XV. Cursing and Defamation

XV. Cursing and Defamation 245. The believer is not a defamer 309. Salim ibn 'Abdullah said, "I never heard 'Abdullah ever curse anything." Salim mentioned that 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr said, "It is not fitting for a believer to be a curser." 310. Jabir ibn 'Abdullah reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah does not love the loud and coarse nor the one who shouts in the markets." 311.

'A'isha reported that some Jews came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, "Poison ('sam' instead of 'salam') be upon you." 'A'isha said, "And upon you and may the curse of Allah and the anger of Allah be upon you!" The Prophet said, "Easy, 'A'isha, you must be gentle. Beware of harshness and coarseness." She asked, "Didn't you hear what they said?" He said, "Didn't you hear what I said? I repeated it to them and what I said about them will be accepted and what they said about me will not be accepted." 312. 'Abdullah reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A believer is not a defamer nor a curser nor coarse nor obscene." 313. Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A person who is two-faced cannot be trusted." 314.

'Abdullah said, "The most blameworthy thing in a believer's character is coarseness." 315. 'Ubayd al-Kindi al-Kufi reported that he heard 'Ali ibn Abi Talib said, "The cursers are cursed." The transmitter, Marwan ibn Mu'awiya, said that he means those who curse other people. 246. Someone who curses 316. Abu'd-Darda' reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Those who curse will be neither witnesses nor intercessors on the Day of Rising." 317. Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The true person must not be a curser." 318.

Hudhayfa said, "People do not cure one another without that curse coming true." 247. The person who curses his slave and then frees him 319. 'A'isha reported that Abu Bakr cursed one of his slaves and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Abu Bakr! The cursers and the true! No, by the Lord of the Ka'ba," and he repeated that two or three times.

That very same day Abu Bakr freed one of his slaves. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came and said, "Do not do that again (i.e. curse someone)." 248. Cursing one another with the curse of Allah, with the anger of Allah, and with the Fire 320. Samura reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do not curse one another with the cure of Allah, not the anger of Allah nor with the Fire." 249. Cursing an unbeliever 321.

Abu Hurayra said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was asked, "Messenger of Allah, invoke a curse for us against the idolaters.' He replied, 'I was not sent as a curser. I was sent as a mercy.'" 250. Slander 322. Himam said, "We were with Hudhayfa when he was told, 'A man has a hadith going back to 'Uthman.' Hudhayfa said, 'I heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "A mischief-maker will not enter the Garden."'" 323. Asma' bint Yazid reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Shall I tell you who is the best of you?" "Yes,," they replied.

He said, "Those who remind you of Allah when you see them." He went on to say, "Shall I tell you who is the worst of you?" "Yes," they replied. He said, "Those who go about slandering, causing mischief between friends in order to separate them, and desiring to lead the innocent into wrong action." 251. Someone who hears about an indecency and then spreads it about 324. 'Ali ibn Abi Talib said, "The person who says something indecent and the person who makes it known are equal as far as the wrong action is concerned." 325. Shubayl ibn 'Awf said, "It is said, 'Whoever hears something indecent and then spreads it is like the one who originated it.'" 326.

'Ata thought that an exemplary punishment should be carried out on anyone who makes adultery known. He said, "He has made indecency known." 252. The fault-finder 327. Hukaym ibn Sa'd heard 'Ali say, "Do not be hasty, spreading and divulging secrets. Ahead of you lies a severe, distressing affliction and events which would take a long time explain namely oppressive conflicts." 328.

Ibn 'Abbas said, "When you want to mention your companion's faults, remember your own faults." 329. Ibn 'Abbas spoke about the words of Allah Almighty, "Do not find fault with one another" (49:11) and he said that these words mean, "Do not attack one another." 330. Ad-Dahhak said, "It was about us (the Banu Salima) that these words were revealed, 'Do not find fault with one another' (49:11)" He went on to say, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came to us and there was not a man among us who did not have two names. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, began to say, 'O so-and-so!' and they said, 'Messenger of Allah! That will make him angry!'" 331.

'Ikrima was heard to say, "I do not know which o f them, either Ibn 'Abbas or Ibn 'Umar, was giving his companions food, and a slavegirl was working in their presence. One of them said to her, 'Harlot!' He said, 'Easy! If she does not exact the hadd punishment (i.e. for slander) from you in this world, she will take it from you in the Next World.' The man said, 'And what do you think if it (what I said) is the truth?' He replied, 'Allah does not love anyone who greatly exceeds the sounds in speaking of indecencies." 332. 'Abdullah reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said. "The believer is neither a defamer nor a curser nor outrageous nor obscene." Return to Contents Previous Page Next Page Return to Home Page XVI.

