allah should not disobey Him.” The person must instead expiate as for breaking an oath.
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A vow made in anger or for emphasis (nadhr al-lajājj wa’l-ghaḍab): the aim is to deter, urge, affirm, or deny something, not truly to vow. Example: “For Allah’s sake, I vow not to wear this garment,” said merely to keep himself from doing so. Here he may choose: either wear the garment and offer the expiation for an oath, or refrain and no expiation is due.
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An unrestricted vow: he simply says, “For Allah’s sake, I make a vow,” without specifying anything. This likewise requires the expiation for an oath, in light of the Prophet’s ﷺ statement, “The expiation for an unspecified vow is the same as that for an oath.”
In short, one should avoid making vows. Good comes without a vow, and divine decree is not repelled by vows, as the Prophet ﷺ said, “It brings no good and does not avert destiny.” How many people now come saying, “I vowed that if Allah heals my patient I will fast two consecutive months.” We say, “Who urged you to do that?” Yet if Allah grants the cure, two uninterrupted months of fasting become obligatory. Another says, “I vowed to slaughter seven camels if Allah heals my patient”—Allah protect us! Should the patient recover, he must slaughter seven camels, give the meat away, and eat none of it. Someone else vows to slaughter a sheep if Allah returns his lost property; once the property is returned, he must slaughter the sheep and give all of it in charity. Therefore, leave off vows; but if you do vow an act of obedience, you must fulfil it. Allah is the One who grants success.
1554 – Samurah ibn Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Do not invoke the curse of Allah, nor His wrath, nor the Fire.” Related by Abū Dāwūd and al-Tirmidhī, who both graded it ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.
1555 – Ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The believer is not one who reviles, curses, speaks obscenely, or utters foul language.” Reported by al-Tirmidhī, who graded it ḥasan.
1556 – Abu al-Dardāʾ (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ declared, “When a servant curses something, the curse rises to the heavens and the gates of heaven are closed against it; then it descends to the earth and its gates are closed against it; then it veers right and left; and when it …”
Here the present passage ends. We ask Allah for guidance and success.