Explanation of Riyad al-Salihin-82a
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The reciter: He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Chapter on the prohibition of cursing a specific person or animal. From Abu Zayd ibn Thabit al-Dhahak al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him), who was among the people of the Pledge of Acceptance, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Riyad as-Salihin 1551 Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.”
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book *Riyad al-Saliheen*: “Chapter on the prohibition of cursing a specific person, whether human or animal.”
Cursing means driving away and distancing from the mercy of Allah. So if you say, “O Allah, curse so-and-so,” you mean that Allah distances him and drives him away from His mercy, may Allah protect us from that. For this reason, cursing a specific person is among the major sins. That is, it is not permissible to curse a specific person and say, “O Allah, curse so-and-so,” or say, “May the curse of Allah be upon you,” or the like, even if he is a disbeliever and he is alive, it is not permissible to curse him. Because when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say, “O Allah, curse so-and-so, O Allah, curse so-and-so,” naming them, Allah said to him:[Ali 'Imran 3:128] And some people are overcome by anger and they curse a specific man if he is a disbeliever. This is not permissible because you do not know; perhaps Allah the Exalted will guide him. How many a person was among the most hostile of people to the Muslims and to Islam, and Allah guided him, and he became among the best of the believing servants of Allah. We give an example of this:
'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), the second man after Abu Bakr in this Ummah, was among the fiercest enemies of Islam, so Allah opened the door for him and he embraced Islam.
Khalid ibn al-Walid used to fight the Muslims at Uhud, and he was among those who turned back upon them and attacked them.
Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl and others of the great Companions who were among the first of the fiercest enemies of the Muslims, so Allah Mighty and Majestic guided them. For this reason, He said:[Ali 'Imran 3:128] As for if a person dies upon disbelief and we know that he is among the disbelievers, there is no harm in cursing him because his guidance is hopeless, may Allah protect us from that, since he died upon disbelief. But what do we benefit from cursing him? Perhaps this, meaning his cursing, falls under the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): Sahih Ibn Hibban 11:132 And we say to this man who curses the disbeliever who died upon disbelief: We say that your cursing of him has no benefit in reality, because he has already deserved being driven away and distanced from the mercy of Allah. He is not among the people of the mercy of Allah at all, but he is among the companions of the Fire, in which they will abide.
Likewise, it is not permissible to curse animals. It is not permissible to curse a camel, a donkey, a cow, or a sheep. And, if Allah wills, in the hadiths, what clarifies the ruling on that will come. Open the hadith, then the author mentioned the hadith of Abu Zayd ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: An example of this is if a person says, “He is a Jew or a Christian if such and such happens,” and the matter is contrary to what he says, then he is as he said, meaning he is a Jew or a Christian. We ask Allah for safety.
An example of this: A man informed us and came to us and said that so-and-so arrived yesterday. We said, “Is that true?” He said, “He is a Jew if he did not arrive.” It turned out that he had not arrived, and the man said, “He is a Jew,” intentionally. So the Messenger (peace be upon him) clarified that he is as he said, as he said about himself, meaning he becomes a Jew or a Christian. And this indicates that swearing by a religion other than Islam, lying and intentionally, is among the major sins. If he is not lying, meaning if he is truthful, then this threat does not apply to him. But we say to him: If you are swearing, swear by Allah, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said:Sunan Abi Dawud 3249Sahih (Al-Albani) And likewise, if he said that unintentionally, meaning he thought the matter was so, and it turned out that the matter was contrary to what he believed, then he does not fall under this threat.
It is derived from this threat that if a person swears to something, if he swears by Allah to something believing that it is as he swore, and then it turns out to be contrary to his belief, then there is no sin upon him and no expiation upon him.
An example of this: If he says, “So-and-so will arrive tomorrow,” being certain, saying to me, “I am certain, by Allah, he will arrive tomorrow.” He said that based on his belief, and then he did not arrive, so there is no expiation upon him because he swore based on his belief, not intentionally. And for this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) approved the man who said:Sahih al-Bukhari 6087 And, if Allah wills, the rest of the discussion on the hadith will come.