Praising People 153. What has come about praising people 333. Abu Bakr reported that a man was mentioned in the presence of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and someone praised him. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Woe to you! You have cut off the head of your companion!" and he repeated that several times.

He went on, "If one of you must praise someone, he should say, 'I consider that so-and-so is such-and-such.' Allah is the One who will take account of him if he thinks that he is indeed like that, No one can appropriate Allah's right to attest to someone's character." 334. Abu Musa reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, heard a man praise another man and he was using exaggeration in his praise of him. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "You have destroyed or broken the man's back." 335. Ibrahim at-Taymi reported that his father said, "We were sitting with 'Umar and one man praised another man to his face." He said, "You have wounded the man. May Allah wound you." 336.

Zayd ibn Aslam reported that his father heard 'Umar state, "Praise is slaughter." The transmitter added, "He meant when it is accepted." 154. Someone who praises his companion when he feels safe about him* [* He is certain that his praise will nor produce pride or vanity.] 337. Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The best of men is Abu Bakr. The best of men is 'Umar. The best of men is Abu 'Ubayda.

The best of men is Usayd ibn Hudayr. The best of men is Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas. The best of men is Mu'adh ibn 'Amr ibn al-Jamuh. The best of men is Mu'adh ibn Jabal." Then he said, "The worst of men is so-andso. The worst of men is so-and-so," until he had named seven men. 338.

'A'isha said, "A man asked permission to come to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the Messenger of Allah said, 'He is an evil son of his tribe.' When the man came in, the Prophet was courteous and cheerful towards him. When that man left, another man asked permission to come in. He said, 'He is an excellent son of his tribe.' When he came in, he was not cheerful towards him as he had been cheerful towards the other man. When he left, I said, 'Messenger of Allah, you said what you said about so-and-so and yet you were courteous to him. You said what you said about so-and-so and I did not see you do the same.' He said, ''A'isha, the worst of people are those who are feared on account of their bad language.'" 155.

Throwing dust in the faces of those who praise people 339. Abu Ma'mar said, "A man began to praise one of the amirs. Al-Miqdad began to throw dirt in his face and said, 'The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, commanded us to throw dust into the faces of those who praise people.'" 340. 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah reported that a man was praising another man in the presence of Ibn 'Umar. Ibn 'Umar began to throw dust towards his mouth.

He said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'When you see those who praise people, throw dust in their faces.'" 341. Raja' said. "One day Mihjan and I went to the mosque of the people of Basra. Burayda al-Aslami was sitting there by one of the mosque doors. Inside the mosque there was a man called Sabka who used to make the prayers long.

We came to the mosque door which had a fringed woollen cloth over it. Now Burayda was someone who made jokes. He said, 'Mihjan, don't you pray as Sabka prays?' Mihjan did not answer and went back. Mihjan said, 'The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, once took me by the hand and we went together to the top of Uhud. He looked down on Madina and said, "Woe to a town whose people will abandon it when it becomes very prosperous.

Then the Dajjal will come to it and find two angels at each of its gates, so he will not enter it." Then he went down until we reached the mosque and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw a man praying, prostrating and bowing. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked me, "Who is this?" and I began to praise him, saying, "Messenger of Allah, this is so-and-so and so-and-so." "Stop!" he said, "Do not let him hear or you will destroy him."'" Raja' continued, "He began to walk until he reached his rooms and then he began to shake the dust off his hands and said, 'The best part of your deen is the easiest of it.' and he repeated that three times." 156. The person who praises in poetry 342. Al-Aswad ibn Suray' said, "I came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, 'Messenger of Allah, I have praised Allah and you in poems of praise and eulogies.' He said, 'As far as your Lord is concerned, He must be praised,' and so I began to recite them. Then a tall bald man asked for permission to enter.

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, told me, 'Be silent.' The man came in and spoke for a time and then left. Then I recited again. Then the other man came back and he made be silent again. Then the man left again. That happened two or three times.

I asked, 'Who is this man for whom I must be silent?' He replied, 'This is a man who does not like vain things.'" [It is said that it was 'Umar ibn al-Khattab] 157. Giving to a poet when you fear his evil 343. Abu Nujayd said, "A poet came to 'Imran ibn Husayn and 'Imran gave him something. 'Imran was asked, 'You give to a poet?' He said, 'I am preserving my reputation (from his satire).'"