In the earlier Makkan period of the Prophet’s life, Tufail bin Amr from the Dous tribe accepted Islam and then returned to his people. There he presented the message of Islam to his tribe and tried to make them understand but they rejected his guidance. Tufail bin Amr then returned to the Prophet and said, 'O Prophet of God, the tribe of Dous are engrossed in fun and frolic; so you pray for their damnation.’ Instead, the Prophet prayed, ‘O God, guide the tribe of Dous, and then he advised Tufail to return to his people and to be kind to them and wish them well. Tufail had requested the Prophet to pray for their damnation, instead the Prophet had prayed for their well-being.

Throughout his Makkan life, the Prophet never cursed or prayed for the damnation of anyone. There are many such instances in the Prophet’s life where he prayed for the guidance and well-being of those who rejected his message and oppressed and harmed him and his followers. Whenever he was asked by his companions to curse those that oppressed them, he advised the companions to remain steadfast and patient like those with the Prophets before him who were subjected to even greater oppression and harm. Instead of cursing his oppressors, the Prophet always prayed for their guidance and wished them well.

The matter of punishment to any wrongdoer belongs to God alone and is no concern of anyone else.

After the Prophet’s migration to Madinah, there was an incident at the well of Mouna where seventy of the Prophet’s companions were killed by some people belonging to three tribes near Madinah. This was a truly heinous murder committed without any provocation or reason. When the Prophet came to know about the matter, he was very saddened and prayed for the damnation of the murderers for one month until the Angel Gabriel appeared to the Prophet and told him that 'God has not sent you as the invoker of curses and damnation but as a mercy to mankind.'

Then these verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet:

You have no say in this affair to decide whether He will relent towards them or He will punish them: they are wrongdoers. Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth belongs to God. He forgives whoever He pleases and punishes whoever He pleases. God is most forgiving and ever merciful. (THE QURAN 3: 128-129)

There are several other Hadith regarding the revelation of these verses. Imam Bukhari has reported that the Prophet of Islam would take the names of certain unbelievers and would pray against them. At this, God revealed the above mentioned verses after which the Prophet stopped cursing and praying against anybody.

Imam Ahmad has reported another Hadith in this matter saying that, the Prophet of Islam would curse and pray for damnation against four men (amongst the unbelievers) after which God revealed this verse: ‘You have no say in this matter....’ The report goes on to say that God granted these four men pardon and guided them to the truth. Then all these people sought forgiveness from God (and became believers).

'God has not sent me as the invoker of curses and damnation but as a mercy to mankind.'

Prophet Muhammad

From this Hadith we learn that it is quite possible that God may guide those very people who we consider enemies and for whose damnation we pray. They may well reform themselves and come under the mercy of God. We also know that the Prophet of Islam had assumed that these people were enemies and had prayed for their damnation but when he was forbidden from praying against others, he stopped immediately and completely renounced the practice of cursing and praying for the damnation of others. Instead the Prophet continued the propagation of the divine message to them.

Those very people who were earlier the subject of his curses had become the object of the Prophet’s divine message. The result of this change was that the one who was considered an enemy, being influenced by the Prophet’s message, had now become a companion of the Prophet.

After this the Prophet refrained from cursing anyone ever again. In another Hadith, Abu Huraira reported, some people said to God's

Messenger: 'Invoke curse upon the unbelievers', whereupon he said: ‘I have not been sent as the invoker of curses, but I have been sent as a mercy to mankind'.

In another Hadith, Imam Bukhari says that on the day of the Battle of Uhud, the Prophet was injured and he said, ‘How will those people ever succeed if they harm their own Prophet even though he is inviting them towards their Lord.’ At this point, the above verses were revealed again and the Prophet retracted his earlier statement.

According to the above verses of the Quran, and the interpretation of the related Hadith, it follows that even when faced by enemies on the battlefield, one is allowed to defend oneself but not allowed to curse or pray for their damnation. The matter of punishment to any wrongdoer belongs to God alone and is no concern of anyone else. To seek the damnation of others is entering into the domain of God. If others harm or oppress then the only option that one has is to continue giving the message of God to them.

A believer has been commanded to have patience in every situation. It is forbidden for him to hate anyone.

This is the desired character of a believer. A believer has been commanded to have patience in every situation. It is forbidden for him to hate anyone. Even if the others commit any oppression or wrong, the command is to tolerate and be patient to the extent of wellwishing and praying for the good of the opponents. These actions of a true believer will make him stronger and win over the hearts of his opponents and enemies.

There are two aspects with regard to the Hadiths related above: Praying for the damnation of others and Renouncing the practice of cursing. Taking this example from the Prophet's life, Muslims all over the world curse their assumed enemies and oppressors although the Hadith teaches an opposite lesson. They have ignored this renunciation and instead taken to practicing the aspect mentioned in the first part of this matter by praying for the damnation of others. In doing so they are taking a grave risk, as the Quran says:

Do you believe in one part of the Book and deny another part of it? Those of you who act thus shall be rewarded with disgrace in this world and with a severe punishment on the Day of Resurrection. God is never unaware of what you do. (THE QURAN 2: 85)

To curse or pray for damnation of others is a relinquished practice of the Prophet whereas well-wishing and presenting the divine message of God is the Prophet's eternal Sunnath and practice.

To seek the damnation of others is entering into the domain of God.

Today the ummah of the Prophet is holding on to the relinquished practice of cursing and has neglected the eternal Sunnath of the Prophet. Presenting the message of God is not only an eternal practice of the Prophet but also a commandment of God directed originally to the Prophet and thereafter to his followers for all time to come.