What is the evil eye? Can you please explain in detail?
Praise be to Allah.
Here follows some information and fatwas (rulings) that have to do with the evil eye. We ask Allah to benefit readers thereby.
The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked:
What is the definition of the evil eye? Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And from the evil of the envier when he envies.” [113:5]
Is
the hadeeth (narration) of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) saheeh (authentic) in which it says that “One third of those
who are in the grave are there because of the evil eye”? If a person
thinks that someone is envying him, what should the Muslim do and say?
If the person who put the evil eye on someone washes himself, will the
water he used bring healing to his victim? And should he drink the water
or wash himself with it?
They replied:
The
Arabic word al-‘ayn (translated as the evil eye) refers to when a
person harms another with his eye. It starts when the person likes a
thing, then his evil feelings affect it, by means of his repeated
looking at the object of his jealousy. Allah commanded His prophet,
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), to seek refuge with
Him from the envier, as He said (interpretation of the meaning):
“And from the evil of the envier when he envies.” [113:5]
Everyone
who puts the evil eye on another is envious, but not every envier puts
the evil eye on another. The word hasid (envier) is more general in
meaning than the word ‘ain (one who puts the evil eye on another), so
seeking refuge with Allah from the one who envies includes seeking
refuge with Him from the one who puts the evil eye on another. The evil
eye is like an arrow which comes from the soul of the one who envies and
the one who puts the evil eye on another towards the one who is envied
and on whom the evil eye is put; sometimes it hits him and sometimes it
misses. If the target is exposed and unprotected, it will affect him,
but if the target is cautious and armed, the arrow will have no effect
and may even come back on the one who launched it. Adapted from Zaad
al-Ma’aad.
There
are ahadeeth (reports) from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) which speak of the effects of the evil eye. For example it
is narrated in al-Saheehayn that ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her)
said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
used to tell me to recite ruqyah (incantation) for protection against
the evil eye.
Muslim,
Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased
with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
said: “The evil eye is real and if anything were to overtake the divine
decree, it would be the evil eye. When you are asked to take a bath (to
provide a cure) from the influence of the evil eye, you should take a
bath.”
Imam
Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi narrated that Asma bint ‘Umays said: “O
Messenger of Allah, the children of J’afar have been afflicted by the
evil eye, shall we recite ruqyah for them?” He said, “Yes, for if
anything were to overtake the divine decree it would be the evil eye.”
Abu
Dawud narrated that ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The
person who had put the evil eye on another would be ordered to do wudu,
then the person who had been afflicted would wash himself (with that
water).
Imam
Ahmad, Malik, al-Nasai and Ibn Hibban narrated from Sahl ibn Haneef
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came out and
traveled with him towards Makkah, until they were in the mountain pass
of al-Kharar in al-Jahfah. There Sahl ibn Haneef did ghusl (bathed), and
he was a handsome white-skinned man with beautiful skin. ‘Amir ibn
Rabee’ah, one of Banu ‘Adiyy ibn K’ab looked at him whilst he was doing
ghusl and said: “I have never seen such beautiful skin as this, not even
the skin of a virgin,” and Sahl fell to the ground. They went to the
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said,
“O Messenger of Allah, can you do anything for Sahl, because by Allah he
cannot raise his head.” He said, “Do you accuse anyone with regard to
him?” They said, “‘Amir ibn Rabee’ah looked at him.” So the Messenger of
Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) called ‘Amir and
rebuked him strongly. He said, “Why would one of you kill his brother?
If you see something that you like, then pray for blessing for him.”
Then he said to him, “Wash yourself for him.” So he washed his face,
hands, forearms, knees and the sides of his feet, and inside his izaar
(lower garment) in the vessel. Then that water was poured over him, and a
man poured it over his head and back from behind. He did that to him,
then Sahl got up and joined the people and there was nothing wrong with
him. Classed as saheeh (authentic) by al-Albani in al-Mishkat.
The
majority of scholars are of the view that people can indeed be
afflicted by the evil eye, because of the ahadeeth (reports) quoted
above and others, and because of the corroborating reports and other
evidence.
With
regard to the hadeeth that you mention, “One third of those who are in
the grave are there because of the evil eye,” we do not know how sound
it is, but the author of Nayl al-Awtar said that al-Bazzar narrated with
a hasan isnad (sound chain of narrators) from Jabir (may Allah be
pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) said: “Most of those who die among my ummah (followers) die
because of the will and decree of Allah, and then because of the evil
eye.”
The
Muslim has to protect himself against the devils among the evil jinn
and mankind, by having strong faith in Allah and by putting his trust in
Him and seeking refuge with Him and beseeching Him, reciting the
prayers for protection narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him), reciting al-Mu’awwadhatayn [the last two surahs of
the Quran], Surat al-Ikhlas, Surat al-Fatihah, and ayat al-Kursi.
