Cursing: An Effective Weapon against Enemies
Author: Hamed Sarem
To reach lofty goals, defining intermediate goals is always necessary. The greater the ultimate and final goal, the more important intermediate goals become.
Mu'awiya's Final Goal Was to Destroy Islam
Mu'awiya's ultimate goal was to destroy Islam. Therefore, one must look at his efforts and actions in this direction, because each of his innovations pursued smaller goals so that he could reach this ultimate goal. One of Mu'awiya's acts was his emphatic order to curse and revile the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib, may God's blessings and peace be upon him.
Although he had many innovations and actions opposed to Islam, such as buying and selling idols, drinking wine, introducing distortion into prayer, and so on, his policy of reviling Ali (a) is of greater importance. Therefore, in this brief article, the aspects of this ugly act of Mu'awiya are examined.
Before discussing the effects of cursing in Islamic society, we must see what the concept of cursing is, and what meaning cursing had in the culture of the Arab people and in Mu'awiya's time.
What Does Cursing Mean in Islamic Rulings?
In Islam, cursing is a divine ruling and an order to expel and distance a wicked enemy. That is, God rules that His enemies be far from divine mercy. For seekers of God, cursing the enemies of God is obligatory as an expression of disavowal from God's enemies and a declaration of friendship with God's friends. Cursing specific persons must be by God's command or by the command of the infallible, because only they can identify the instances of God's enemies, either directly or by describing their characteristics.
When the Prophet says, “May God curse so-and-so,” it means that God has informed of that person's expulsion from His mercy. Therefore, if someone who does not deserve cursing is cursed, nothing happens to that person. In some narrations it is reported that the curse returns to the one who curses if the one cursed does not deserve it (1).
Thus one can say that cursing in Islam has the meaning of reporting. If the Noble Messenger or an infallible Imam curses someone, this indicates that the person is cursed before God, or in other words, that this cursed person is expelled and driven away from God's mercy.
The Concept of Cursing in Pre-Islamic Arab Culture
Cursing had a deep meaning in pre-Islamic Arab culture. To show the importance of this concept, one may note that when Arabs came before their elders or kings, their greeting was “abayta al-la'n,” meaning: I refuse to do anything that would cause you to be cursed (2).
Islam did not accept this greeting or other greetings of the Age of Ignorance, and placed the word “salam” in their stead. One polytheist who had come from Medina to Mecca intending to assassinate and kill the Prophet, when he stood before the Prophet, said: “Good morning; may you refuse curse.” The Prophet said: we have replaced this speech with something better. Then, upon hearing unseen reports from the Prophet (s), that polytheist became Muslim (3).
In Islamic culture, cursing has an informative meaning, but in pre-Islamic Arab culture, especially among Banu Umayya, its meaning is performative and it has a real effect. In pre-Islamic Arab culture, whether the cursed person or object deserved the curse or not, whether a believer cursed or an unbeliever, it made no difference and the result was one: the curse had a negative effect on the cursed person or object.
In the Age of Ignorance, if someone cursed a camel, people would flee from that camel, because they believed the curse had entered into it and the camel had become ominous and ill-fated, even if the one who cursed it was a demon or a devil. The Arabs of the Age of Ignorance would not approach that camel even if they had great need of it, and Umar, the second ruler, also held this belief.
Umar's Behavior with Someone Whose Camel Had Been Cursed
One day Umar was traveling among his companions, and among the group a man was riding a camel belonging to them. Suddenly, because of an incident, that man cursed the unfortunate camel. Umar said: who is this curser? They said: so-and-so. Umar said to him: you and your camel should separate from us; a camel that has been cursed must not accompany us (4). Then they attributed this superstition to the Prophet as well and fabricated narrations about the sacred person of the great Prophet of Islam.
One such narration was that one day a young girl was riding a camel carrying some people's goods. When the Prophet came near and the road became narrow, the girl cursed the camel. The Prophet said to the girl: a camel that has been cursed will not accompany us (5). The Prophet's supposed prohibition against accompanying a cursed camel is mentioned frequently in the narrations of the opponents (6).
In Pre-Islamic Arab Culture All Curses Are Answered
Cursing is a supplication that is certainly answered against the cursed one. If someone curses while in ihram, it is especially answered. They narrated that if someone enters ihram and supplicates, and you say amen, it will be answered. Therefore, a person in ihram should not curse a human or an animal, because it will be answered (7). In their view, if someone curses a person or thing, the curse enters into that cursed one, and cursedness flows in its blood and soul. That cursed person becomes ominous and ill-fated, and all curses are answered; cursing is pure evil for the cursed one.
This belief was widespread among the Arabs and Banu Umayya. It has been said that some of the early figures would not bring a cursed object into their houses, would not eat the egg of a hen that had been cursed, and would not drink the milk of a sheep that had been cursed. In their beliefs, if someone cursed his slave, it became obligatory for him to free that slave.