He who swears by a religion other than that of Islam, is like what he has professed. He who kills himself with something, will be tormented with it on the Day of Resurrection. A person is not bound to fulfill a vow about something which he does not possess. Cursing a believer is like murdering him.
من حلف على يمين بملة غير الإسلام كاذبا متعمدا فهو كما قال ومن قتل نفسه بشيء عذب به يوم القيامة وليس على رجل نذر فيما لا يملكه ولعن المؤمن كقتلهThe Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book *Riyad al-Saliheen*: “Chapter on the prohibition of cursing a specific person, whether human or animal.”
Cursing means driving away and distancing from the mercy of Allah. So if you say, “O Allah, curse so-and-so,” you mean that Allah distances him and drives him away from His mercy, may Allah protect us from that. For this reason, cursing a specific person is among the major sins. That is, it is not permissible to curse a specific person and say, “O Allah, curse so-and-so,” or say, “May the curse of Allah be upon you,” or the like, even if he is a disbeliever and he is alive, it is not permissible to curse him. Because when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say, “O Allah, curse so-and-so, O Allah, curse so-and-so,” naming them, Allah said to him:
Not for you, [O Muhammad, but for Allah], is the decision whether He should [cut them down] or forgive them or punish them, for indeed, they are wrongdoers.
ليس لك من الأمر شيء أو يتوب عليهم أو يعذبهم فإنهم ظالمون'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), the second man after Abu Bakr in this Ummah, was among the fiercest enemies of Islam, so Allah opened the door for him and he embraced Islam.
Khalid ibn al-Walid used to fight the Muslims at Uhud, and he was among those who turned back upon them and attacked them.
Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl and others of the great Companions who were among the first of the fiercest enemies of the Muslims, so Allah Mighty and Majestic guided them. For this reason, He said:
Not for you, [O Muhammad, but for Allah], is the decision whether He should [cut them down] or forgive them or punish them, for indeed, they are wrongdoers.
ليس لك من الأمر شيء أو يتوب عليهم أو يعذبهم فإنهم ظالمونDo not revile the dead, for they have passed on to what they sent before them.
لا تسبوا الأموات فإنهم أفضوا إلى ما قدمواLikewise, it is not permissible to curse animals. It is not permissible to curse a camel, a donkey, a cow, or a sheep. And, if Allah wills, in the hadiths, what clarifies the ruling on that will come. Open the hadith, then the author mentioned the hadith of Abu Zayd ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Whoever swears an oath by a religion other than Islam, and he is lying and intentional in it, is as he said.
من حلف على يمين بملة غير الإسلام وهو فيها كاذب متعمدا فهو كما قالAn example of this: A man informed us and came to us and said that so-and-so arrived yesterday. We said, “Is that true?” He said, “He is a Jew if he did not arrive.” It turned out that he had not arrived, and the man said, “He is a Jew,” intentionally. So the Messenger (peace be upon him) clarified that he is as he said, as he said about himself, meaning he becomes a Jew or a Christian. And this indicates that swearing by a religion other than Islam, lying and intentionally, is among the major sins. If he is not lying, meaning if he is truthful, then this threat does not apply to him. But we say to him: If you are swearing, swear by Allah, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said:
If anyone swears, he must swear by Allah or keep silence.
من كان حالفا فليحلف بالله أو ليسكتIt is derived from this threat that if a person swears to something, if he swears by Allah to something believing that it is as he swore, and then it turns out to be contrary to his belief, then there is no sin upon him and no expiation upon him.
An example of this: If he says, “So-and-so will arrive tomorrow,” being certain, saying to me, “I am certain, by Allah, he will arrive tomorrow.” He said that based on his belief, and then he did not arrive, so there is no expiation upon him because he swore based on his belief, not intentionally. And for this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) approved the man who said: