Qur'an verses on cursing

Ala-Maududi

(2:88) They say: “Our hearts are well-protected.”^[94] No! The fact is that Allah has cursed them because of their denying the Truth. So, scarcely do they believe.

94. They said, in effect, that they were so staunch in their beliefs that their convictions would remain unaffected regardless of what was said. Such a claim is the hallmark of those bigots whose minds are seized by irrational prejudice. Nothing can be a matter of greater shame for human beings than the so-called firmness of conviction which they often boast of. What can be more foolish than adherence to inherited beliefs and convictions when their falseness is established by overwhelmingly strong arguments?

Ala-Maududi

(2:89) And now that there has come to them a Book from Allah, how are they treating it? Even though it confirms the Truth already in their possession, and even though they had prayed for victory against the unbelievers, and yet when that Book came to them – and they recognized it – they refused to acknowledge its Truth.^[95] Allah’s curse be upon the unbelievers.

95. Before the advent of the Prophet, the Jews were eagerly awaiting a Prophet whose coming had been prophesied by their own Prophets. In fact, the Jews used to pray for his advent so that the dominance of the unbelievers could come to an end and the age of their own dominance he ushered in. The people of Madina were witnesses to the fact that these same Jewish neighbours of theirs had yearned for the advent of such a Prophet. They often used to say: ‘People may oppress us today as they wish, but when our awaited Prophet comes, we will settle our scores with our oppressors.’

Since the people of Madina had themselves heard such statements they were inclined to embrace the religion of the Prophet all the more readily lest their Jewish neighbours supersede them in acquiring this honour. It was therefore astonishing for them to find that when the promised Prophet did appear those same Jews who had so eagerly looked forward to welcoming him turned into his greatest enemies.

The statement ‘and they recognized it’ is confirmed by several contemporaneous events. The most authentic evidence in this connection is that of Safiyah, a wife of the Prophet, who was herself the daughter of one learned Jewish scholar (Huyayy b. Akhtab) and the niece of another (Abu Yasir). She says that when the Prophet migrated to Madina both her father and uncle went to meet him and conversed with him for quite a while. When they returned home, she heard the following conversation:

Uncle: Is he really the same Prophet whose advent has been prophesied in our Scriptures?

Father: By God, he is.

Uncle: Do you believe that?

Father: Yes..

Uncle. Then what do you intend to do?

Father: 1 will continue to oppose him and will not let his claim prevail as long as I live.

(Ibn Hishim, Sirah, eds., Mustafa al-Saqqa’ et al., 2 vols., II edition, Cairo, 137511955, see vol. 1, pp. 518 f. See also Ibn IshAq, The Life of Muhammad, tr. and notes by A. Guillaume, London, Oxford University Press, 1955, pp. 241 f. – Ed.)

Ala-Maududi

(2:159) Those who conceal anything of the clear teachings and true guidance which We have sent down even though We have made them clear in Our Book, Allah curses such people and so do all the cursers,^[160]

160. The biggest failure of the Jews was that they kept the teachings contained in the Book of God confined to a limited class of people, the rabbis and professional theologians, instead of spreading them. They did not allow this knowledge to filter through even to the Jewish masses let alone the non-Jewish peoples of the world. Later, when errors and corruptions spread among them owing to widespread ignorance the Jewish theologians made no serious effort to root them out. Moreover, in order to maintain their hold on the Jewish masses they lent their tacit approval to every corrupting deviation from the true faith that gained currency.

The Muslims are being admonished to refrain from this kind of behaviour. The nation which has been charged with the guidance of the entire world is duty-bound to do its utmost to radiate true guidance, rather than keep it under lock and key as a miser hoards his money.

Ala-Maududi

(2:161) As for those who disbelieved^[161] and died disbelieving, surely the curse of Allah and of the angels and of all men is on them.

