Generally, mst men (including women) feel jealous of blessings bestowed on others despite being heavily blessed themselves. This jealousy and envy gives birth to the proverbial Evil Eye. Although, there is no scientific proof of the existence of the Evil Eye or its harmful effects, yet it is a widely held cultural and spiritual belief that a malevolent, envious glare, or even an admiring gaze can cause misfortune, illness, or harm to the person being looked at. It is often described as negative energy stemming from jealousy. While not scientifically proven, it is treated as a real spiritual phenomenon in many cultures.
While in all cultures and religions, mention of the Evil Eye exists, it does too in Islam. In fact there are many a ayat of Al Qur'an and Hadiths attributed to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ that make a mention of existence of the evil eye and its harmful effect. We have already shared many a Hadiths on the subject, of which we will make a mention of as we progress through this post. But for now, we share the 51st verse of Surah 68. Al Qalam (The Pen) which speaks of this menace.
The Verse:
وَإِن يَكَادُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لَيُزْلِقُونَكَ بِأَبْصَـٰرِهِمْ لَمَّا سَمِعُوا۟ ٱلذِّكْرَ وَيَقُولُونَ إِنَّهُۥ لَمَجْنُونٌۭ
The disbelievers would almost cut you down with their eyes when they hear ˹you recite˺ the Reminder,1 and say, “He is certainly a madman.”
The translation of this verse varies by some translators / scholars in which instead of cutting down is replaced by tripping down / slipping, meaning making someone lose ground of the strength his opinion.
“And indeed, those who disbelieve would almost make you slip with their eyes when they hear the Reminder, and they say, ‘He is surely mad.’”
Let us unpack this verse as noted by the scholars of Islam:
Apparent (Ẓāhir) Meaning
This verse describes two things happening to the Prophet ﷺ:
- Intense hostility of disbelievers
- When the Prophet ﷺ made known to the elders of Makkah about his elation to the prophethood, they simply mocked him and rejected him for the reason that Prophet ﷺ was an orphan and not much affluent as other big wees of Makkah. The considered it inappropriate that an orphan has been preferred over them and entrusted with the prophethood.
- Thus they looked at him with hatred, jealousy and of course anger.
- And this hatred and envy is mentioned in the above said ayat / verse: “Almost make you slip with their eyes” which means their looks were so intense it’s as if they could harm him.
- Verbal attack Beside being eyeing him with evil eyes full of envy and hatred, they also hurled verbal assault on him, calling Prophet ﷺ as a “Mad” (majnoon) man." This added to the fuel to the physical hostility (evil looks), and aggravating their intense hatred for having been made superior to them.
Explanation of the Evil Eye by Scholars
- Famous 14th century scholar and exegete Ibn Kathir notes that this verse can refer to the evil eye (ʿayn) or intense hatred that almost harms.
- Al-Qurtubi affirms: that the verse is evidence that evil eye is real. However, he adds that it reflects psychological hostility and envy.
Deeper Meaning (Wisdom)
- Truth attracts opposition Being right doesn’t mean being accepted. That is why when the Prophet ﷺ brought truth and called them upon to Islam, he was faced with intense hatred and mockery. He was not verbally assaulted, but was also physically assaulted at many a times. The stoning of Prophet ﷺ by the street children and the elders in the city of Taif is a case in point.
- Envy can be destructive Their reaction wasn’t neutral, but it was emotionally charged. This is a universal truth that envy can become harmful, both physically and spiritually.
- Emotional aggression
- The verse captures non-physical harm like the bad looks and abusive language.
- Islam recognizes that harm is not only physical, but has many diemnsions.
As mentioned earlier, the mention of evil eye is made at many a place in AL Qur'an, some mentioned herein under:
- Surah Al-Falaq (113:5): “And from the evil of the envier when he envies.” Here a prayer is made to prevent harm from the evil of the envier when it envies.
- Surah Yusuf The brothers of Yusuf (AS) envied him so intensely that it brought real harm to Prophet Yusuf when he was thrown into a dead well by his brother.
- Surah Al-Baqarah (2:109): “Many of the أهل الكتاب wish to turn you back… out of envy…”
* Note: Please refer to our exegesis of above quoted Surahs/verses from our reference page: 114 Chapters (Surahs) of the Holy Qur'an: Summary /Translation, Exegesis / Tafsir “التفسير “
Hadith on Evil Eye
In addition to Al Qur'an, there are many a Hadiths attributed to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ which caution the believers of be weary of the harmful effects evil eye:
- Sahih al-Bukhari: “The evil eye is real.”
- Sahih Muslim: “If anything were to overtake destiny, it would be the evil eye.”
This hadiths point toward the fact that the evil eye has a powerful effect, but can be warded of by turning to Allah.
Is this verse applicable to everyone?
Although, this verse is specifically for the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, but in principle it is applicable to everyone for ordinary men and women too are envious of others' blessings and when they see someone in a better state from them, their envious heart vying for more induces in them negative reactions which are get transformed into dirty and evil looks, meaning harm. In many a case, one can feel the envy and it should be taken as a general warning and awareness, not paranoia, though.
Relevance Today
Is this verse and related hadiths relevant today? Yes indeed. One attracts evil eye from over projection like the following:
- Social exposure People are generally showy and tend to display their success, wealth, and even good health - which leads to envy and the evil eye.
- Silent negativity Not all harm is spoken - it may come from meaningful looks, bad feelings and intentions.
- Being criticized for doing right Sometimes doing good or doing better than others are taken as point scoring, specially in the corporates world which often attract mockery (just like in the verse) for downplaying others.
Turning to Allah whenever one is blessed something more than others or put in a better position and praying to be protected from the envy of the others. Here are some tips for personal as well as protection of the family:
- Avoid showing off blessings unnecessarily - Not everything needs to be public, even from one's own siblings.
- Reciting the last two chapters of Al Qur'an: Surah Al-Falaq and Surah An-Naas. (Read our previous post on "Striking resemblance between Surahs Falaq and Naas." which give an insight to ward of internal and external evil
- Sayyidna Hasan Basri (رح) reports that if anyone is affected by the evil eye, these verses (51 52) may be recited and blown on the person: the ill effect will be dispelled.
- Also read our previous posts:
- For Protection against Evil and envious eye (Hadith 3371)
- How to seek refuge from all forms of Evil (Hadith 1551)
Final Reflection
This verse shows that not everyone who opposes you is rational— but sometimes it is the Envy, Ego That makes one vulnerable to the harm which is inadvertently intended when one is better palced in a position or blessed more.
Remember! Evil eye and envy are real - so seek protection from Allah whenever put in a better place than others around and be extra grateful for the blessings so bestowed upon you.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
You may also refer to our exclusive reference page: Selected verses from selected Surahs of Al-Qurʾān for compiled verses from other surahs.
For verses on Selected Subjects, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from Al Qur'an about a Specific Subject (Reference Page) to know more about what Qur'an says about specific subjects and our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an.
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs and selected verses of Al-Qurʾān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that the exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.
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