It was narrated from al-‘Aizar bin Jarwal al-Hadrami, from a man among them who was known by the kunyah Abu ‘Umair, that he was a friend of 'Abdullah bin Mas'ood and that 'Abdullah bin Mas'ood visited him at home but did not find him. So he asked permission from his wife to enter and he asked for a drink. She sent the slave girl to bring him a drink from their neighbours, but she was slow and she cursed her, so ‘Abdullah left. Abu 'Umair came and said:
O Abu ‘Abdur-Rahman, one would not feel protective jealousy concerning someone like you. Why did you not greet the wife of your brother and sit down and have something to drink? He said: I did that, and she sent the servant and she was slow; either they did not have anything or they had something but did not want to give it. She thought the servant was too slow and she cursed her, but I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: “If a curse is directed at someone, if it finds a way to reach him it will stay, otherwise it will say: 'O Lord, I was sent to So and so, but I could not find any way to reach him." Then it is said to it: ‘Go back from whence you came." And I was afraid that the servant had an excuse and that the curse would come back, and I would be the cause of it.
