Seeking revenge for harm caused by a Muslim
Fatwa No: 86789

Question

Someone harmed my family and me tremendously which lead us to depression and misery. Can we curse and swear against this Muslim? Can we pray to Allah to punish him? Explain about this with regards to Qur'an and Hadith.

Answer

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions. It is lawful for you to ask Allah to punish this Muslim as Allah Says (interpretation of meaning): {"Allah does not like that the evil should be uttered in public except by him who has been wronged….}[4:148]. Ibn Abbas said: Allah does not like that the person ask imprecation for someone except if they offend them. However, not asking punishment for him and pardoning such a person is better as Allah Says (interpretation of meaning): {…but whoever forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is with Allah….}[42:40]. Allah also Says (interpretation of meaning): {… Let them pardon and forgive. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you?…}[24:22]. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) also said: Indeed Allah has not increased the one who pardons except by more prestige... [Reported by Imam Muslim ] As for insulting him it should not go beyond what he did to you and forgiving him is better. However, cursing him is unlawful. Abu Dawood reported that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: When the person curses something, the curse ascends to Heavens. But the gates of Heavens get closed before it. Then the curse falls down on earth, but its gates get closed as well in front of it. Upon that the curse moves left and right and if it does not find anywhere to stay it returns to the thing cursed if it deserves it, it stays there. Otherwise, it returns to the one who uttered it. So, this is a great threat for those who curse what does not deserve to be cursed. Abu Dawood and al-Tirmizi reported that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: Do not curse one another with the curse of Allah. The author of 'Tuhfat Al-awazi' said: None of you should curse the other saying: 'May the Curse of Allah befall you'. Al-Bukhari and Muslim also reported that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: Cursing the Muslim is like killing him. So, the Muslim should beware of cursing fellow Muslims. Allah knows best.

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