What does the Prophet’s damning/cursing the people who commit some bad deeds mean?

Imam Ghazali writes the following in his book in which the issue of "Harms of Tongue and Cursing" is explained:

"Damning/cursing" means 'May Allah make the unbeliever remain in unbelief, which is the cause of damnation/curse.' To say so means – God forbid – to want unbelief. To want unbelief actually means unbelief. It is very risky to damn/curse certain people because the states of people change. However, if it is about a person who will deserve curse in the end according to what is notified to the Prophet, it is different because it is permissible to curse a person who is known to die as an unbeliever. Therefore, the Prophet (pbuh) cursed some people."

When the explanation of Imam Ghazali above is taken into consideration, I have difficulty in understanding the Prophet’s damning/cursing the people who commit some bad deeds like the following:

- Curse be on the man who wears women’s clothes and curse be on the woman who wears men’s clothes! (Hakim)
- May Allah damn those who take and give bribe! (Ibn Majah) 
- May Allah damn those who curse my Companions! (Hakim)
- May Allah damn those who do not give zakah! (Nesai)
- Curse be on those who undertake the affairs of the people and cause problems for them! (Abu Awana)
- Curse be on the man who regards his wife as superior to his mother! (Shir’a)
- Curse be on the person who prevents people from giving sadaqah! (Isfahani)
- Curse be on those who make people despair of the divine mercy! (Shir’a)
- When bid’ahs occur, a scholar should show his knowledge. Curse be on those who do not show their knowledge! (Daylami)
- Curse be on those who take and give interest! (Muslim)
- Curse be on those who tattoo, who have their bodies tattooed, who take and give interest! (Buhari)
- Curse be on the person who drives a wedge between a mother and her child, and between siblings. (Ibn Majah)
- Curse be on the person who marries his/her daughter off to a sinner. (Shir’a)
- Curse be on the person who cries for a dead person and the person who listens to him/her! (Abu Dawud)

- Do the people who commit the deeds mentioned in the hadiths above and similar ones not face the danger of dying as unbelievers?

- Is it definite that a person who commits a deed that deserves curse will be damned by Allah? Is there a way of getting rid of it?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The chapter translated as "Harms of Tongue and Curse" is a sub-chapter called “the eighth harm of tongue” in the chapter called “Harms of Tongue” in Imam Ghazali’s book Ihyaul-Ulum. (see Ihyaul-Ulum, 3/119)

As Imam Ghazali clearly states there, it is possible to summarize the issue as follows:

There are three attributes that necessitate curse:

1. Kufr (Unbelief/Denial).  2. Bid'ah (Innovation in Religion).  3. Fisq (Constant Sinning).

There are three levels of curse in each of those attributes:

First Level: It is cursing due to a general characteristic like saying, “May Allah's curse be on unbelievers, people of bid’ah and fasiqs!”

Second Level: It is cursing with more specific attributes like saying, “May Allah's curse be on Jews, Christians, Fire-worshippers, Fatalists, Kharijites, Rafizis, or those who commit fornication, oppress people and who give and take interest.” They are permissible. However, it is dangerous to curse the attributes of the people of bid’ah because it is difficult to know bid’ah for sure. There is no statement/explanation reported from the Prophet about it. Therefore, it will be appropriate for ordinary people to avoid such cursing because cursing like that will encourage quarreling with similar ones. It will cause quarrels and mischief among people. 

Third Level: It is cursing a certain person. Such cursing is dangerous: For instance, to say, "May Allah's curse be on Zayd! He is an unbeliever or a fasiq or a person of bid’ah." 

It is possible to summarize the issue as follows:

It is religiously permissible in Islam to curse those who are certain to be damned like saying, “May Allah damn Pharaoh, Abu Jahl!” For, those people died as unbelievers and it is known religiously.

However, after the death of the Prophet (pbuh), it is dangerous to curse a person - for instance because of being a Judaist - because it is possible for that person to exit the religion of Judaism, to embrace Islam and die as a Muslim in the eye of Allah. In that case, how can it be decreed that he is damned?

In the question, all of those who are said to be “mentioned as cursed” have specific attributes in the second level of cursing. Those attributes being damned means Allah does not like them, keeps them away from His mercy and does not include them in the scope of His mercy.

It is clear that they are like that. For, everything that Allah prohibits is what He is not pleased with. His mercy and consent include everything that He is pleased with. In that case, all of the attributes included in the hadith narrations in question are the issues included in the list of prohibitions.

An attribute’s being damned in Islam means it is away from Allah’s mercy and that it is an attribute of the people of Hell, not the people of Paradise. That is, a person does not enter Paradise because of having those bad attributes. However, the value given to those attributes is not always valid for the people who have those attributes due to the following reasons:

a. The door of repentance is always open in Islam. A person who gives up those attributes by repenting is regarded to be in the way of Paradise.

b. Not all attributes of an unbeliever are unbelief and not all attributes of a believer are belief. As a matter of fact, an unbeliever can act honestly, which is a characteristic of belief. Similarly, a believer can tell lies, which is a characteristic of unbelief. In Islam, the attribute of belief or unbelief, which is the real wealth, is taken into consideration. The remaining positive-negative values can strengthen this real wealth but they cannot deactivate it completely.

Accordingly, if the good side of a person who has belief, which is the real wealth, outweighs his bad attributes, he is a person of Paradise. This issue is clearly stated in the chapter of al-Qaria.

c. A person who enters the grave as a believer is possible to be forgiven any time because Allah states clearly in the Quran that “any sin except polytheism” can be forgiven.

Accordingly, the attributes damned in the hadiths having a damned identity does not mean that they will never be forgiven. 

To put it in a different way, the people who have those damned attributes can always benefit from remorse law or can be included in the scope of general pardon – if the conditions are appropriate.

However, we cannot say that those attributes and crimes are good things. They are stones that drag and lead people to Hell in terms of their characteristics. Attention is drawn to those attributes of them in the hadiths.

Taftazani explains the Prophet’s cursing those who take interest, steal, do not give zakah, produce alcoholic drinks, drink alcohol, give and take bribe, deceive Muslims, the man who wears women’s clothes and the woman who wears men’s clothes, etc. as “not curse in the literal sense but keeping people away from them by telling them about the evil of those deeds”. (Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, az-Zawajir, 2:6:-61)

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