The prohibition of abusing the dead

We relate in the Sunans of Abū Dāwūd and at-Tirmidhī, with a weak isnād that at-Tirmidhī deemed weak from Ibn ‘Umar who narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: “Mention the good deeds and traits of your deceased, and refrain from [mentioning] their bad ones.” ^[2].

I say that the ‘ulamā’ have declared that it is ḥarām to curse and swear over any deceased Muslim who has not sinned in public. As for disbelievers or Muslims who made their sin public, there is some disagreement among the salaf and texts that contradict one another, the upshot of which is what is reliably established about the prohibition of cursing the dead, which we have cited in this chapter.

There are many things mentioned which grant licence to criticise evil people. Among these are what Allah has narrated in His Mighty Book and has commanded us to recite and to propagate their recitation. Also among these are many authentic hadiths, such as the hadiths in which he mentioned ‘Amr ibn Luḥayy, the story of Abū Righāl, ^[3].[that of the one] who stole from the pilgrim ^[4].with his staff, and the story of Abū Jud‘ān and others. There is also the authentic hadith we have cited about the funeral procession passing by and the people speaking ill of the deceased; the Messenger of Allah did not stop them but said: “It is inevitable.”

The ‘ulamā’ disagree about the reconciliation of these hadiths. The most correct opinion is that it is permissible to mention the bad points of deceased disbelievers. As for those Muslims who exposed their sin and evil or innovation, it is permissible to mention such matters if there is some benefit in warning others about their condition, and to deter people from accepting their word and following them in what they did. If there is no such need, it is not permissible. The texts delineate this detailed picture. The ‘ulamā’ are unanimously agreed that one may speak critically about hadith narrators who have some defect. And Allah knows best.