The Ruling on the Evil Eye and Its Treatment

Question:
What is the ruling on the evil eye? Is it real and does it affect a person? What is its treatment, and what should a person do when he is afflicted by the evil eye and envy?

Answer:
First, a person must have reliance upon Allah and not be constantly threatened by fear of people, because some people exaggerate in this matter, considering everything to be the evil eye, and considering that anyone who looks at them has the evil eye or something similar. No, he should rely on Allah, depend on Allah, seek refuge in Allah, and increase in the morning and evening adhkar. If Allah wills, no one can harm him except by Allah's permission. But if a person is truly afflicted by the evil eye, the evil eye is a reality, there is no doubt that the evil eye is a reality. Allah the Exalted said: Envy is included in this; the envious person is included in the one who has the evil eye, because the evil eye is envy. Allah the Exalted said: This is the meaning of the evil eye. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The evil eye is a reality, and if anything were to overtake the divine decree, it would be the evil eye." This is in the Sahih. There is no doubt about the evil eye, and this is among the signs of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). Being afflicted by the evil eye is among the signs of Allah, where He grants this characteristic to some people without any incantation.
If a person is afflicted by the evil eye, he has a remedy to which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) directed. That is that the one who has the evil eye is ordered to wash his lower garment, the waistband of his garment, and what he wears. Then the washing water is taken and poured on the afflicted person. The washing water from the clothes of the one who has the evil eye is poured on the person afflicted by the evil eye. This is part of the treatment, or this is the treatment, along with the Shari'ah ruqyah, by reciting verses from the Qur'an over the one who has the evil eye, such as Surat al-Fatihah, the two protective surahs of the Qur'an, and Surat al-Ikhlas, and with the Shari'ah supplications. This is the treatment of the evil eye, if Allah wills. The scholar Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned this in his book Zad al-Ma'ad and Sunan al-Nabawi; whoever wishes to refer to it will find the treatment of the evil eye there.