161. The original meaning of kufr is to conceal. This lent the word a nuance of denial and it began to be used as an antonym of iman . Iman means to believe, to accept, and to recognize. Kufr, on the contrary, denotes refusal to believe, to deny, to reject. According to the Qur’an there are several possible forms of disbelief. One is to refuse either to believe in the existence of God, to acknowledge His sovereignty, to recognize Him as the only Lord of the Universe and of mankind or to recognize Him as the only Lord and the only object of worship and adoration. The second form of disbelief is when a man recognizes the existence of God but still refuses to accept His ordinances and directives as the only source of true guidance, and as the true law for his life. The third form of disbelief is when even though a man recognizes in principle that he ought to follow the guidance of God he refuses to believe in the Prophets who were the means of communicating God’s guidance to man. The fourth form of disbelief is to differentiate between one Prophet and another and, out of parochialism and bigotry, to accept some Prophets and reject others. The fifth form of disbelief is the refusal to recognize, either totally or partially, the teachings communicated by the Prophets, on God’s behalf, concerning the beliefs, the principles of morality, and the laws for fashioning human life. The sixth form of disbelief is where a person theoretically accepts all that he should accept but wilfully disobeys God’s ordinances and persists in this disobedience, and considers disobedience rather than obedience to God to be the true principle of life.

All these modes of thought and action are forms of rebellion towards God and the Qur’an characterizes each of them as kufr. In addition, the term kufr is used at several places in the Qur’an in the sense of ingratitude and in this usage it signifies the exact opposite of shukr (gratitude). Gratefulness consists in feeling thankful to one’s benefactor, in duly recognizing the value of his benevolence, in making use of it in a manner pleasing to its bestower, and in being utterly loyal to him. Ingratitude denotes, on the contrary, that the man concerned has either failed to recognize the bounty of his benefactor, or considers it to be either the outcome of his own power and ability or else that of some other person’s favour or intercession. Another form of ingratitude consists in failing to recognize fully the worth of the bounty received and in either allowing it to be wasted or to be used in contravention of the will of the benefactor; this ingratitude includes infidelity and treachery towards the benefactor in disregard of his benevolence and kindness. This kind of kufr is known in ordinary language as ungratefulness.

Ala-Maududi

(3:61) Tell whoever disputes with you on this matter after true knowledge has come to you: ‘Come! Let us summon our sons and your sons, and our women and your women, and ourselves and yourselves, and then let us pray together and invoke the curse of Allah on those who lie.’^[55]

55. The real aim in suggesting this procedure for deciding the dispute was to prove that the attitude of those amongst the delegation of Najran was one of deliberate stubbornness and intransigence. They had no sound arguments to contradict any of the points mentioned above, and they could not find any shred of evidence in their own scriptures upon which they could claim, with firm conviction, that their beliefs were true. Moreover, all that the members of the deputation had come to know of the character, teachings and achievements of the Prophet had made them more or less convinced of his prophethood, and at least caused their disbelief to waver. When they were told that if they had full confidence in the truth of their beliefs they should come forward and pray to God that His curse should fall on the deniers of the truth, none of them came forward. It thus became clear all over Arabia that the priests and leaders of Christianity in Najran, whose holiness was celebrated far and wide, followed beliefs, the truth of which, they themselves were not fully confident in.

Ala-Maududi

(3:87) The recom- pense for their wrong-doing is that the curse of Allah and of the angels and of all men shall upon them.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(4:46) Among those who have become Jews^[72] there are some who alter the words from their context,^[73] and make a malicious play with their tongues and seek to revile the true faith. They say: ‘We have heard and we disobey’ (sami’na wa ‘asayna),^[74] ‘Do hear us, may you turn dumb’ (isma’ ghayr musma’)^[75] and ‘Hearken to us’ (ra’ina). It would indeed have been better for them and more upright if they had said: ‘We have heard and we obey’ (sami’na wa ata’na)^[76] and: ‘Do listen to us, and look at us (with kindness)’ (wa isma’ wa unzurna). But Allah has cursed them because of their disbelief. Scarcely do they believe.

72. It is to be noted that this expression means ‘they became Jews’, rather than ‘they were Jews’. For, originally, they were nothing but Muslims, just as the followers of every Prophet are Muslims. Only later on did they become merely ‘Jews’.

73. This signifies three things. First, that they tampered with the text of the Scripture. Second, that they misinterpreted the Scripture and thereby distorted the meanings of the verses of the Book. Third, that they came and stayed in the company of the Prophet (peace be on him) and his Companions and listened to the conversations which took place there, then went among other people and misreported what they had heard. They did this with the malicious intent of bringing the Muslims into disrepute and thereby preventing people from embracing Islam.

