Nazur/Nuzur - Evil Eye??

Assalaamu alaikum all,

Nazur/Nuzur (don't know how to spell it) or the Evil Eye - does it really exist and is it Islamic or Cultural?

Alot of people talk about nazur as jealousy or evil eye where as you have something and then other people get jealous and project their bad feeling on to you - and so something happens to you cos of their bad feeling. They put the evil eye on you.

Is this Islamic? I think it can't be as things only happen cos Allah swt wills it. Its not good to show off though and create jealousy or bad feeling in others but can bad things actaully happen to you cos of it - it seems to me this maybe a cultural things, an extension of 'karma' i.e if you do something bad (like show off) it will come back to you.

For instance I have a new winter coat recently that I have had many compliments from other sisters on (just a simple black coat) and the other morning I was putting it on and the button came off the pocket - my friend said it was nazur as lots of people liked my coat and wanted it for themselves. Surely not though - only Allah swt can make things happen.

Does anyone know anything about nazur and its origin - is it from Islam?? So many people talk about it so I think if its not from Islam then they need to be told - but does anyone have the evidence or know more about it that I can pass on. And if it is Islamic, what evidence from Quran and hadith is there for it??

Jazak'allah khair

Salaams

i forgot to add that if its not Islamic then this could be quite grave, couldn't it, like shirk or hidden shirk as you would be supporting the belief that somehting other than Allah swt made something happen - therefore denying Him one of his attributes??

May Allah swt forgive me if I am wrong.

Salaams

:salam2:

First of all, 'evil eye' is something thats worn. Its a kind of stone which is supposedly able to 'cancel' the effect of someone's 'nazar'.

Ive read a book, which said there is no evidence of its powers from The Quran & Hadith so we should not follow it.

With regards to 'Nazur/Nuzur', yes it is real in Islam. Atleast from what I have read, there are hadith which mention this. As I donot have the book with me right now, I should be able to get it back this Sunday & I'll write the section on with (with relevant Hadiths).

Apologies for not being able to give a proper detailed answer as of now.

so does anyone have info on the subject?

:salam2:

yes, this topic interests me as well...i did an online search and this is what i found, dealing with this topic:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil_eye

http://www.sunnipath.com/Resources/PrintMedia/Hadith/H0001P0050.aspx


what does everyone else think about this topic? i am a new muslim, so forgive me if these sites are inaccurate!

evil eye is real

AssalamoAlaikum warehmatullahe wabarakatuho,
I found this article online, read most of it. I thought it would be beneficial to the readers regarding the definition of the 'evil eye'. the site where I got it from is www.IslamOnline.com. I dont know about the website, but the material provided here is in reference with Qur'an and ahadith.


What is the evil eye? Can you please explain in detail?.



Answer :

Praise be to Allaah.

These follow some information and fatwas that have to do with the evil eye. We ask Allaah to benefit readers thereby.

The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked:

What is the definition of the evil eye? Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And from the evil of the envier when he envies”

[al-Falaq 113:5]

Is the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saheeh in which it says that “One third of those who are in the grave are there because of the evil eye”? If a person thinks that someone is envying him, what should the Muslim do and say? If the person who put the evil eye on someone washes himself, will the water he used bring healing to his victim? And should he drink the water or wash himself with it?

They replied:

The Arabic word al-‘ayn (translated as the evil eye) refers to when a person harms another with his eye. It starts when the person likes a thing, then his evil feelings affect it, by means of his repeated looking at the object of his jealousy. Allaah commanded His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to seek refuge with Him from the envier, as He said (interpretation of the meaning):

“And from the evil of the envier when he envies”

[al-Falaq 113:5]

Everyone who puts the evil eye on another is envious, but not every envier puts the evil eye on another. The word haasid (envier) is more general in meaning than the word ‘aa’in (one who puts the evil eye on another), so seeking refuge with Allaah from the one who envies includes seeking refuge with Him from the one who puts the evil eye on another. The evil eye is like an arrow which comes from the soul of the one who envies and the one who puts the evil eye on another towards the one who is envied and on whom the evil eye is put; sometimes it hits him and sometimes it misses. If the target is exposed and unprotected, it will affect him, but if the target is cautious and armed, the arrow will have no effect and may even come back on the one who launched it.

Adapted from Zaad al-Ma’aad.

There are ahaadeeth from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) which speak of the effects of the evil eye. For example it is narrated in al-Saheehayn that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to tell me to recite ruqyah for protection against the evil eye.

Muslim, Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The evil eye is real and if anything were to overtake the divine decree, it would be the evil eye. When you are asked to take a bath (to provide a cure) from the influence of the evil eye, you should take a bath.” This was classed as saheeh by al-Tirmidhi, and also by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1251.

