The Ruling on Cursing the Jews and Christians

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Question:
Is it permissible to curse the Jews and the Christians? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
Yes, the Jews and the Christians; Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) has cursed them,

Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel by the tongue of David and of Jesus, the son of Mary. That was because they disobeyed and [habitually] transgressed.

لُعِنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ عَلَىٰ لِسَانِ دَاوُودَ وَعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ ذَٰلِكَ بِمَا عَصَوا وَّكَانُوا يَعْتَدُونَ

[Al-Ma'idah 5:78]

, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,

The curse of Allah upon the Jews or upon the Christians

لعنة الله على اليهود أو على النصارى

, when they took the graves of their prophets as mosques. He said, while on his deathbed,

May Allah curse the Jews and Christians, for they took the graves of their Prophets as places of worship.

لعنة الله على اليهود والنصارى اتخذوا قبور أنبيائهم مساجد

Sunan an-Nasa'i 703Sahih (Darussalam)

, "So do not take the graves as mosques, for I forbid you to do so."
We mean the Jews and the Christians if there is a reason or a prescribed matter. As for if it is without a reason, there is no need for it. If you want to warn against shirk (associating partners with Allah) and say that this is from the ways of the Jews and the Christians, may the curse of Allah be upon them, just as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed them, and that building domes and mosques over graves is from the way of the Jews and the Christians, may the curse of Allah be upon them, then there is no harm in that for the sake of warning. Also, this is a curse for a reason, which is the disobedience of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), as He the Exalted said:

Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel by the tongue of David and of Jesus, the son of Mary.

لُعِنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ عَلَىٰ لِسَانِ دَاوُودَ وَعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ

[Al-Ma'idah 5:78]

Why?

That was because they disobeyed and [habitually] transgressed. ⁽⁷⁹⁾ They used not to prevent one another from wrongdoing that they did.

ذَٰلِكَ بِمَا عَصَوا وَّكَانُوا يَعْتَدُونَ كَانُوا لَا يَتَنَاهَوْنَ عَن مُّنكَرٍ فَعَلُوهُ

[Al-Ma'idah 5:78-79]

So if you mention the reason, it is about the Jews and the Christians, either building over graves or not enjoining good and forbidding evil, because this is what is known of the Jews and the Christians, so they were cursed for this reason. As for cursing them without mentioning the reason, just for the sake of cursing, there is no need for that, and a person should guard his tongue from cursing except if there is a reason. If there is a reason that permits cursing, that is one thing, but without a reason, no. The believer is not a cursing person, and he does not resort to cursing except for reasons that necessitate it. So say, "May the curse of Allah be upon the liars" and "May the curse of Allah be upon the oppressors" for the sake of warning against lying and warning against oppression.
The curse of Allah upon the Jews and the Christians for their eating of riba (usury or interest), or for their building over graves, or for their abandoning the enjoining of good and forbidding of evil, in order to warn people from these crimes. In this case, the curse is in its proper place and has a reason.

Source قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، محاضرات في العقيدة والدعوة-038-الفقه الأكبر|صالح الفوزان|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (1:03:16)

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

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