74. When the ordinances of God are announced to them, they loudly proclaim: Yes, we have heard’, (sami’na), but then they whisper: ‘And we disobeyed’ (‘asayna). Or else they pronounce ata’na (‘we obey’) with such a twist of the tongue that it becomes indistinguishable from ‘asayna.

75. Whenever they wanted to say something to the Prophet (peace be on him) they would say, ‘isma” (listen), but added to this the expression, ‘ghayr musma” which had several meanings. It could either be a polite expression, meaning that he was worthy of such deep respect that one should say nothing to his dislike or it could have a malicious implication, meaning that he did not deserve to be addressed by anybody. It also meant the imprecation: ‘May God turn you deaf.’

76. For an explanation of this see (Surah Al-Baqarah, ayat 104) note 108.

Ala-Maududi

(4:47) O you who have been granted the Book! Do believe in what We have (now) revealed, which confirms the revelation which you already possess.^[77] Do this before We alter countenances, turning them backwards, or lay a curse upon them as We cursed the Sabbath-men.^[78] Bear in mind that Allah’s command is done.

77. See ibid., (Surah Al-Imran, ayat 4) note 2.

78. See ibid., (Surah Al-Baqarah, ayat 65-66) note 82-83.

Ala-Maududi

(4:52) Such are the ones whom Allah has cursed; and he whom Allah curses has none to come to his help.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(4:93) And he who slays a believer wilfully his reward is Hell, where he will abide. Allah’s wrath is against him and He has cast His curse upon him, and has prepared for him a great chastisement.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(4:118) upon whom Allah has laid His curse. He said (to Allah): ‘I will take to myself an appointed portion of Your servants^[146]

146. This shows that Satan is determined to lay his claim to a portion of men’s time, to their effort and labour, to their energies and capacities, to their material belongings, and to their offspring, and would somehow trick them into devoting a sizeable portion of all these in his cause.

Ala-Maududi

(5:13) Then, for their breach of the covenant We cast them away from Our mercy and caused their hearts to harden. (And now they are in such a state that) they pervert the words from their context and thus distort their meaning, and have forgotten a good portion of the teaching they were imparted, and regarding all except a few of them you continue to learn that they committed acts of treachery. Pardon them, then, and overlook their deeds. Surely Allah loves those who do good deeds.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(5:60) Then say to them: ‘Shall I tell you about those whose retribution with Allah is even worse? They are the ones whom Allah has cursed, and who incurred His wrath and some of whom were changed into apes and swine, and who served the false deities. Such have an even worse rank and have strayed farther away from the right path.^[91]

91. This alludes to the Jews whose history shows that they were subjected, over and over again, to the wrath and scourge of God. When they desecrated the law of the Sabbath the faces of many of them were distorted, and subsequently their degeneration reached such a low point that they took to worshipping Satan quite openly. The purpose of saying all this is to draw attention to their criminal boldness while they had sunk to the lowest level of evil, transgression and moral decadence, they vigorously opposed all those who, thanks to their faith, lived a truly pious and righteous life.

Ala-Maududi

(5:64) The Jews say: ‘The Hand of Allah is fettered. ^[92] It is their own hands which are fettered,^[93] and they stand cursed for the evil they have uttered.^[94] No! His Hands are outspread; He spends as He wills. Surely the message that has been revealed to you from your Lord has increased many of them in their in-surgence and unbelief,^[95] and so We have cast enmity and spite among them until the Day of Resurrection. And as often as they kindle the fire of war, Allah extinguishes it; and they go about trying to spread mischief on earth, whereas Allah does not love those who spread mischief.

92. To say that someone’s hands are tied, in Arabic usage, is to say that he is niggardly, that something prevents him from being generous and bountiful. Thus the Jewish observation does not mean that God’s Hand is literally tied but that He is niggardly and miserly. For centuries the Jews had lived in humiliation and misery. Their past greatness had become legend, seemingly too remote ever to be restored, and so they would blasphemously lament that God had become a miser and that as the door to His treasury was now permanently locked, that He had nothing to offer them except suffering and calamity. This attitude, however, is not confined to the Jews. When confronted with trials and tribulations foolish people of other nations, too, are prone to utter such blasphemies rather than turn to God with humble prayer and supplication.

