Chapter: The Permissibility of Cursing Sinners When No Particular Individual Is Named

Allah the Exalted says: “Indeed, the curse of Allah is upon the wrongdoers” (Q 11:18). He also says: “Then a herald will proclaim among them: ‘The curse of Allah is upon the wrongdoers’” (Q 7:44).

It is authentically reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “May Allah curse the wāṣilah (the woman who adds other hair to her own) and the mustawṣilah (the one who requests that this be done).” He said, “May Allah curse the eater of usury.” He cursed the image-makers. He said, “May Allah curse the one who moves the land’s landmarks,” that is, its boundary markers. He said, “May Allah curse the thief who steals even an egg.” He said, “May Allah curse the one who curses his parents.” He cursed the one who sacrifices an animal for anyone besides Allah. He said, “Whoever introduces an unlawful act within it (the Sacred Precinct) or shelters an offender—upon him is the curse of Allah, the angels, and all people.” He said, “O Allah, curse Riʿl, Dhakwān, and ʿUṣayya; they disobeyed Allah and His Messenger”—three Arab tribes. He said, “May Allah curse the Jews; they turned the graves of their prophets into places of worship.” And he cursed men who imitate women and women who imitate men.

All these wordings are found in the authentic collections; some appear in both al-Bukhārī and Muslim, others in one of the two. I have mentioned them only briefly here, and will cite most of them in their appropriate chapters in this book, if Allah wills.

[Commentary]

After the author—may Allah have mercy on him—explained in Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn that it is forbidden to curse a specific individual, even if he is an unbeliever while still alive—for you do not know; perhaps Allah will guide him back to Islam if he is an apostate or cause him to embrace Islam if he is an original disbeliever—he then introduced a chapter on the permissibility of cursing sinners in general terms. There is a difference between cursing a particular person and cursing people collectively. It is therefore permissible to invoke a curse upon the perpetrators of sins in the aggregate, provided no individual is singled out.

To substantiate this, he cited verses and ḥadiths, among them Allah’s words, “Indeed, the curse of Allah is upon the wrongdoers,” and, “Then a herald will proclaim among them: ‘The curse of Allah is upon the wrongdoers.’” On this basis it is permissible to say, “O Allah, curse the wrongdoers,” in a general sense, not directed at a specific individual, and thus it encompasses every wrongdoer. Likewise, it is established that the Prophet ﷺ cursed