Prohibition of Cursing Animals: Explanation in the Light of Ḥadīth
Source: Fatāwā Amunpūrī by Shaykh Ghulām Muṣṭafā Ẓahīr Amunpūrī
❖ Question
سیدنا عمران بن حصین رضی اللہ عنہ narrates:
بينما رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فى بعض أسفاره، وامرأة من الأنصار على ناقة، فضحرت فلعنتها، فسمع ذلك رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال : خذوا ما عليها ودعوها، فإنها ملعونة .
During a journey of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, an Anṣārī woman was riding a she-camel. The she-camel tired, so the woman cursed it. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ heard this and said: “Take what is on it and leave it, for it is accursed.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2595)
A curse is invoked in response to a sin, whereas the she-camel is not morally accountable. Why then did the Noble Prophet ﷺ declare it “accursed”?
❖ Answer
① The meaning of declaring the she-camel “accursed” is that it has become unbeneficial and devoid of blessing, no longer suitable for riding.
سیدنا عبد اللہ بن عمر رضی اللہ عنہما narrate that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
إنما السؤم فى ثلاثة : فى الفرس، والمرأة، والدار .
“Bad omen is only in three: the horse, the woman, and the house.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 2858; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2225)
Note: In this ḥadīth, “bad omen” does not carry the pre-Islamic superstitious meaning; rather, it signifies lack of blessing and wearisomeness. In this very sense, the Prophet ﷺ referred to the she-camel as “accursed.”
② It is also possible that the Prophet ﷺ removed the woman from the mount as a disciplinary measure, because she both cursed the animal and rode it—so that she would not repeat cursing animals; indeed, cursing animals is prohibited.