Du’as for protection include the following:
A’oodhu
bi kalimat-illah il-tammati min sharri ma khalaqa (I seek refuge in the
perfect words of Allah from the evil of that which He has created).
A’oodhu
bi kalimat-illah il-tammati min ghadabihi wa ‘iqabihi, wa min sharri
‘ibadihi wa min hamazat al-shayateeni wa an yahduroon (I seek refuge in
the perfect words of Allah from His wrath and punishment, from the evil
of His slaves and from the evil promptings of the devils and from their
presence).
And one may recite the words of Allah:
“Hasbi Allahu la ilaha illa huwa, ‘alayhi tawakkaltu wa huwa Rabb ul-‘arsh il-‘azeem
(Allaah
is sufficient for me. La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be
worshipped but He) in Him I put my trust and He is the Lord of the
Mighty Throne).”
[9:129 – interpretation of the meaning]
[9:129 – interpretation of the meaning]
And
there are other similar du’as that are prescribed in sharee’ah (Islamic
law). This is what was meant by Ibn al-Qayyim in the words quoted at
the beginning of this answer.
If
it is known or suspected that a person has been afflicted by the evil
eye, then the one who put the evil eye on him should be ordered to wash
himself for his brother. So a vessel of water should be brought, and he
should put his hand in it and rinse out his mouth into the vessel. Then
he should wash his face in the vessel, then put his left hand into the
vessel and wash his right knee, then put his right hand in the vessel
and wash his left knee. Then he should wash inside his garment. Then the
water should be poured over the head of the one on whom he put the evil
eye, pouring it from behind in one go. Then he will be healed, by
Allah’s leave.
Fatawa al-Lajnah al-Daimah li’l-Buhooth al-‘Ilmiyyah wa’l-Ifta.
Shaykh Muhammad al-Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen was asked:
Can
the evil eye afflict a person? How is it treated? Does being on one's
guard against it contradict putting one's trust in Allah?
He replied:
Our
opinion concerning the evil eye is that it is real and is proven both
by Islamic teachings and by real life experiences. Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“And verily, those who disbelieve would almost make you slip with their eyes (through hatred).” [68:51]
Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with
him) and others said, commenting on this verse: this means, they put the
evil eye on you with their glances. The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said: “The evil eye is real and if anything were to
overtake the divine decree, it would be the evil eye. When you are asked
to take a bath (to provide a cure) from the influence of the evil eye,
you should take a bath.” (Muslim). Al-Nasai and Ibn Majah narrated that
‘Amir ibn Rabee’ah passed by Sahl ibn Haneef when he was bathing … and
he quoted the hadeeth.
Reality confirms this and it cannot be denied.
In the event that you are afflicted by the evil eye, you should use the treatments recommended in sharee’ah, which are:
1
– Reciting ruqyah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) said, “There is no ruqyah except in the case of the evil eye or
fever.” al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood. Jibril (peace be upon him) used to do
ruqyah for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and
say, “Bismillahi arqeeka min kulli shayin yudheeka, min sharri kulli
nafsin aw ‘aynin hasid Allaahu yashfeek, bismillahi arqeek (In the name
of Allah I perform ruqyah for you, from everything that is harming you,
from the evil of every soul or envious eye may Allah heal you, in the
name of Allah I perform ruqyah for you).”
2
– Asking the person who has put the evil eye on another to wash, as the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) commanded ‘Amir ibn
Rabee’ah to do in the hadeeth quoted above. Then the water should be
poured over the one who has been afflicted.
With
regard to taking his waste, such as his urine and stool, there is no
basis for doing so; the same applies to taking any of his belongings.
Rather what is narrated is that which is mentioned above, washing his
limbs and washing inside his garment, or likewise washing inside his
headgear and garments. And Allah knows best.
There
is nothing wrong with taking precautions against the evil eye before it
happens, and this does not contradict the idea of tawakkul (putting
one's trust in Allah). In fact this is tawakkul, because tawakkul means
putting one’s trust in Allah whilst also implementing the means that
have been permitted or enjoined. The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) used to seek refuge for al-Hasan and al-Husayn and
say: U’eedhukuma bi kalimat Allah al-tammati min kulli shaytanin wa
hammah wa min kulli ‘aynin lammah (I seek refuge for you both in the
perfect words of Allah, from every devil and every poisonous reptile,
and from every evil eye).’” Al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood. And he would say,
“Thus Ibrahim used to seek refuge with Allah for Ishaq and Ismail, peace
be upon them both.” [al-Bukhaari].
Fatawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen.
And Allah knows best.
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