corroborating his claim and tipping the verdict in the claimant’s favour. Branding, then, is something established by the Sunnah: the Prophet ﷺ used to mark the camels set aside for charity, and the caliphs after him did the same. The brand, however, must never be placed on the face, for the face is not to be struck, branded, or cut—it is the animal’s beauty. Where, then, may the mark be put? On the neck, the upper fore-leg, the thigh—any part of the body except the face.

This also shows that if a person sees something whose doer is cursed in the Sharia and says, “O Allah, curse whoever did this,” he incurs no sin. Should we come across an animal branded on its face and say, “O Allah, curse the one who branded it,” there is nothing wrong with that—provided we do not name any individual, but merely say, “O Allah, curse the one who branded it,” just as the Prophet ﷺ did.

The same applies if we find filth in the street—human excrement, for example. We are entitled to say, “May Allah curse the one who relieved himself here,” because the Prophet ﷺ said, “Beware of the three things that draw people’s curses: relieving oneself at water sources, in the middle of the road, and in places of shade.”

May Allah grant us and you success in what He loves and approves, and make us guides who are rightly guided—righteous servants who set things right.