Ayatollah Muhammad Yazdi
Chairman Of The Council Of Experts For The Leadership

Allah says:

وَلَا تَسُبُّوا الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ فَيَسُبُّوا اللَّهَ عَدْوًا بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ

Do not insult those they invoke other than Allah, lest they insult Allah in enmity without knowledge. (Qur’an, 6:108).

The Noble Qur’an unequivocally prohibits disrespectful language, cursing, and imprecating misguided people, for this action could provoke them into disrespecting the God of the universe out of ignorance. It therefore follows that it is not correct to curse, swear, or use disrespectful language to someone who is held in respect by many people. If such behaviour directly or indirectly results in killings, massacres, the destruction and damage to lives, property or people’s honour, it is quite clear that this would be haram and goes against shari‘ah in this world, and in the afterlife one would have to answer for it. It matters not whether this action, this disrespectful language, this cursing, or this imprecating takes the form of a speech, a poem, a eulogy, or even in a lamentation, whether it is presented in theatre, in movie cinematography or whether it is in a real or virtual environment. The form it takes makes no difference for it to be a cause and a factor in leading to killings, massacres, and assaults upon the inviolability of the lives, property and honour of others.

It is not permissible and indeed it is forbidden to curse and imprecate the leaders of the heavenly denominations. This is especially so with respect to the divinely sent prophets but is also true for the caliphs and their successors, and in particular the most notable personalities of Islam which include the wives and offspring of the Prophet (S).

In general, there is no right to curse, imprecate or use disrespectful language at any place, time. It should not have even the smallest role or explanatory effect with respect to elaborating on a subject.