93. They accused God of the miserliness from which they themselves had suffered and had become notorious for.

94. If they entertained the hope that by such insolent and taunting expressions they might evoke God’s munificence, and that His bounties would begin to shower upon them, they were dreaming of the impossible. Indeed, such insolence was bound to have the opposite effect – to alienate them further from God’s bounty, to cast them even further from His mercy.

95. Instead of learning any lessons from the Book of God, instead of recognizing their own mistakes and wrongs and then trying to make amends for them, instead of probing their miserable situation and then turning to reform, they reacted by launching a violent campaign of opposition to truth and righteousness. Rather than take to the right way as a result of being reminded of the forgotten lesson of righteousness, they attempted to suppress the voice which sought to remind them and others of such things.

Ala-Maududi

(5:78) Those of the Children of Israel who took to unbelief have been cursed by the tongue of David and Jesus, son of Mary, for they rebelled and exceeded the bounds of right.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(7:38) Allah will say: ‘Enter the fire of Hell and join the nations of jinn and men that have gone before You.’ As a nation enters Hill, it will curse the one that went before it, and when all are gathered there, the last of them shall say of the first: ‘Our Lord! These are the ones who led us astray. Let their torment be doubled in Hell-Fire.’ He will answer: ‘Each will have a doubled torment; although you do not know.’^[30]

30. As it is, each group of people is followed, even as it is preceded, by others. A group which inherits an error of outlook and conduct from its predecessors passes on the same, in turn, to future generations. In addition, whereas a group owes its wrong-doing partly to the wrong-doing of its predecessors, it will also be held responsible for leaving behind an evil legacy for the future generations. The Qur’an, therefore, pronounces a double punishment on such a group: it will incur punishment for its own misdeeds and also for leaving behind such a legacy for the coming generations. A number of traditions elucidate this point. According to one such tradition the Prophet (peace be on him) said: ‘He who introduces a misleading innovation which does not please God and His Messenger shall be held guilty for the sins of all those who follow that innovation without lessening in the least the burden [of sins] of those who followed the innovation,’ (Cf. Ibn Majah, Muqaddimat Bab Man Ahya Sunnah qad umitat, where the words are slightly different – Ed.) According to another tradition, he said: ‘The responsibility for all the murders committed in the world is shared by the first son of Adam [i.e. Cain] for he was the first to have innovated murder.’ (See Bukhari, Kitab al-Jana’iz, Bab Qawlih ‘alay al-Salam Yu’addhab al-Mayyit bi Ba’d Buka’i ahlih alayh – Ed.)

We thus know that the individual or group responsible for introducing a wrong idea or practice is not only responsible to the extent of those sins, but shares the responsibility of the sins of all those who are influenced by him. As long as the evil effects of that influence continue, their sins will be continually added to his account. This also shows that a person is not only accountable for the good or bad deeds that he commits. In fact he is also accountable for the influence of those deeds on others.

This may be illustrated by considering the case of someone who indulges in unlawful sex. All those whose bad examples, evil company, and inducements to evil caused a man to indulge in such an act have a share in the sin that he committed. The persons who influenced him in turn had been influenced by others. Were this chain of influence traced back to its ultimate origin, the blame would be fixed on the first person who demonstrated this unlawful way for satiating the sexual urge.

This does not detract from the fact that anyone who indulged in fornication is also accountable for the sin he committed. This is so because when he committed a sin he did so because he failed to make proper use of his capacity to distinguish between good and evil with which he had been endowed. He also did not pay due heed to the voice of his conscience, and mobilize the power of self-control given him. Nor did he benefit from the knowledge of good and evil transmitted to him by pious men nor was he inspired by the noble examples of the God-fearing. Nor did he learn any lesson from the evil consequences of sexual misconduct. Instead, he totally succumbed to blind sexual lust which sought gratification at all cost. This much relates to the responsibility of the person who indulged in sexual misconduct.

