Don’t Curse or Blame Time for Where You are in Life Right Now
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم “ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يُؤْذِينِي ابْنُ آدَمَ يَسُبُّ الدَّهْرَ وَأَنَا الدَّهْرُ بِيَدِي الأَمْرُ أُقَلِّبُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ ”.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Allah said: “The son of Adam abuses Me by cursing Time, for I am Time; in My Hands are all things and I cause the revolution of night and day.’ ” [1]
أنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ “ لاَ يَقُلْ أَحَدُكُمْ يَا خَيْبَةَ الدَّهْرِ . فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الدَّهْرُ ” .
The Messenger of Allah, said, “Let none of you complain about time, for Allah is time.’[2]
Benefits of this topic
- These are a couple of hadith that encourage us to have faith in the Qadr by avoiding cursing time. The 1st hadith is Qudsi, which is narrated in word and meaning by the Prophet (ﷺ) directly from Allah.
- This hadith shows that it’s prohibited, in other words, Haraam to curse to time. [3] Imam Al-Haytami mentioned that cursing time considered a major sin in Islam.
- Cursing time means a person devaluates or attributes a displeasing action to it blaming it for whatever happens. In reality, time only passes. For example night into day and day into night, Sunday then Monday and so on.
- Imam AL-Qurtubi mentioned that abusing Allah is to ascribe that to Allah which isn’t befitting of His Majesty and whoever does that earns Allah’s Anger.[4]
- The one who curses time either curses Allah or falls into Shirk. If he believes that the passing of time together with Allah is what causes the occurrences to take place then he has committed joined partners with the Most High, and if he believes that it’s Allah alone who has caused these things to happen over time, then he has cursed Allah. [5]
- “The son of Adam Abuses Me…” Whoever curses time has abused Allah, and just because someone is abused it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are harmed, and Allah could never be harmed from anyone in His creation. [6]
- Allah said:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ اللهَ وَرَسُولَهُ لَعَنَهُمُ اللهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالآَخِرَةِ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ عَذَابًا مُهِينًا
Verily, those who annoy Allah and His Messenger () Allah has cursed them in this world, and in the Hereafter, and has prepared for them a humiliating torment.[7]
- This hadith illustrates that the Human-being curses Allah through his cursing of time. Therefore whenever something befalls him that he dislikes he blames the event on time, the day, the hour, and the year. Time is what Allah has created. Time is just a period, which doesn’t control anything at all. A disaster, a calamity, an accident, and a tragedy that occurs by Allah’s Will. So when these things happen people curse time, which is equivalent to cursing Allah, since He allowed them to happen.
- The pagan Arabs of Jahiliyah used to curse time and blame it for their deaths or if they didn’t get what they wanted. They didn’t see their deaths were a result of Allah’s Qadr. [8]Allah said:
وَقَالُوا مَا هِيَ إِلَّا حَيَاتُنَا الدُّنْيَا نَمُوتُ وَنَحْيَا وَمَا يُهْلِكُنَا إِلَّا الدَّهْرُ
And they say: “There is nothing but our life of this world, we die and we live and nothing destroys us except Ad-Dahr (the time).[9]
- “ for I am Time…” Ibn Dawud denied the authenticity of this hadith saying that it would mean, “Ad-Dhar – Time” is one of Allah’s names. Conversely, Ibn Hazm erred by saying Ad-Dhar is one of Allah’s Names.
- “ for I am Time…” This doesn’t mean that one of Allah’s names is time, but rather it points the fact whoever uses a swearword against time, has used a swearword on Allah, as time is a period and it’s Allah who changes these periods. Each and every single name of Allah is derived from His traits, and thus they can’t be taken from inanimate traits. Allah’s names point to His characteristics. Nonetheless, every trait and characteristic isn’t derived from a name. There are attributes of Allah which didn’t give Him a name. This is similar to hand and face. [10]
- “ in My Hands are all things and I cause the revolution of night and day.’” These are words directly from the Prophet which explain Allah’s Words.
- Cursing time isn’t allowed in Islam, so how do we understand the words of Lut when he said,
وَقَالَ هَذَا يَوْمٌ عَصِيبٌ
“This is a distressful day.[Hud 77]
In these words, Lut isn’t trying dispraise time but instead, he is just mentioning the kind of day it was and when a person does this with the intention to inform someone about the kind of day it was itself then this is fine. This is similar to say, a bad day, a dark day, a bad year, etc. Hence it goes back to the intention.[11]
- The people of Iman must always have good suspicions about Allah. Whatever befalls him he must praise Allah and remain content in the Qadr of Allah practicing patience anticipating Allah’s reward. Moreover, the servant has been reminded that any calamities which befall him are a direct result of his sins and disobedience, so he repents and returns to Allah.
[1] Sahih Al-Bukhari (7491) Muslim(2246)
[2] Muslim 2246
[3] Explanation of Sahih Muslim, Vol 15,pg 2
[4] Sharu Al-Zarqani ala Muwatta Imam Malik vol 4, pg 514
[5] Zadul Ma’ad Ibn Al-Qayyim vol 2, pg 355.
[6] Explanation of Kitabu At Tawheed from Sahih Al-Bukhari, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Ar-Rajhi
[7] Al-Ahzab, 57
[8] Kashful Mushkil min hadeethi Saheehayn, by Ibn Jawzi , vol 1, pg 892 and Sharu Al-Zarqani ala Muwatta Imam Malik vol 4, pg 514
[9] Al-Jathiyah, #24
[10] Explanation of Sunnan Abu Dawud vol 8, 208, Sheikh Abdul Muhsin Al-Abbadd.
[11] Refer to Leeqa, babul Maftuh, Imam Al-Uthaymeen, vol 8, pg 33, Majmou Fatawa , Imam Al-Uthaymeen, vol 1,pg 199