Evil Eye

 

The evil eye is the name for a sickness or misfortune transmitted, usually without intention, by someone who is envious, jealous, or covetous. The evil eye is known as ayin harsha in Arabic, ayin horeh in Hebrew, droch shuil in Scotland, mauvais oeil in France, bösen blick in Germany, mal occhio in Italy, mal ojo or el ojo in Spain and was known as oculus malus among the classical Romans. In Urdu and Pashto it is called Nazar Bad.

 

The evil eye belief is that a person, otherwise not evil in any way, can harm you, your children, your house, your health and so on by looking at you with envy and/or praising you. The evil eye or Nazar can be done out of love and unintentionally so it does not always have “evil” intentions attached to it. . The cultures that believe in this superstition all blame the eye as the source of this kind of “evil.” Most researchers in this field believe that the eye was chosen because of its intrusive nature. It is said to be the windows to the soul so not only is the act of seeing an intrusion by itself but also the eye itself becomes a way to look into a person.

 

Belief in the evil eye — that a human being can cause injury or death through a malevolent glance or stare. Very often, the harm inflicted by the evil eye was linked to the envy of the person doing the harming, and the possession of an evil eye was often thought to reside in persons who displayed more general anti-social tendencies, such as meanness, selfishness, and envy.

 

The “evil eye” is another common superstition. It is commonly believed that all kinds of illnesses, pains, epileptic fits and handicaps can be caused by an evil eye which explains mothers making a black mark on the forehead of the child before taking him out of the house. Black mud pots with fierce faces drawn on them are also hung on the door of a new house , the purpose is protecting the house from “ the evil eye.”

 

According to a tradition, the Prophet permitted the use of talismans as protection against the evil eye. It is tradition among many Muslims, that if a compliment is to be made, you are always supposed to say “Masha’Allah” (ما شاء الله) (“What God wills”) to ward off the evil eye. The reference of the Evil eye is mentioned in the Sunnah. Also (لا قوة إلا بالله) (“There is no power other than with God”). It is a testimony from someone that he/she believes that either good or bad will only happen if God wants it to.

 

“Chashmi bad dur” (“May the evil eye be far”) also used in Urdu.  In addition to saying “Mashallah,” there are duas (prayers or supplications) that are said to protect against the evil eye. In Islam, God is the only one who can protect against the evil eye.

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