Imam Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi (2059, where he classed it as saheeh) narrated that Asma’ bint ‘Umays said: “O Messenger of Allaah, the children of Ja’far have been afflicted by the evil eye, shall we recite ruqyah for them?” He said, “Yes, for if anything were to overtake the divine decree it would be the evil eye.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.

Abu Dawood narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: The person who had put the evil eye on another would be ordered to do wudoo’, then the person who had been afflicted would wash himself (with that water). This was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.

Imam Ahmad (15550), Maalik (1811), al-Nasaa’i and Ibn Hibbaan narrated from Sahl ibn Haneef that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came out and traveled with him towards Makkah, until they were in the mountain pass of al-Kharaar in al-Jahfah. There Sahl ibn Haneef did ghusl, and he was a handsome white-skinned man with beautiful skin. ‘Aamir ibn Rabee’ah, one of Banu ‘Adiyy ibn Ka’b looked at him whilst he was doing ghusl and said: “I have never seen such beautiful skin as this, not even the skin of a virgin,” and Sahl fell to the ground. They went to Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came and said, “O Messenger of Allaah, can you do anything for Sahl, because by Allaah he cannot raise his head.” He said, “Do you accuse anyone with regard to him?” They said, “ ‘Aamir ibn Rabee’ah looked at him.” So the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called ‘Aamir and rebuked him strongly. He said, “Why would one of you kill his brother? If you see something that you like, then pray for blessing for him.” Then he said to him, “Wash yourself for him.” So he washed his face, hands, forearms, knees and the sides of his feet, and inside his izaar (lower garment) in the vessel. Then that water was poured over him, and a man poured it over his head and back from behind. He did that to him, then Sahl got up and joined the people and there was nothing wrong with him.

Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Mishkaat, 4562.

The majority of scholars are of the view that people can indeed be afflicted by the evil eye, because of the ahaadeeth quoted above and others, and because of the corroborating reports and other evidence.

With regard to the hadeeth that you mention, “One third of those who are in the grave are there because of the evil eye,” we do not know how sound it is, but the author of Nayl al-Awtaar said that al-Bazzaar narrated with a hasan isnaad from Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Most of those who die among my ummah die because of the will and decree of Allaah, and then because of the evil eye.”

The Muslim has to protect himself against the devils among the evil jinn and mankind, by having strong faith in Allaah and by putting his trust in Him and seeking refuge with Him and beseeching Him, reciting the prayers for protection narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), reciting al-Mi’wadhatayn [the last two soorahs of the Qur’aan], Soorat al-Ikhlaas, Soorat al-Faatihah, and Aayat al-Kursi.

Du’aa’s for protection include the following:

A’oodhu bi kalimaat-illaah il-taammati min sharri ma khalaqa (I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allaah from the evil of that which He has created).

A’oodhu bi kalimaat-illaah il-taammati min ghadabihi wa ‘iqaabihi, wa min sharri ‘ibaadihi wa min hamazaat al-shayaateeni wa an yahduroon (I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allaah from His wrath and punishment, from the evil of His slaves and from the evil promptings of the devils and from their presence).

And one may recite the words of Allaah:

“Hasbi Allaahu laa ilaaha illa huwa, ‘alayhi tawakkaltu wa huwa Rabb ul-‘arsh il-‘azeem

(Allaah is sufficient for me. Laa ilaaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He) in Him I put my trust and He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne)”
[al-Tawbah 9:129 – interpretation of the meaning]

And there are other similar du’aa’s that are prescribed in sharee’ah. This is what was meant by Ibn al-Qayyim in the words quoted at the beginning of this answer.

If it is known or suspected that a person has been afflicted by the evil eye, then the one who put the evil eye on him should be ordered to wash himself for his brother. So a vessel of water should be brought, and he should put his hand in it, rinse out his mouth into the vessel. Then he should wash his face in the vessel, then put his left hand into the vessel and wash his right knee, then put his right hand in the vessel and wash his left knee. Then he should wash inside his garment. Then the water should be poured over the head of the one on whom he put the evil eye, pouring it from behind in one go. Then he will be healed, by Allaah’s leave.

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah li’l-Buhooth al-‘Ilmiyyah wa’l-Ifta, 1/186

Shaykh Muhammad al-Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen was asked:

Can the evil eye afflict a person? How is it treated? Does being on one's guard against it contradict putting one's trust in Allaah?

