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Is it permissible to curse humiliation, or is it one of Allah's creations that it is not permissible to curse?

3 min readAlso available in العربية

A Muslim should avoid cursing, swearing, and other descriptions that are incompatible with good manners. Al-Bukhari narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was not obscene, nor a curser, nor a slanderer. In al-Tirmidhi, it is narrated from Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "A believer is not a curser." In Sahih Muslim, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Cursing people will not be intercessors or witnesses on the Day of Resurrection," and he said: "It is not befitting for a truthful person to be a curser." And in the hadith: "A believer is not a slanderer, nor a curser, nor an obscene person, nor a foul-mouthed person."

There is a general prohibition against cursing things. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated that a man cursed the wind, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Do not curse it, for it is commanded, and whoever curses something that does not deserve it, the curse returns upon him." Narrated by Abu Dawud and authenticated by Al-Albani. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Indeed, when a servant curses something, the curse ascends to the heaven, and the gates of heaven are closed before it. Then it descends to the earth, and its gates are closed before it. Then it goes right and left, and if it finds no passage, it returns to the one who cursed if he deserves it, otherwise it returns to the one who uttered it." Narrated by Abu Dawud.

Even fever was prohibited from being cursed. The Prophet (peace be upon him) entered upon some of his family members who were sick with fever, and a woman said: "May Allah curse it!" The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Do not curse it, for it washes away or removes the sins of the children of Adam just as the bellows remove the impurities of iron." Scholars have forbidden cursing anything that does not deserve to be cursed, because if a curse does not find a place, it returns to its sender.

Al-Nawawi in Al-Adhkar and Al-Dhahabi in Al-Kaba'ir said: "Cursing all animals and inanimate objects is reprehensible." And it came in the fatwas of Al-Azhar that cursing means being expelled from the mercy of Allah, and it is generally forbidden. A believer is not a curser, nor will he be an intercessor or a witness on the Day of Resurrection.

Al-Khadimi said in Barikat Mahmudiya: "It is best that no curse should issue from a believer towards anything at all, because busying oneself with the remembrance of Allah is more important, and if that is not possible, then there is safety in silence. Do you not see that Allah Almighty did not obligate us to curse anyone, not even Iblis? In this there is a lesson for those who reflect among people of understanding, and an admonition for those who take heed, for there is no prohibition in refraining from cursing, even Iblis."

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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