This belief, namely the entering of curse into the cursed object, had penetrated their minds so deeply that they praised their scholars and hadith transmitters for not cursing anyone and for not eating cursed food. About one of their transmitters they wrote: “He has never cursed anything and has not eaten cursed food, to the point that each month he would bribe his servant one or two dirhams so that the servant would not curse the food when it was placed before the heat of the oven” (8).
The Pre-Islamic Concept of Cursing Conflicts with God's Justice
This was the meaning of cursing among pre-Islamic Arabs and Banu Umayya. The falsity of this belief is obvious, because such a belief conflicts with God's justice. Moreover, anyone could curse another person's mount, house, and life, and then without any reason everything cursed would become ominous, base, and unusable. Paying attention to the meaning of cursing is important for understanding the order to revile and curse that Mu'awiya issued, but cursing is also used in the Qur'an.
Cursing in Islam Is a Weapon against Enemies
Cursing in the Qur'an, in the Sunnah of the Messenger of God, and among previous prophets is a weapon against the enemies of God. From the time Adam descended to earth, God has used cursing against Iblis and his followers. As mentioned, cursing in the Qur'an means God's wrath upon the cursed one and his expulsion from God's mercy, and the prophets used cursing against unbelievers, who are expelled from mercy.
Up to this point, we have understood two important concepts of cursing. First, cursing in the Qur'an and on the tongue of the Great Prophet is a weapon against deniers and unbelievers. Second, pre-Islamic Arabs and Banu Umayya believed in the performative meaning of cursing, meaning the entry of curse into the cursed person. These two elements are very important for understanding the concept of cursing according to Mu'awiya.
Mu'awiya's Betrayal Was Something All Unbelievers Together Could Not Have Done
Given the meanings of cursing discussed above, no explanation is needed for what a great betrayal Mu'awiya committed against Islam and the person of the Prophet (s) through this policy of reviling and cursing. It was a betrayal that all unbelievers together could not have performed even a particle of, but Mu'awiya, with the face of hypocrisy and hiding behind the mask of avenging Uthman's blood and his supposed oppression, committed this betrayal against the Islamic world, indeed against humanity.
Narrations from the Prophet (s) Condemning the Reviling of Ali (a)
The Commander of the Faithful is the brother of the Messenger of God, and the Messenger of God said about him: “Ali is from me like my head is from my body” (9). This narration is also transmitted in the sources of the opponents. In another hadith, the Prophet said: “Do not revile Ali, for he is touched in the essence of God” (10). The Prophet also said: “Whoever reviles Ali has reviled me, and whoever reviles me has reviled God” (11).
Truly, given the concept of cursing, when that oppressed one of history is cursed, what effect will this have on the layers of society? When Ali (a) and his children are cursed from the pulpit after every prayer, how can one expect people to follow him and his children? Mu'awiya certainly did not intend to continue the order of cursing for a short time and then abandon it after being relieved of his opponents. Considering the concept of cursing among pre-Islamic Arabs, he sought deep culture-making in future generations. As he himself stated, he would continue this policy until elders grew old upon this habit and children grew up upon it, until no mention of Ali remained (12).
Pre-Islamic Arab Cursing as the Most Important Tool for Distorting Religion
According to pre-Islamic Arab and Umayyad culture, cursing enters into the cursed person. It is necessary to note here that Mu'awiya ordered the cursing of the very person who, after the Messenger of God, was supposed to be the interpreter of the Qur'an, the scholarly authority of the Islamic community, and the one by referring to whom the Qur'an would be interpreted and explained among Muslims. He was the one whom the Prophet of God, in the Hadith of Thaqalayn, introduced as superior to the Qur'an, because he is the translator of the Qur'an; by holding fast to him and referring to his presence, disagreements are removed, and by making him the axis, Islam remains alive.
As a result, Mu'awiya used the culture of the Age of Ignorance concerning the meaning of cursing to remove the Commander of the Faithful from society. Through the policy of cursing Ali (a) and his children, and considering cursing in its performative meaning, Mu'awiya in this way killed the Household, and at their head Ali (a), with his tongue. No one would then go to the Household to acquire religious knowledge. Because of this policy, the scholarly authority of the Household was practically eliminated from society, and the interpreter and translator of the Qur'an was removed, because in their culture a curse enters into anything that is cursed.
When people lose the guardian of religion and curse the interpreter of the Qur'an from the pulpit, distorting religion will no longer be difficult. One must say explicitly that in a society where the interpreter and translator of the Book of guidance is cursed and reviled, people will have no religion except deviation and misguidance. Although the effects of this policy of Mu'awiya must be discussed independently, it must be noted that the oppressed martyrdom of the Household in Karbala and the savage actions of Imam Husayn's killers were the result of this ominous policy of Mu'awiya.