He replied:

Our opinion concerning the evil eye is that it is real and is proven both by Islamic teachings and by real life experiences. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And verily, those who disbelieve would almost make you slip with their eyes (through hatred)”

[al-Qalam 68:51]

Ibn ‘Abbaas and others said, commenting on this verse: this means, they put the evil eye on you with their glances. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The evil eye is real and if anything were to overtake the divine decree, it would be the evil eye. When you are asked to take a bath (to provide a cure) from the influence of the evil eye, you should take a bath.” Narrated by Muslim. Al-Nasaa’i and Ibn Maajah narrated that ‘Aamir ibn Rabee’ah passed by Sahl ibn Haneef when he was bathing… and he quoted the hadeeth.

Reality confirms that and it cannot be denied.

In the event that you are afflicted by the evil eye, you should use the treatments recommended in sharee’ah, which are:

1 – Reciting ruqyah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “There is no ruqyah except in the case of the evil eye or fever.” al-Tirmidhi, 2057; Abu Dawood, 3884. Jibreel used to do ruqyah for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and say, “Bismillaahi arqeeka min kulli shay’in yu’dheeka, min sharri kulli nafsin aw ‘aynin haasid Allaahu yashfeek, bismillaahi arqeek (In the name of Allaah I perform ruqyah for you, from everything that is harming you, from the evil of every soul or envious eye may Allaah heal you, in the name of Allaah I perform ruqyah for you).”

2 – Asking the person who has put the evil eye on another to wash, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded ‘Aamir ibn Rabee’ah to do in the hadeeth quoted above. Then the water should be poured over the one who has been afflicted.

With regard to taking his waste, such as his urine and stools, there is no basis for doing so; the same applies to taking any of his belongings. Rather what is narrated is that which is mentioned above, washing his limbs and washing inside his garment, or likewise washing inside his headgear and garments. And Allaah knows best.

There is nothing wrong with taking precautions against the evil eye before it happens, and this does not contradict the idea of tawakkul (putting one's trust in Allaah). In fact this is tawakkul, because tawakkul means putting one’s trust in Allaah whilst also implementing the means that have been permitted or enjoined. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to seek refuge for al-Hasan and al-Husayn and say: U’eedhukuma bi kalimaat Allaah al-taammati min kulli shaytaanin wa haammah wa min kulli ‘aynin laammah (I seek refuge for you both in the perfect words of Allaah, from every devil and every poisonous reptile, and from every evil eye).’” Al-Tirmidhi, 2060; Abu Dawood, 4737. And he would say, “Thus Ibraaheem used to seek refuge with Allaah for Ishaaq and Ismaa’eel, peace be upon them both.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3371.

Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 2/117, 118


And Allaah knows best.

Evil Eye is not something tangible
=========================================


Question:
I have a question about ayn. If a man were to say to his wife that she looks beautiful should he always say mashaa’Allaah, or is this excessive?

Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

the “evil eye” is real, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The evil eye is real, and if anything were to overtake the divine decree (al-qadar) it would be the evil eye.” (Narrated by Muslim, 2188, from the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas).

Al-Bukhaari (5048) and Muslim (2187) narrated the first part of this hadeeth from Abu Hurayrah.

Secondly:

the evil eye usually comes from people who are jealous or envious (hasad).

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

Everyone who gives the evil eye is jealous, but not everyone who is jealous gives the evil eye… then he said:

It begins when the person likes something, then his evil soul dwells on the matter, and by continually looking at the person who has the thing of which he feels jealous, he directs his venom towards him. A person may put the evil eye on himself, or he may put the evil eye on someone else without intending to, because it is is a part of his nature. This is the worst type of human being. Our companions and other fuqahaa’ said: if someone is known for this, he should be detained by the imaam (leader), who should spend on him and provide for him until he dies. This idea is absolutely correct… (Zaad al-Ma’aad, 4/167).

In the hadeeth, it says, “A’oodhu bi kalimaat-Illaah it-taamah min kulli shaytaanin wa haammah wa min kulli ‘aynin laammah (I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allaah from every devil and vermin and from every envious eye).” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3191) from the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas.

The meaning of “vermin” (haammah) is lethally poisonous animals and insects.

The meaning of “envious” (laammah) is that which causes harm because of jealousy (hasad).

Thirdly:

Although it is correct that the evil eye comes from people who feel jealous (hasad), it may also come from a person who is not jealous but merely likes something, because of the hadeeth: “Whoever among you sees something in himself or in his possessions or in his brother that he likes, let him pray for blessing for it, because the evil eye is real.” Narrated by Ibn al-Sunni in ‘Aml al-Yawm wa’l-Laylah, p. 168; and by al-Haakim, 4/216. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Kalim al-Tayyib, 243.

