Explanation of the Hadith: (A man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) complaining about his neighbor, so he said to him, "Go and be patient." He came to him two or three times, and he said, "Go and throw your belongings...)

The Shaykh: That the specific oppressor is disciplined to deter him from his oppression. I think this has passed by us in the book, either in the book itself or as a commentary on some of the hadiths. It is the story in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) used a gentle method in educating the transgressor and the oppressor. In it, some of the Companions used the word "curse" for that unjust oppressor, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) approved of them doing so. In reality, the result of this method of cursing and invoking curses upon the oppressor was that he was deterred from his oppression. The summary of that story is: "A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) complaining about his neighbor, so he (peace be upon him) ordered him to be patient. He was patient, then his patience ran out, so he returned to the Messenger (peace be upon him) complaining about him, and so on. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) knew that this neighbor was being wronged and harmed, he said to him (peace be upon him): 'Throw the contents of your house and place them on the side of the road.' So he did it." There is no doubt that this throwing means that one will look at the contents of his house and place them in the road. This is a matter that attracts people's attention and draws their eyes, and prompts them to ask: "What is wrong with you, so-and-so?" And he can only say: "So-and-so is my neighbor and he has wronged me." And they can only say: "May Allah kill him, may Allah curse him." So it became "May Allah kill him, may Allah curse him" for the passerby, and the neighbor heard it with his own ears. So he hastened to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) repentant, desiring that his neighbor return the belongings to his house, and the matter ended. Such an incident indicates to us that cursing a specific oppressor as a form of discipline is permissible, but this is only for this purpose and for this reason. The hadith of this chapter remains clear, meaning its ruling is still in effect in the Shari'ah. It is not befitting for a believer to be one who constantly curses, meaning the word "curse" is always the first to come out of his mouth. And of course, all those ugly, obscene words, and what most resembles the forbidden curse, is what prevails among many of the common people: cursing the religion, may Allah protect us from that. It is not permissible for one who believes in Allah and the Last Day to utter such words, for if the one uttering them intended their meaning, he would exit the religion of Allah just as a hair comes out of dough. The least that can be said about the one who utters these words of disbelief is that he exposes himself to punishment in this world, if there is an Islamic ruling, before the Hereafter. Therefore, the hadith came establishing a principle and an Islamic etiquette, saying: It is not befitting for a believer to be one who constantly curses.

The questioner: Our Shaykh, regarding the cursing of those who display their adornment: ?

The Shaykh: We did not differ where the hadith came, just as we brought this hadith following the story of the oppressive neighbor. Wherever the text is going, we do not nullify it.