But there is another dimension of that person’s evil conduct – his propagation of that same evil among others which ruined the lives of countless people belonging to his own generation and to the generations that follow. It is also possible that he might have been afflicted by some general disease which he then communicated to his own generation and also to the generations that followed. His sexual misconduct might also have given birth to illegitimate children, unjustly passing on the burden of their upbringing to others, and making his offspring – without any justification – co-sharers in the fortunes and even the inheritance of others. The wrong that is thus perpetrated persists for many generations. Likewise, it is also possible that the said criminal might, by his cunning, have led an innocent girl to sexually corrupt behaviour. That in turn is likely to awaken evil propensities in her which wreck the lives and homes of countless families, even generations. Also, by setting an evil example for his children, relatives, friends and the society at large a fornicator is likely to cast a bad influence on people around him and infect others with moral corruption. The evil consequences of such an act thus linger on for a long time. The moral corruption that ultimately, engulfs the society owes its origin to the person who initially introduced an evil. Justice, therefore, demands that such a culprit should also be held responsible for the subsequent evils which may be traced back to his initial act of corruption.

The same holds true for good deeds. The reward for the heritage of goodness left behind by our predecessors from the earliest times should inevitably go to the credit of those men of the past who have continually transmitted that heritage to posterity down to our own time. If our own generation takes good care of that heritage, enriches it and passes it on to the coming generation, it also deserves due reward for that. As long as our good acts leave a trace of good influence on history and continue to cast a good influence on people, mankind will reap the benefits of those acts.

This is the Qur’anic view of retribution. Every sensible person will agree that such a dispensation alone can ensure perfect justice. Appreciation of this concept should dispel the idea of those who believe that men can be fully rewarded or punished for their deeds within the confines of this worldly life. Likewise, such an appreciation should also dispel the views of those who believe that the transmigration of souls alone can ensure full justice to all men. Such people have blundered because they have neither grasped fully the nature and consequences of human acts nor the nature and requirements of perfect justice. It is obvious that the consequences of individuals’ acts are not visible during their life-span – say sixty or seventy years or so. Instead, human activities, both good and evil, influence the lives of countless people belonging to countless generations. One cannot, therefore, be brought to justice during one’s own lifetime, since only a small part of the consequences of those acts have yet come to the surface. Moreover, the limited possibilities available in the present world are quite inadequate for bringing people to justice. Just consider the hideous crime of someone who pushes us to a world war. As things stand, the catastrophic consequences of such a crime would affect the lives of billions of men through the ages. Is there any punishment – physical, spiritual or material – which can be deemed even remotely, proportionate to that crime? Likewise, no worldly reward, however valuable, can adequately recompense for the noble services rendered by a philanthropist which will benefit numerous people for thousands of years.

Having viewed the question from this angle. one readily, concludes that there must necessarily be life in the Hereafter such that full justice can be meted out to everyone. Here all human beings are brought together, their full records are made available, and the reckoning is made by God Himself Whose knowledge embraces literally everything. Additionally, men should be granted unlimited spans of life, and infinite possibilities should be made available for receiving compensation.

A little reflection on this will help us see how false the doctrine of the transmigration of souls is. Those who subscribe to this doctrine fail to realize that eternal life is needed to mete out recompense to people for the deeds they commit during their relatively brief spans of life. If one were to believe in the unending cycle of life and death it would become impossible to reward or punish anyone for his actions, for each span of life would go on accumulating endlessly. The arrears would never be cleared.

Ala-Maududi

(7:44) And the people of Paradise shall cry to the people of Hell: ‘Surely we have found our Lord’s promise to us to be true. have you also found true what your Lord has promised you?’ ‘Yes’, they shall answer; and a herald shall cry out among them: ‘Allah’s curse be upon the wrong-doers’;

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(9:68) Allah has promised Hell-Fire to the hypocrites, both men and women, and to the unbelievers. They shall abide in it: a sufficient recompense for them. Allah has cursed them, and theirs is a lasting torment.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(11:18) And who is a greater wrong-doer than he who invents a lie against Allah?^[20] Such men will be set forth before their Lord and witnesses will say: ‘These are the ones who lied against their Lord. Lo! Allah’s curse be upon the wrong-doers;^[21]

20. To invent a lie against God consists of stating that beings other than God also have a share with God in His godhead, that like God they are also entitled to be served and worshiped by God’s creatures. Inventing a lie against God also consists of stating that God is not concerned with providing guidance to His creatures, that He did not raise Prophets for that purpose, and that He rather left men free to behave as they pleased. Inventing a lie against God also consists of stating that God created human beings by way of jest and sport and that He will not have them render an account to Him, and that He will not requite them for their deeds.