This hadeeth explains that a person may harm himself or his wealth – and no one feels jealous of himself – but he may harm himself with the evil eye by admiring himself, so it is even more possible that he may harm his wife in the same way.

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

And a man may put the evil eye on himself. (Zaa’d al-Ma’aad, 4/167).

Fourthly:

a man may harm his wife with the evil eye by looking at her and noticing her beauty and admiring her, even if he does not actually say to her “You are beautiful.” It is mustahabb for him to say, “Allaahumma baarik fihaa (O Allaah, bless her).”

It was reported from Abu Umaamah ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf that his father told him that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went out and they travelled with him towards Makkah until they reached Shi’b al-Khazzaar in al-Juhfah. Sahl ibn Hunayf washed himself, and he was a white man with a handsome body and skin. ‘Aamir ibn Rabee’ah, the brother of Bani ‘Udayy ibn Ka’b, looked at him when he was washing, and said, “I have never seen anything like this, not even the skin of a virgin in seclusion!” (this was a metaphor for the intense whiteness of his skin). Then Sahl suffered a seizure (an epileptic fit, in which he fell to the ground). He was brought to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and it was said, “O Messenger of Allaah, do you know what has happened to Sahl? By Allaah, he cannot raise his head and he will not wake up.” He said, “Do you accuse anyone with regard to him?” They said, “‘Aamir ibn Rabee’ah looked at him.” So the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called ‘Aamir and spoke angrily with him, saying, “Would any of you like to kill his brother? If you see something that you like, why do you not pray for blessing for it?” Then he said to him (‘Aamir), “Do ghusl for him.” So he washed his face, hands, elbows, the soles of his feet and inside his izaar (lower garment) from a vessel, then that water was poured over him (Sahl) – a man poured it over his head and back from behind, tilting the vessel. This was done to him, then Sahl went on with the people and there was nothing wrong with him. (Al-Musnad, 3/486. Al-Haythami said: the men of Ahmad are the men of saheeh. Al-Majma’, 5/107).

Fifthly:

When they like something, some people say “Ma sha’ Allaah laa quwwata illa Billaah (That which Allaah wills (will come to pass)! There is no power but with Allaah)”. They take as evidence for this an aayah in Soorat al-Kahf and a hadeeth.

The aayah in question is (interpretation of the meaning):

“It was better for you to say, when you entered your garden: ‘That which Allaah wills (will come to pass)! There is no power but with Allaah!’” [al-Kahf 18:39]. But this is not evidence (daleel), because the subject of the aayah has nothing to do with hasad (envy); in fact, Allaah destroyed his garden because of his kufr and transgression.

The hadeeth in question was reported from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him), saying that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Whoever sees something that he likes, and says, ‘Ma sha Allaah laa quwwata illa Billaah’, the evil eye will not affect him.” But this hadeeth is da’eef jiddan (very weak)!

Al-Haythami said: this was narrated by al-Bazzaar from the report of Abu Bakr al-Hudhali, who is da’eef jiddan (very weak). (Majma’ al-Zawaa’id, 5/21).

And Allaah knows best.

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

Salam - excuse me if I seem confused, but I understand the concept of envy and jealousy, but truly, only God can make something happen to us, not another person (in this sense). Just because I could compliment somebody on something (say, for instance, their new car), that doesn't mean I am jealous or envious of it (jealousy being that you want the same for yourself, envious meaning you want the item that belongs to the other person - in essence you having it and them no longer having it), maybe I am just happy for them - so why would there be an "evil eye"?

I have a hard time believing that people can make things (like a seizure) happen to another person - only God can do that. So is God actually punishing a person if someone else compliments them? (like in the example above when the man was comlimented for his white skin, and then has a seizure) - he is being punished because the other person thought his skin was beautiful? Or is this saying that the other person had the power (magic?) to cause him to have a seizure? The man will only have a seizure if God willed that he have a seizure, no man can cause him to have a seizure just by words.

The "evil eye" symbol has been part of many cultures since well before Prophet Mohammad's time - there are many, many paganistic traditions with the "evil eye" (do a google search for "evil eye" history, and you will get a plethora of sites to read, mostly dealing with spells and magic). There are many "cures" and amulets and prayers that are said to protect you from the "evil eye" - dating back to 5000BC Mesopetamia.

So, is the "Islamic" evil eye saying that people have an unconscious power to cause damage to others, can consciously cause damage to others with words (which sounds like magic to me), or that God punishes people for not being humble when someone compliments them?

I seriously am confused (and, by the way, I refused to break eggs on my new Chevy TRailblazer that my husband's cousin wanted to do to break any "evil eye" in advance - break eggs????? God doesn't need us to waste eggs on a new car!?!?!)

A very confused,

Lana