The Evil Eye: A Reality?
Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Question
Is the evil eye real? How does one avoid it?
Answer
The evil eye is a reality. It can be powerful. Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn al-Arabi al-Maliki and others explain that it is from Allah’s Will that sometimes He creates harmful effects from the evil or jealous glances and looks of others.
However, one can ward off normal problems if one protects oneself with the medicines of the sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace).
1. One should always recite the 3 Quls (Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad, Falaq, and Naas) every morning and every night, ideally 3 times. It is also ideal to say them once after every prayer. This should be done with presence of heart and mind.
2. One should do likewise with Ayat al-Kursi: recite it every morning and night, and ideally after every prayer. With that, one should reflect on the tremendous meanings of this verse.
3. Both of the above should be done before sleep, as well.
4. One should constantly supplicate (dua) to Allah to protect one from the evil eye. There have been prophetic supplications transmitted by Bukhari, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Ahmad, and others, such as:
أَعُوذُ بِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ التَّامَّةِ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ وَهَامَّةٍ وَمِنْ كُلِّ عَيْنٍ لَامَّةٍ
a`udhu bi kalimaatillahi ttaammati min kulli shaytaanin wa haamma wa min kulli `aynin laamma
(I seek refuge in Allah most perfect words from every devil, harmful thing, and accusing eye. )
5. One should try to supplicate before all major acts, asking Allah to give one success (tawfiq), sincerity (ikhlas), and make the action a means of attaining unto the love and good pleasure (rida) of Allah Most High.
Sayyidi Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi said:
كُنْ مَعَ الله *** تَرَ اللهَ مَعَك
Be with Allah
You will find Allah with you.
Be with Allah by turning to Him in all your affairs, by obeying His commands out of love, thankfulness and true servanthood, You will find Allah with you, for He is “closer to you than your jugular vein,” and He does not let the efforts of those who seek Him go to waste.
Wassalam,
[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Faraz Rabbani spent ten years studying with some of the leading scholars of recent times, first in Damascus, and then in Amman, Jordan. His teachers include the foremost theologian of recent times in Damascus, the late Shaykh Adib al-Kallas (may Allah have mercy on him), as well as his student Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi, one of the leading Hanafi fuqaha of the present age. He returned to Canada in 2007, where he founded SeekersGuidance in order to meet the urgent need to spread Islamic knowledge–both online and on the ground–in a reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible manner. He is the author of: Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School (White Thread Press, 2004.) Since 2011, Shaykh Faraz has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center.