21. Such a proclamation would be made on the Day of Judgment.

Ala-Maududi

(11:60) They were pursued by a curse in this world, and so will they be on the Day of Judgement .Lo! ‘Ad disbelieved in the Lord. Lo! ruined are ‘Ad, the people of Hud.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(11:99) They were pursued by a curse in this world and so will they be on the Day of Resurrection. What an evil reward will they receive!

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(15:35) and there shall be a curse upon you till the Day of Recompense.”^[21]

21. That is, you shall remain accursed up to the Resurrection. Then you shall be punished for your disobedience on the Day of Judgment.

Ala-Maududi

(17:60) And recall when We said to you, (O Muhammad), that your Lord encompasses these people;^[70] and that We have made that vision that We have shown you,^[71] and the tree accursed in the Qur’an,^[72] but as a trial for people. We go about warning them, but each warning leads them to greater transgression.

70. That is, at the very beginning of your Prophethood, when the disbelievers of the Quraish had started opposition to your message, We declared that We are encircling them. They might try their best to obstruct your message, but they will inevitably fail in this and your mission will succeed regardless of opposition. Can’t they see that this declaration has come out true as a miracle, for their opposition has failed to hinder your message, and they have not been able to do any harm to you at all. This was a clear sign of the fact that the mission of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was being supported by the Almighty God. As regards to the declaration that Allah is encircling the disbelievers and helping the mission of the Prophet, it occurs in several Surahs of the first stage of Prophethood at Makkah. For instance, in (Surah Al-Burooj, ayat 17-20), Allah says: These disbelievers do not learn a lesson from the stories of the people of the Pharaoh and Thamud but are rejecting the message here as Allah is encircling them on all sides.

71. This refers to Miraj (Ascension) for here word ruya does not mean “seeing things in a dream” but seeing things actually with physical eyes. It is quite obvious that if it had been a mere dream and the Prophet (peace be upon him) had presented it as a dream to the disbelievers, there was no reason why it should have become a trial for them. Everyday people see strange dreams and relate them to the people but these dreams never become such a curious thing as to make people scoff at the dreamer and accuse him of making a false claim or of being a mad person.

72. This cursed tree, Az-zaqqum which has been mentioned in (Surah Ad-Dukhan, ayat 43-44), grows at the bottom of Hell and its dwellers shall have to eat from it. This has been called a cursed tree because it is not given to people to eat as a mercy from Allah but as a symbol of His curse so that the accursed people should eat it and get more sore, for this will, so to speak, burn in their bellies like the boiling water.

Ala-Maududi

(24:7) and a fifth time, that the curse of Allah be on him if he be lying (in his accusation).

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(24:23) Those that accuse chaste, unwary, believing women,^[21] have been cursed in the world and the Hereafter, and a mighty chastisement awaits them.

21. The word ghafilat as used in the text means the women who are simple, unpretentious souls, who do not know any artifice, who have pious hearts and have no idea of immorality. They cannot even imagine that their names could ever be associated with any slander. The Prophet (peace be upon him) has said: To slander chaste women is one of the seven deadly sins. According to another tradition cited by Tabarani from Huzaifah, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: To slander a pious woman suffices to ruin the good deeds of a hundred years.

21a For explanation, see (Surah YaSin, ayat 65) note 55 and (Surah HaMim As-Sajdah, ayat 20) note 25.

Ala-Maududi

(28:42) We have made a curse to pursue them in this world, and on the Day of Judgement they shall be among the despised.^[58]

58. The words in the text mean: “On the Day of Resurrection they will be among the maqbuhin”, which has several meanings: (l) They will stand rejected and repulsed; (2) they will be wholly deprived of Allah’s mercy; and (3) they will be severely beaten up and their faces will become distorted.

Ala-Maududi

(29:25) He said:^[41] “You have taken up idols instead of Allah as a bond of love among yourselves^[42] in the present life, but on the Day of Resurrection you will disown and curse one another.^[43] Your refuge shall be the Fire, and none will come to your aid.”

41. The Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) must have said this after his safe deliverance from the fire.

42. That is, you have built up your collective life on the foundation of idol worship instead of God worship. This can keep you bound together as a nation only to the extent of mundane life. For here in this world people can get together around any creed, true or false. Any kind of agreement and concord on any belief, however wrong and ill conceived, can become a means of the establishment of mutual friendships, kinships, brotherhoods, and all other religious, social, cultural, economic and political relationships.

