(264) Chapter: Prohibition of Cursing one Particular Man or Animal

Abu Barzah Nadlah bin 'Ubaid Al-Aslami (May Allah be pleased with him) said: A young woman was riding a she-camel on which there was the luggage of people. Suddenly she saw the Prophet (ﷺ). The pass of the mountain became narrow for her people (because of fear). The young woman said to the she-camel: "Go ahead." When it did not move, she said, "O Allah! Curse it." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The she-camel that has been cursed should not accompany us." [Muslim]. Commentary: Some people have taken this Hadith to mean that the she-camel cursed by the young woman was abandoned there and it was neither used for transport nor conveyance, as was the practice in the pre-Islamic period with she-camels which were let loose for free pasture for the polytheists' false gods, and nothing was allowed to be carried on them. Such she-camels were called as "As-Sa'ibah'' There is no justification for such interpretationbecause the she-camel was not set absolutely free like As-Sa'ibah. All that was done was that because of the curse, it was considered unworthy of the entourage company of the Prophet (PBUH). Except for this bar, it was valid for all other purposes. Thus, this Hadith proves that it is not permissible to associate with people who are given to sins and heresies in religion because they have been cursed. When one is not permitted to keep an animal which has been cursed, how can one possibly keep company with people who commit acts as a result of which they have been cursed.