Category: Virtues and Manners .

عن عائشة رضي الله عنها مرفوعاً: «لا تسبوا الأموات؛ فإنهم قد أفضوا إلى ما قدموا».
[صحيح] - [رواه البخاري]
المزيــد ...

‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not insult the dead, because they have attained the fruits of their deeds."
Sahih/Authentic. - [Al-Bukhari]

Explanation

The Hadīth clearly stresses the prohibition of cursing the dead and speaking ill of their honor; which is considered from the unethical manners. The wisdom behind such prohibition comes at the end of the Hadīth: "Because they have attained the fruits of their deeds." It means they have already seen the consequences of the good or bad deeds they have done before. Therefore, insulting the dead does not harm them; rather, it hurts the living ones.

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Benefits from the Hadith

  1. The Hadīth proves that cursing the dead is prohibited. Its general wording suggests that this ruling applies whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims.
  2. Excluded from this prohibition is the case when mentioning the demerits of the dead serves a good purpose.
  3. The wisdom behind this prohibition is clarified in the Hadīth, namely that they are already facing the consequences of their good or bad deeds, and so cursing would avail nothing. It is also because cursing them hurts their living relatives.
  4. One should not speak useless words.