43. That is, the collective life that you have built on the false creed in the world cannot endure in the Hereafter. Only those relationships of love and friendship and cooperation and kinship and mutual regard and esteem will endure there, which have been based on the worship of One God and virtue and piety in the world. All relationships founded on disbelief and shirk and deviation will be severed, and all kinds of love will change into enmity and hatred. The son and the father, the husband and the wife, the saint and the disciple, all will curse each other, and each will blame his deviation on the other, and will say, “This wicked person led me astray: he should be given a double punishment.” This thing has been stated at several places in the Quran. For example, in Surah Az-Zukhruf, it has been said: “Friends on that Day shall become enemies of one another, except the righteous,” (Surah Az-Zukhruf, Ayat 67). In Surah Al-Aaraf: “As each generation will be entering Hell, it will curse its preceding generation till all generations shall be gathered together there: then each succeeding generation will say regarding the preceding one; O Lord, these were the people who led us astray; therefore, give them a double chastisement of the Fire,” (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayat 38). And in Surah Al- Ahzab: “And they will say; Our Lord, we obeyed our chiefs and our great men, and they led us astray from the right path. Lord, give them a doable chastisement and curse them severely,” (Surah Al-Ahzab, Ayat 67-68).

Ala-Maududi

(33:57) Verily those who cause annoyance to Allah and His Messenger Allah has cursed them in this world and in the Hereafter and has prepared for them a humiliating chastisement.^[108]

108. “To cause harm to Allah” implies two things: That Allah should be disobeyed, that an attitude of disbelief and shirk and atheism be adopted with regard to Him, and that things made unlawful by Him be made lawful; and (2) that His Messenger be troubled, for just as obedience to the Messenger is obedience to Allah, so is opposition and disobedience of the Messenger opposition and disobedience of Allah.

Ala-Maududi

(33:61) They shall be cursed from all around and they shall be ruthlessly killed wherever they are seized.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(33:64) Allah has cursed the unbelievers and has prepared for them a Blazing Fire;

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(33:68) Our Lord, mete out to them a double chastisement and lay upon them a mighty curse.”^[117]

117. This thing has been stated at several places in the Quran. For instance, see (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayat 187); (Surah An-Naziat, Ayat 42-46); (Surah Saba, Ayat 3-5); (Surah Al-Mulk, Ayat 24-27); (Surah Al-Mutaffifin, Ayat 10-17); (Surah Al-Hijr, Ayat 2-3); (Surah Al-Furqan, Ayat 27-29); (Surah Ha Mim As-Sajdah, Ayat 26-29).

Ala-Maududi

(38:78) and My curse shall remain upon you till the Day of Resurrection.”^[67]

67. This does not mean that there will be no curse on him after the Day of Judgment, but rather it means: He will remain accursed till the Day of Judgment because of his disobedience, and after the Day of Judgment he will be punished for the sins which he will have committed from the creation of Adam until Resurrection.

Ala-Maududi

(40:52) the Day when the excuses offered by the wrong-doers shall not avail them. They shall be victims of the curse and a woeful abode.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(47:23) It is these upon whom Allah has laid His curse: so He made them deaf and deprived them of their sight.

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ala-Maududi

(48:6) (He also did this) to chastise the hypocrites, both men and women, and those who associate others in His Divinity, both men and women, and who harbour evil thoughts about Allah.^[11] They shall be afflicted with misfortune,^[12] Allah is wroth with them. He has laid His curse upon them and has prepared for them Hell. What an evil end!

11. The hypocrites living in the suburbs of Al-Madinah were thinking, as has been stated in (Surah Al-Fath, ayat 12) below, that the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions would not return alive from that journey. As for the polytheists of Makkah and their pagan companions, they were thinking that they had successfully put to rout the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions by preventing them from performing Umrah. In fact, whatever these two groups had thought, they had this misunderstanding about Allah that He would not help His Messenger (peace be upon him). And in the conflict between the truth and falsehood, He would allow falsehood to defeat and frustrate the truth.

12. That is, they were encompassed by the same evil fate which they wanted to avoid and against which they had devised all those plans, and their same plans caused the evil fate to be hastened.

Ala-Maududi

There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.