Jealousy And The Evil Eye

Jealousy And The Evil Eye

What does common custom deem jealousy or "the evil eye", concerning which some supplications and prayers of refuge have been narrated?

I have perceived no detailed proof or actual instances of jealousy in this sense. Rather, we find that the situation of people of whom others are jealous do not have any effect on their person. The issue of jealousy to be analyzed is the evil which the jealous person may cause for the person of whom he is jealous. In other words, the ill will he bears towards another may incite him to murder, assault, or confine him, as did the brothers of Yusuf It is possible that the supplications that have surfaced on this subject represent suggestions, whereby a person turns to his Lord while in fear regarding the issue of knowledge, or regarding the nightmares he experienced as a result of the social conditions from which he seeks protection. The assumption is that these are paranormal events which the human being cannot get rid of through normal meditation, and so resorts to his Lord to rid him of his fear. Then, he will feel convinced of God's help and protected in the entire matter.

Nor can I categorically deny that these things occur; I do not possess knowledge of every detail of the refutation. Let me state, though, that I do not find any convincing proof-for example, for the folk view on the subject. I find only reasons to reject them.

Addendum of Narrations (5)

On the Hijab:

• Imam Ali said: "I was sitting in the Baqee with the Messenger of God one dark, rainy day. A woman on a donkey passed by, and the foreleg of the animal stumbled in a hole, as the woman fell. The Prophet turned away and the people said, "O Messenger of God! She is wearing trousers!" He said thrice "O God, cover the faults of those who wear trousers. O people, wear trousers; of all your clothing they cover best. And protect your women in them when they go out!"

• He said to his son Hasan, "Restrain them from their looks through the hijab, for the sterner hijab the better to spare you and them the blemish-and their going forth is no more severe than their coming in for those in whom you have no confidence. If you are able not to let them know anyone but you from the men, then do so!"

On Looking:

• The Messenger of God said: "Beware of excessive looking, for it causes passion, and gives rise to carelessness."

• He also said: "Whoever fills his eyes with haram, Allah will fill his eyes with fire on the day of judgment, except the one who repents and does not repeat this."

• He said: "There is no Muslim who looks at a woman and at first glance lowers his gaze but that God [Exalted] creates for him a worship whose sweetness he will find in his heart."

• He said: "Every organ has its portion of fornication, and the fornication of the eye lies in its glance."

• He said, "Lower your gaze when you see that which pleases you."

• Jesus said: "Beware of looking at the forbidden, for they are the seed of lust and the shoot of immorality."

• Imam Ali said: "The eyes are the snares of Satan."

• He also said, "There is nothing in the body less thankful than the eye, so do not answer its request, for it will distract you from remembering God Almighty."

• He said: "If the eyes perceive some lust, the heart becomes blind to the aftermath."

• He said: "He who looks a lot, regrets a lot."

• Al-Sadiq counselled Abdullah b. Jundab, "O Ibn Jundab, verily Jesus, son of Mary, said to his disciples: 'Woe betide the glance, for it sows desire in the heart and causes corruption for its owner. Blessed be he who put his perception in his heart and not in his eyes.'"

On Ornamentation:

• The Messenger of God said, "Certainly God loves His believing servant when he goes out to his brother, to appear nicely and to beautify himself for him."

• He also said, "The best beautification of a man is tranquillity with faith."

• Imam Ali said: "Woe to you, beautify yourself for people and to confront God in contumacy."

• He also said: "Ornamentation lies in the goodness of voice not in clothes."

• He said: "The ornamentation of Islam is to do good deeds."

• He said: "The best dress is that which makes you identify with people, makes you appear nice among them, and keeps their tongues from wagging about you."

• He said: "There is no decoration which one resorts to that is better than that of obedience to God."

• Imam al-Sadiq said: "It is not fitting that a woman should neglect herself, even if it means putting a garland around her neck."

On Singing:

• The Messenger of God said: "Do not listen to wind instruments and singing, for they sow hypocrisy in the heart, the way water makes shoots grow."

• He also said: "Two voices are cursed in this world and the next: Flutes with joy and singing in calamity."

• Al-Imam al-Sadiq said, "Singing bequeaths hypocrisy."

• A man said to al-Sadiq, "I have neighbors, and they have some girls who sing, accompanied by the flute. When I go into the vestibule, may I prolong my sitting there to listen to them?" He said, "Do not do it." The man then said: "It is not something that I go to by my two feet, but rather a sound that comes to my ears." He said: "Fear God! Have you not heard God say: "Verily his hearing, his seeing, and his heart-they will all be questioned' (Al-Isra, 17:36). The man said to him: "It is as if I have never heard this verse from the Book of God from either Arab or foreigner! Certainly I have abandoned it, and I seek God's forgiveness, Exalted is He."

On Magic:

• From Imam Ali: "The stargazer is like a seer. And the seer is like a magician, the magician like a non-believer, and the non-believer is in the fire."

• It was also reported that he said: "The eye is true and the charm is true, but the contagion is not true."

• From al-Imam al-Sadiq, "Whoever learns anything of magic, a little or a lot, has committed an act of infidelity [kufr]. This affair rest with his Lord, and his sentence is that he should be killed if he does not repent."

On Drunkenness:

• The Messenger of God said, "Stay away from every intoxicant, for every intoxicant is forbidden."

• Imam Ali said: "Every thinking person must beware of the intoxication of money, the intoxication of power, the intoxication of comfort, the intoxication of youth-for certainly each of these has an evil smell which destroys the intellect and negates sobriety."

• Al-Imam al-Baqir said, "If a great quantity of something intoxicates, then even a little of it is haram."

• The Messenger of God said, "O Ibn Mas'ud, stay away from erring intoxication, for there is intoxicant in erring just as the intoxication of drink; this is more intoxicating than the latter, for God says: "Deaf, Dumb, and blind, they will not return to the path."