Does Islam Allow Cursing Disbelievers?
Some deceivers confuse two separate matters: obscene cursing and supplication against hostile disbelievers. Islam forbids Muslims from becoming people of vulgar speech, filth, and abuse, but it does not forbid supplication against those who fight Allah’s religion, turn people away from His path, deny His messengers, and oppose His promise.
The Report About Supplicating Against the Disbelievers
“O Allah, fight the infidels who turn people away from Your path, and deny Your messengers, and do not believe in Your promise, and create discord between their word, and cast terror into their hearts, and cast upon them Your punishment and torment, O Allah, the Truth.”
Then he would pray for the Prophet and supplicate for the Muslims as much as he could of good, then he would seek forgiveness for the believers.
He said: And he would say when he finished cursing the infidels and praying for the Prophet, and seeking forgiveness for the believing men and women, and asking:
“O Allah, You alone do we worship, and to You we pray and prostrate, and to You we hasten and hasten, and we hope for Your mercy, our Lord, and we fear Your punishment seriously, for Your punishment will overtake those with whom You are hostile.”
Then he would say Allahu Akbar and fall down in prostration.
Narrator: Urwah ibn al-Zubayr
Narrator of Hadith: Al-Albani
Source: Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah
Page or number: 1100
Summary of the degree: Its chain of transmission is authentic
First Response: The Hadith Itself Explains What “Curse” Means Here
I do not know whether the fraudster is aware of what he is saying or not. The wording of the curse he is talking about was mentioned by himself without realizing it in the hadith he quoted.
The hadith itself explains that this “curse” means supplication against them with what was mentioned in the narration:
“O Allah, fight the infidels who turn people away from Your path, and deny Your messengers, and do not believe in Your promise, and create discord between their word, and cast terror into their hearts, and cast upon them Your punishment and torment, O Allah of truth.”
So from your own mouth I condemn you.
The narration does not show Muslims using obscene abuse. It shows them making du‘a against disbelievers who oppose Allah, deny His messengers, turn people away from His path, and fight the truth.
Second Response: Islam Forbids Obscene Speech and Filth
Islam forbade us from being cursers, loud-mouthed, or obscene in speech.
“Kindness brings goodness, and filth is a bad omen. When God wants good for a family, He enters into them the door of kindness. Kindness has never been in anything without beautifying it, and filth has never been in anything without disfiguring it. Modesty is from faith, and faith is in Paradise. If modesty were a man, it would be a righteous man, and obscenity is from immorality, and immorality is in the Fire. If obscenity were a man, he would be a bad man. God did not create me obscene.”
And in the narration of Al-Bayhaqi:
“And God Almighty did not create me obscene.”
And in the narration of Abu Imran:
“And if obscenity were a man walking among the people, he would be a bad man.”
This is the Islamic rule: the Muslim is not obscene, filthy, or vulgar. Therefore, the “curse” in the first narration cannot be twisted into crude abuse. It is a supplication against hostile disbelievers.
Third Response: Even Cursing Satan Was Discouraged in This Context
The Prophet ﷺ even forbade Muslims from cursing Satan in a way that makes Satan feel important.
“If an animal stumbles with you, do not say, ‘Cursed be Satan,’ for he will become great until he becomes like a house and say, ‘By my strength I created it.’ Rather, say, ‘In the name of God,’ for he will shrink until he becomes like a fly.”
So Islam does not train Muslims to be people of loose tongues and vulgar curses. The Prophet ﷺ directed Muslims toward controlled speech, remembrance of Allah, and disciplined supplication.
Cursing may mean an insult, or it may mean supplication against someone. The full wording of the hadith proves that the curse here is not obscene insult, but du‘a against those who oppose Allah and His messengers.
Fourth Response: The Biblical Double Standard
Muslims would not say, “O generation of vipers,” as mentioned in the Gospel of Luke.
“O generation of vipers.”
Nor do Muslims rely on the kind of harsh speech permitted in other religions. Rather, the narration proves that those who curse Allah Almighty are disbelievers in His grace and His religion, and the Muslim hates anyone who curses the Lord of the Worlds, Blessed and Exalted be He, so he supplicates against them.
The narration does not prove that Islam encourages obscene cursing. It proves that Muslims may supplicate against hostile disbelievers who turn people away from Allah’s path, deny His messengers, and oppose His promise. Islam forbids vulgarity, obscenity, and filthy speech, but it does not forbid lawful du‘a against enemies of the truth. The fraudster’s objection collapses because the very hadith he quoted explains what the “curse” means.