of Allah, would a man actually curse his own parents? That seems inconceivable!’ He replied, ‘Yes: he abuses another man’s father and the latter abuses his father; he abuses his mother and the latter abuses his mother.’

In concrete terms, two men quarrel. One says to the other, ‘May Allah curse your parents,’ and the second retorts, ‘Rather, may Allah curse your parents.’ Because the first provoked the second into cursing his parents, he is deemed as though he had cursed his own parents directly. Both of these men, therefore, fell under the Messenger’s ﷺ curse.

Yet may you go up to a particular person—someone who does not fall within the legally stipulated limits—and say, ‘May Allah curse you’? The answer is no. It is not permissible to direct a curse at a named individual. Even if you hear someone cursing his own parents, you must not reply, ‘May Allah curse you,’ for that is forbidden. Instead, say to him, ‘Fear Allah, for the Messenger ﷺ cursed the one who moves the land’s boundary markers.’ Say to a second person, the thief, ‘Fear Allah, for the Messenger ﷺ cursed the thief who steals an egg or steals a rope.’ Say to a third, ‘Fear Allah; do not curse your parents, nor be the cause of their being cursed, for the Prophet ﷺ cursed whoever curses his parents.’

But to single someone out and say, ‘May Allah curse you,’ or, ‘You are accursed,’ is unlawful, because there is a difference between a general curse and cursing a specific individual. Allah is the giver of success.

He also declared, ‘May Allah curse anyone who sacrifices to anything other than Allah,’ and he said, ‘Whoever introduces an affront therein, or …’