What is the difference between the evil eye and envy, and how do we protect ourselves from them?
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The questioner : What is the difference between the evil eye and envy? And how do we protect ourselves from them, may Allah reward you?
The Shaykh : There is no significant difference between the evil eye and envy, because the origin of the evil eye is envy. The one who casts the evil eye, may Allah protect us from it, has envy in his heart for the servants of Allah; he does not wish good for anyone. So when he sees in a person something that pleases him, while he is envious, may Allah protect us from it, and does not wish good for anyone, this malicious force emanates from him and strikes the one who is envied. For this reason, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said:[Al-Falaq 113:5].
As for protection from the evils of the envious and the one who casts the evil eye, it is:
First: by relying upon Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and by not paying attention to these matters, not giving them weight, and turning away from them.
Second: by using the beneficial recitations that came in the Book and the Sunnah, for they are the best protection for a person. For example, what is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the Verse of the Throne:.
And I say on this occasion: In recent times, people’s illusions and imaginations have increased, believing that what befalls them is the evil eye, sorcery, or jinn. Some of them even catch a cold and say it is the evil eye, sorcery, or jinn. This is a mistake. O Muslim brother, turn away from all of this, rely upon Allah, and depend on Him. Do not let your mind dwell on it until it passes from you, for when a person keeps something on his mind, he feels it, and if he ignores it and leaves it alone, he will not be harmed.
Look at a wound that strikes a person: if he is occupied with his affairs, he forgets it and does not feel its pain. But if he focuses on it, he feels the pain. I give as an example the porters: you find the porters carrying furniture and boxes that fall on their feet and injure them. As long as he is carrying and occupied with his work, he does not feel the pain. But when he finishes and is free, he feels the pain. This is a rule to take in everything, in every physical or psychological illness: turn away from it and ignore it, for it will pass from you by the permission of Allah.
Among such things is what befalls some people of obsessive doubts regarding ritual purity, where you find him doubting whether he has broken his state of purity or not.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cut off these obsessive doubts by his statement regarding the one who is unsure whether something came out of him or not:Sahih Muslim 361.
The Shaykh : There is no significant difference between the evil eye and envy, because the origin of the evil eye is envy. The one who casts the evil eye, may Allah protect us from it, has envy in his heart for the servants of Allah; he does not wish good for anyone. So when he sees in a person something that pleases him, while he is envious, may Allah protect us from it, and does not wish good for anyone, this malicious force emanates from him and strikes the one who is envied. For this reason, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said:
And from the evil of an envier when he envies."
ومن شر حاسد إذا حسدAs for protection from the evils of the envious and the one who casts the evil eye, it is:
First: by relying upon Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and by not paying attention to these matters, not giving them weight, and turning away from them.
Second: by using the beneficial recitations that came in the Book and the Sunnah, for they are the best protection for a person. For example, what is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the Verse of the Throne:
Whoever recites it in the night, a protector from Allah will remain over him, and no Shaytan will approach him until he becomes morning
أن من قرأها في ليلة لم يزل عليه من الله حافظ ولا يقربه شيطان حتى يصبحAnd I say on this occasion: In recent times, people’s illusions and imaginations have increased, believing that what befalls them is the evil eye, sorcery, or jinn. Some of them even catch a cold and say it is the evil eye, sorcery, or jinn. This is a mistake. O Muslim brother, turn away from all of this, rely upon Allah, and depend on Him. Do not let your mind dwell on it until it passes from you, for when a person keeps something on his mind, he feels it, and if he ignores it and leaves it alone, he will not be harmed.
Look at a wound that strikes a person: if he is occupied with his affairs, he forgets it and does not feel its pain. But if he focuses on it, he feels the pain. I give as an example the porters: you find the porters carrying furniture and boxes that fall on their feet and injure them. As long as he is carrying and occupied with his work, he does not feel the pain. But when he finishes and is free, he feels the pain. This is a rule to take in everything, in every physical or psychological illness: turn away from it and ignore it, for it will pass from you by the permission of Allah.
Among such things is what befalls some people of obsessive doubts regarding ritual purity, where you find him doubting whether he has broken his state of purity or not.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cut off these obsessive doubts by his statement regarding the one who is unsure whether something came out of him or not: