Ask an Alim

I assume you are referring to these phrases of Dua e Alqamah:

 اللَهُمَّ مَنْ أَرَادَنِي‌ بِسُوٓءٍ فَأَرِدْهُ! وَ مَنْ كَادَنِي‌ فَكِدْهُ! وَ اصْرِفْ عَنِّي‌ كَيْدَهُ وَ مَكْرَهُ وَ بَأْسَهُ وَ أَمَانِيَّهُ! وَ امْنَعْهُ عَنِّي‌ كَيْفَ شِئْتَ وَ أَنَّي‌ شِئْتَ! اللَهُمَّ اشْغَلْهُ عَنِّي‌ بِفَقْرٍ لَا تَجْبُرُهُ، وَ بِبَلَآءٍ لَا تَسْتُرُهُ، وَ بِفَاقَةٍ لَا تَسُدُّهَا، وَ بِسُقْمٍ لَا تُعَافِيهِ، وَ ذُلٍّ لَا تُعِزُّهُ، وَ بِمَسْكَنَةٍ لَا تَجْبُرُهَا!

اللَهُمَّ اضْرِبْ بِالذُّلِّ نَصْبَ عَيْنَيْهِ، وَ أَدْخِلْ عَلَيْهِ الْفَقْرَ فِي‌ مَنْزِلِهِ، وَالْعِلَّةَ وَ السُّقْمَ فِي‌ بَدَنِهِ، حَتَّي‌ تَشْغَلَهُ عَنِّي‌ بِشُغْلٍ شَاغِلٍ لَا فَرَاغَ لَهُ، وَ أَنْسِهِ ذِكْرِي‌ كَمَا أَنْسَيْتَهُ ذِكْرَكَ؛ وَ خُذْ عَنِّي‌ بِسَمْعِهِ وَ بَصَرِهِ وَ لِسَانِهِ وَ يَدِهِ وَ رِجْلِهِ وَ قَلْبِهِ وَ جَمِيعِ جَوَارِحِهِ، وَ أَدْخِلْ عَلَيْهِ فِي‌ جَمِيعِ ذَلِكَ السُّقْمَ، وَ لَاتَشْفِهِ حَتَّي‌ تَجْعَلَ ذَلِكَ لَهُ شُغْلاً شَاغِلاً بِهِ عَنِّي‌ وَ عَنْ ذِكْرِي‌، وَ اكْفِنِي‌ يَاكَافِيَ مَا لَا يَكْفِي‌ سِوَاكَ، فَإنَّكَ الْكَافِي‌ لَا كَافِيَ سِوَاكَ، وَ مُفَرِّجٌ لَا مُفَرِّجَ سِوَاكَ، وَ مُغِيثٌ لَا مُغِيثَ سِوَاكَ، وَ جَارٌ لَا جَارَ سِوَاكَ.

O my Allah put an end to the intentions of him who desires to destroy me, outwit him who makes plans, keep off from me his deceit and intrigue, his hostility and fancy, keep me aloof, refusing to have anything to do with him, in whatever manner, on any occasion, as Thou wills. O my Allah divert his attention from me and involve him in his own over bearing anxieties which Thou will not cut down, in misfortune which Thou will not make easy to deal with, in waywardness from which Thou will not lead him back on the right path, in spiritless laziness which Thou will never change into fruitful activity, infamy and disgrace from which Thou will not allow him to rise to the surface, in broken fortune which Thou will not let get set. O my Allah let contemptible disgrace stick like a leech on the forehead between his two eyes, expose him to emptiness in every effort he makes, let wicked inclination, distraction and inactivity cut deep into his body and soul, in order that Thou diverts his attention from, me, absorbed in his own pursuits that do not free him to employ himself at another, make him think no more of me as he has willfully neglected and forgotten Thee, take away from me and throw overboard his attention, interest, communication, influence, support, and perverted thinking every evil he commits or draws it on himself, let everything he does go waste, defective and incomplete, and do not give any letup so that he is kept fully preoccupied and gets no time to pay attention to me or think of me. Give enough to me, O He who effectively and completely gives satisfaction. There is no one other than Thee who gives sufficiently, because Thou alone gives enough, no one else gives to the seeker’s satisfaction except Thee.

Dua e Alqama

We need to understand that the person/s whom we are referring to in the dua are not some of those with whom we have some minor conflicts or a bit of animosity. These people whom we are cursing in this dua are in fact the enemies of Allah and religion. Those who just want to spread injustice and hatred among people. Those who want chaos in the society. Those who hate ethics and moral values. Those for whom injustice is a minor thing. To sum up, one needs to think of such people while cursing them in this dua.

Even if we take in our personal life,  an eligible person for such a curse is one who has completely lost the morality and the sheer fitrah given by Allah (swt), who want to cheat others and doesn’t refrain from such a sin. The one in whom we loose the hope that he could be guided.

At the end of the day, a person needs to portray and figure out to whom he is referring in his dua. It is a very personal thing. It would depend upon the level of tolerance as well.

Kumail Rajani