The Reality of the Evil Eye and the Cure

The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta

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The first question of Fatwa No. ( 6387 ):
Q1: What is the reality of the evil eye - the cure - Allah the Exalted said: And from the evil of an envier when he envies."
وَمِنْ شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ
[Al-Falaq 113:5]
And is the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) authentic, the meaning of which is his saying: A third of what is in the graves is from the evil eye
ثلث ما في القبور من العين
, and if a person suspects that one of them has envied him, what must the Muslim do and say, and is there a cure in taking the washing of the one afflicted by the evil eye for the one who was affected, and should he drink it or take a bath with it?
A: The term "evil eye" is derived from the root "a'ana," meaning to strike with the eye. Its origin lies in the one who casts the eye being pleased with something, followed by the manifestation of his evil self, which then seeks to execute its poison by looking at the one being envied. Allah commanded His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to seek refuge from the envious one, and He said:

And from the evil of an envier when he envies."

وَمِنْ شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ

[Al-Falaq 113:5]

Therefore, every one who casts the evil eye is an envious one, but not every envious one casts the evil eye. Since the envious one is a broader category than the one who casts the evil eye, seeking refuge from the envious one is a seeking of refuge from the one who casts the evil eye. These are arrows that issue from the soul of the envious one and the one who casts the evil eye toward the one being envied and the one being struck by the eye; they sometimes hit their target and sometimes miss. If they find the target exposed with no protection, they affect him. If they find him cautious, armored, with no opening for the arrows, they do not affect him, and the arrows may even return to their owner. (From *Al-Mu'jam al-Mu'ad* with some modification). It is established in the hadiths from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding being struck by the evil eye. Among them is what
is in the two Sahihs from A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said:

Umm Salama said that God’s messenger used to command her to fast three days every month beginning with Monday or Thursday. Abu Dawud and Nasa’i transmitted it.

كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يأمرني أن أسترقي من العين

Mishkat al-Masabih 2060

, and Muslim and Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi authenticated it from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said:

The evil eye is real, and if anything could precede the divine decree, the evil eye would precede it. And if you are asked to take a bath, then take a bath

العين حق ولو كان شيء سابق القدر لسبقته العين، وإذا استغسلتم فاغسلوا

Sahih Ibn Hibban 58:24

, and Imam Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi authenticated it from Ummaymah bint al-Harith , who said:

O Messenger of Allah, the sons of Ja'far are struck by the evil eye. Should we seek ruqyah for them? He said: Yes. If anything could precede the divine decree, the evil eye would precede it

يا رسول الله، إن بني جعفر تصيبهم العين، أفنسترقي لهم؟ قال: نعم، فلو كان شيء سابق القدر لسبقته العين

. And Abu Dawud narrated from A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said:

The one who casts the evil eye was ordered to perform wudu (ablution) and then wash from him for the one who was struck

كان يؤمر العائن فيتوضأ ثم يغسل منه المعين

, and Imam Ahmad and Malik and al-Nasa'i and Ibn Hibban authenticated it from Sahl ibn Hanif :

That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went out and traveled with him toward Mecca until they were at the valley of al-Kharar from al-Juhfah. Sahl ibn Hanif took a bath, and he was a man with white skin, a good body, and good skin. Amir ibn Rabi'ah, one of the Banu 'Adi ibn Ka'b, looked at him while he was bathing and said: I have never seen today like this, nor the skin of a hidden maiden. So Sahl fainted. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was brought to, and it was said: O Messenger of Allah, do you have any concern for Sahl? By Allah, he does not raise his head. He said: Do you suspect anyone of having done this to him? They said: Amir ibn Rabi'ah looked at him. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called for Amir and was angry with him, and said: Why does one of you kill his brother? Why did you not bless what pleased you? Then he said to him: Take a bath for him. So he washed his face, his hands, his elbows, his knees, the tips of his feet, and the inside of his garment in a cup, then poured that water on him. A man poured it on his head and back from behind him, then turned the cup over behind him. So he did that to him, and Sahl went out with the people with no harm.

أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم خرج وسار معه نحو مكة حتى إذا كانوا بشعب الخرار من الجحفة اغتسل سهل بن حنيف وكان رجلاً أبيض حسن الجسم والجلد فنظر إليه عامر بن ربيعة أحد بني عدي بن كعب وهو يغتسل فقال: ما رأيت كاليوم ولا جلد مخبأة، فلبط سهل، فأتي رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، فقيل: يا رسول الله، هل لك في سهل والله ما يرفع رأسه، قال: هل تتهمون فيه من أحد؟ قالوا: نظر إليه عامر بن ربيعة، فدعا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عامرًا فتغيظ عليه، وقال: علام يقتل أحدكم أخاه، هلاّ إذا رأيت ما يعجبك برَّكت، ثم قال له: اغتسل له، فغسل وجهه ويديه ومرفقيه وركبتيه وأطراف رجليه وداخلة إزاره في قدح ثم صب ذلك الماء عليه يصبه رجل على رأسه وظهره من خلفه ثم يكفأ القدح وراءه، ففعل به ذلك، فراح سهل مع الناس ليس به بأس

. The majority of scholars affirm that one can be struck by the evil eye, based on the aforementioned hadiths and others, and based on what is observed and occurs. As for the hadith you mentioned ("One-third of what is in the graves is from the evil eye"), we do not know its authenticity. However, the author of [Nail al-Authar] stated that al-Bazzar narrated with a good chain from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said:

Most of my Ummah who die after the divine decree and destiny is by the souls

أكثر من يموت من أمتي بعد قضاء الله وقدره بالأنفس

meaning: by the evil eye. It is obligatory for the Muslim to protect himself from the devils, from the chiefs of the jinn and humans, through strong faith in Allah
and reliance upon Him, his seeking refuge in Him and his supplication to Him, and through the Prophetic seekings of refuge, and frequent recitation of the two Mu'awwidhat (Surah al-Falaq and Surah al-Nas), Surah al-Ikhlas, the opening of the Book (Surah al-Fatihah), and the Verse of the Throne. Among the seekings of refuge are:

I take refuge in the perfect words of Allah from the evil of what He created

أعوذ بكلمات الله التامات من شر ما خلق

Sunan Abi Dawud 3898Sahih (Al-Albani)

and

I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from His anger and His punishment, and from the evil of His servants, and from the incitements of the devils and that they should be present.

أعوذ بكلمات الله التامة من غضبه وعقابه، ومن شر عباده ومن همزات الشياطين وأن يحضرون

As-Sunan al-Kubra lil-Nasa'i 64:1187

, and His saying:

Sufficient for me is Allah; there is no deity except Him. On Him I have relied, and He is the Lord of the Great Throne."

حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلا هُوَ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَهُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ

[At-Tawbah 9:129]

and similar supplications from the Shari'ah. This is the meaning of Ibn al-Qayyim's statement mentioned at the beginning of the answer. If it is known that a person has been struck by the evil eye, or if there is suspicion that he has been struck by the eye of someone, then the one who casts the evil eye is ordered to perform ghusl (ritual bath) for his brother. A vessel containing water is brought to him, and he puts his hand in it, rinses his mouth, then spits it into the cup, washes his face into the cup, then puts his left hand in and pours it over his right knee into the cup, then puts his right hand in and pours it over his left knee, then washes his lower garment, and then pours it over the head of the one who was struck by the evil eye from behind, in a single pour, and he will be cured by the permission of Allah. And success is from Allah. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.

Source www.alifta.gov.sa

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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