15. Cursing and Defamation
The believer is not a defamer
Salim ibn 'Abdullah said, "I never heard 'Abdullah ever curse anything." Salim mentioned that 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar said, "It is not fitting for a believer to be a curser." 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." '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." '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." Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A person who is two-faced cannot be trusted." 'Abdullah said, "The most blameworthy thing in a believer's character is coarseness." 'Ubayd al-Kindi al-Kufi reported that he heard 'Ali ibn Abi Talib said, "The cursers are cursed."
Someone who curses
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." Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The true person must not be a curser." Hudhayfa said, "People do not curse one another without that curse coming true."
The person who curses his slave and then frees him
'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)."
Cursing one another with the curse of Allah, with the anger of Allah, and with the Fire
Samura reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do not curse one another with the curse of Allah, not the anger of Allah nor with the Fire."
Cursing an unbeliever
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.'"
Slander
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."'" 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."
Someone who hears about an indecency and then spreads it about
'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." Shubayl ibn 'Awf said, "It is said, 'Whoever hears something indecent and then spreads it is like the one who originated it.'" 'Ata thought that an exemplary punishment should be carried out on anyone who makes adultery known. He said, "He has made indecency known."
The fault-finder
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." Ibn 'Abbas said, "When you want to mention your companion's faults, remember your own faults." 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." 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!'" '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." '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."