Mu'awiya Swapped His Place with Banu Hashim in People's Eyes
If we say that what the Qur'an did concerning Banu Umayya, Mu'awiya did concerning Banu Hashim, we have not spoken extravagantly. The Qur'an introduced them as the cursed tree, so that whoever seeks the path of guidance would avoid Banu Umayya, that same cursed tree.
Mu'awiya tried to swap his place with Banu Hashim in the eyes of the people and present himself as the highway of guidance. One of Mu'awiya's most important tools for applying this policy was the order to revile and curse, although the policies of killing the Shi'a and forbidding the transmission of hadith must also be seen alongside his policy of reviling and cursing, especially since he raised Uthman's shirt, shed crocodile tears in mourning Uthman, and strove greatly to fabricate hadith about his virtues.
Mu'awiya continued these policies with greater force after the Battle of Siffin and constantly presented Ali (a) as Uthman's killer. For this reason he encouraged people to curse and revile that noble man. Truly, what was his goal in all this oppression? One must pay attention to the fact that in all of Mu'awiya's filthy policies, cultural goals were central to him. Even in very harsh military actions, he pursued cultural aims.
Categories of Those Killed by Mu'awiya
Those killed by Mu'awiya, whether in mass killings or individual assassinations, can be divided into three groups. The first group were people who had played key roles in helping the Commander of the Faithful (a) in Mu'awiya's wars against Ali (a). It is necessary to note that two of Mu'awiya's wars against Ali (a) were fought under the slogan of avenging Uthman's blood, and the Battle of Nahrawan also stood within the course of the Battle of Siffin. In addition, one must note that Mu'awiya's excuse for reviling Ali was the killing of Uthman.
The second group of Mu'awiya's victims were those known as the pure Shi'a of Ali (a). They refused to revile the Commander of the Faithful even at the cost of losing their lives. These were people whose tongues were sharper than swords, and whose silence and refusal to accompany Mu'awiya's policy of reviling were sharper than their tongues. Most of these people, especially Hujr ibn Adi, were distinguished and respected personalities of their era.
Their speaking meant restoring the right of the Commander of the Faithful and enlightening public minds about his virtues and merits; their silence meant that Mu'awiya's act was wrong. Therefore, the second group of Mu'awiya's victims were generally influential cultural elements.
The third group of Mu'awiya's victims were those who opposed Yazid's succession and whose opposition affected the people. Among the victims of this third group one must mention Aisha. Although Aisha was the Prophet's wife and the one who launched the Battle of Jamal in alignment with Mu'awiya's policy, she was killed by Mu'awiya's deception because of her opposition to the continuation of Umayyad rule through Yazid.
Mu'awiya's Aim in Military and Political Pressure Was Cultural Change
With a little reflection, it becomes clear that Mu'awiya's intermediate goal in these military and political pressures was to change Islamic culture and replace it with Umayyad culture. He succeeded in this to a considerable extent and managed to create a culture in part of Muslim society that was fundamentally alien to love for the Household.
It must be noted that in today's cultural atmosphere, the less attention is paid to introducing the Household, the more opportunity the Mu'awiyas of the age will have to appear.
Notes
1. Mustadrak al-Wasa'il 6:177, chapter 12, on the impermissibility of reviling winds and mountains; Mustadrak al-Wasa'il 9:141, chapter 140, on the prohibition of cursing one who does not deserve it.
2. Jawahir al-Tarikh, Shaykh Ali al-Kurani al-Amili, vol. 2, p. 435.
3. Kanz al-Fawa'id by al-Karajaki, p. 75.
4. Kanz al-Ummal 3/877; Musannaf Ibn Abi Shayba 6/163.
5. Sahih Muslim 8/23.
6. Majma' al-Zawa'id 8/76.
7. Fayd al-Qadir by al-Manawi 1/441.
8. Ibn Sa'd 7/223.
9. Bihar al-Anwar 8:6, chapter 18, p. 1.
10. Kanz al-Ummal, al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, vol. 11.
11. Ibid.
12. al-Arba'in fi Hubb Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib (a), Ali Abu Ma'ash, vol. 4, p. 306.
2. Jawahir al-Tarikh, Shaykh Ali al-Kurani al-Amili, vol. 2, p. 435.
3. Kanz al-Fawa'id by al-Karajaki, p. 75.
4. Kanz al-Ummal 3/877; Musannaf Ibn Abi Shayba 6/163.
5. Sahih Muslim 8/23.
6. Majma' al-Zawa'id 8/76.
7. Fayd al-Qadir by al-Manawi 1/441.
8. Ibn Sa'd 7/223.
9. Bihar al-Anwar 8:6, chapter 18, p. 1.
10. Kanz al-Ummal, al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, vol. 11.
11. Ibid.
12. al-Arba'in fi Hubb Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib (a), Ali Abu Ma'ash, vol. 4, p. 306.
Author: Hamed Sarem
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