Nazar or Bad Eye
Mu' meneen Brothers
and Sisters,
As Salaam
Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and
Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our
brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Dear Burhan,
1. I would like to know what does the hadith and Quran say about
"Nazaar". We are advised to recite "Mashallah" whenever we
see or find something appealing. Most people put "Mashallah" sign
boards on their homes. Is nazaar just a supertitious or is there really a
Islamic background behind it?
2. My parents have been advising me not to cut nails at night time, and cut
preferably on friday. Is this another supertition?
(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Nazar or Bad Eye
In the name of Allah, We praise
Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none
can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright.
We bear witness that there is no one (no idol,
no person, no grave, no
prophet, no imam, no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Q-1: I would like to know
what does the hadith and Quran say about "Nazaar". We are advised to
recite "Mashallah" whenever we see or find something appealing. Most
people put "Mashallah" sign boards on their homes. Is nazaar just a
supertitious or is there really a Islamic background behind it?
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.636 Narrated by Abu Huraira
The Prophet (saws) said, "The effect of
an evil eye is a fact."
Sahih Muslim Hadith 5427 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Abbas
Allah's Messenger (saws) said: “The influence
of an evil eyes is a fact; if anything
would precede the destiny it would be the influence of an evil eye, and when you are asked to take bath (as a
cure) from the influence of an evil eye, you should take bath.
Al-Muwatta Hadith 50.1
Yahya related to me from Malik that Muhammad
ibn Abi Umama ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf heard his father say, "My father, Sahl
ibn Hunayf did a ghusl at al-Kharrar.
He removed the jubbah he had on,
while Amir ibn Rabia was watching, and Sahl was a man with beautiful
white skin. Amir said to him, 'I have
never seen anything like what I have seen today, not even the skin of a virgin.'
Sahl fell ill on the spot, and his condition grew worse. Somebody went to the Messenger of Allah (saws),
and told him that Sahl was ill, and could not go with him. The Messenger of Allah (saws), came to him,
and Sahl told him what had happened with Amir.
The Messenger of Allah (saws), said, 'Why does one of you kill his
brother? Why did you not say, "May
Allah bless you?" (ta baraka-llah)
The evil eye is true. Do wudu
from it.' Amir did wudu from it, and Sahl went with the Messenger of Allah
(saws), and there was nothing wrong with him."
'Abdullah
ibn 'Abbas also narrates that "the Prophet (saws), used to seek protection
for Al-Hasan and Al-Hussain (his grandsons) with the words: ‘A'udhukuma bi kalamatillahi tamah min kulli
shaitanin wa hamatin wa min kulli 'ainin lamatin' (I seek protection for you with
Allah's perfect words from every Shaitaan, and from every poisonous pest, and every evil eye). He (saws) also added: 'Your father (Ibrahim
(a.s.)) sought protection for Ismai'l and Ishaq with these same words'."
(Bukhari)
Sahih Muslim Hadith 5424 Narrated by Aisha
When Allah's Messenger (saws) fell ill,
Gabriel used to say this prayer: "In the name of Allah, He may cure you from all kinds of
illness, and safeguard you from the
evil of a jealous one when he feels jealous,
and from the evil influence of eye.”
In light of the above several narrations, the evil-eye or ‘nazar’ is real and not a
superstition. The remedy for an evil
eye is that one immediately remembers Allah Subhanah, and seeks His protection,
and/or recites the 113th and 114th Surahs of the
Quran (Surah Falaq and Surah Naas).
This was the remedy used by the Messenger of Allah (saws) for the
evil-eye or nazar; and every
believer, who sincerely fears Allah and
the Last Day, must do the same.
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 1019 Narrated by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri
The Prophet (saws) used to seek protection
against the Jinn and the evil eye till surahs al-Falaq and an-Nas were
revealed. After they were revealed he
stuck to them, and discarded everything
beside them.
Transmitted by Tirmidhi.
It is forbidden in Islam to do any kind of innovated
rituals to ward off the effects of the evil-eye.
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 36 Narrated by Ruwayfi' ibn Thabit
The Apostle of Allah (saws) said: “You may
live for a long time after I am gone, Ruwayfi. So, tell people that if anyone ties his beard, or wears round his neck a string to ward off
the evil eye, or cleanses himself with
animal dung or bone, Muhammad has nothing to do with him.
Q-2: My parents have been
advising me not to cut nails at night time, and cut preferably on friday. Is this another supertition?
Every day and every
night belongs to Allah Subhanah; thus
there is no harm if a believer chooses to cut his nails at any time of the day
or night. There is no harm, or extra reward if one clips his nails on a
Friday, or any other day of the
week.
To believe that clipping nails at night would bring some
harm on the person is indeed a superstition;
and has absolutely no basis or evidence in the deen of Islam.
Whatever written of
Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever
of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows
Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in
Islam,
