The Evil Eye

The Evil Eye derives from an Arabic word : al’ayn, which literally translates to “evil eye”. This refers to evil that is done through the eyes. Our eyes are our window to the outer world, the world that we live in. It refers to the harm that we do to others with our eyes. It is usually associated with feelings of envy and jealousy.

The evil eye can affect everyone, from young to old, male to female, pious to non-pious. Regardless of who you are, you could be struck or be affected by the eye-eye.

The Evil Eye is so dangerous that even our Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said (according to a hadith [Muslim]) “The evil eye is real, and if anything were to overtake the divine decree it would be the evil eye.” The evil eye is what leads us astray sometimes. It causes us to feel emotionless or lost. We become confused with our state and we lose our iman. We slowly start to go astray. The reason why is because envy and jealousy are negative emotions.

They are infectious emotions that are contagious. We live in a dunya and we are led to believe that the dunya is the key to our happiness sometimes. We strive to look for meaning and happiness within the means of the dune when in reality, we were never made for this world. We were made to be tested on this Earth, only to return to the Almighty Creator : Allah (s.w.t).

One day we shall return to Him and He will testify against us and our actions on this world. Only Jannah holds the happiness that we seek. We cannot find happiness apart from Allah (s.w.t). Even your family. The people that you feel closest to, are all blessings from Allah (s.w.t).

Therefore your happiness should lie to Him and his blessings over you. With that being said, the desires and needs of this dunya will lead us astray. The fancy and shiny things that money buys is only materialistic.

Our eyes see what is shown to them. In this generation, we see a lot on social media. We see big instagramers swimming in money, celebrities showering in fame and bit people drowning in success.

And by feeling that envy and jealousy over them : we are committing a sin. What we need to remember is that Allah (s.w.t) blesses us in different ways. We are all given a special set of trials and tribulations, we are all give a special set of blessings. None of our blessings is the same.

And that is because Allah (s.w.t) is the All-Knowing. SubhanAllah. He knows what we do not. He knows what we need and what will help us to grow.

He knows how to test you and how to make us stronger. Therefore, the desire that you seek (from observing someone else) is Allah (s.w.t)’s blessing for them. You should not feel envious as you have no idea what they had to go through to be given that blessing. Even if it seems unfair.

Even if it seems as if that person is the luckiest person in the world. For example : we all know that one friend who seems to have a perfect life. She has a perfect husband and perfect job. She has a perfect home and perfect manners.

Although it may seem the natural human instinct to feel envious over her; what you do not know is what she has to deal with behind closed door. Maybe she had to go through a million heartbreaks until she found her “perfect" husband.

Maybe she had to deal with horrible bosses who mentally abused her before she found her “perfect job”. Maybe she had to live in poverty as a child until Allah (s.w.t) blessed her with a “perfect” home. We do not know the trials and tribulations of those around us.

Think about yourself. Think about how many times people complemented you on your great life when just the night before you were crying yourself to sleep. Envy and jealousy are tools of the Shaytan to steer us away from the true teachings of Allah (s.w.t).

Allah (s.w.t) promotes us to be happy for our ummah and to be supportive of the blessings of our people. And the more grateful you are over Allah (s.w.t)’s blessings for you, the more that Allah (s.w.t) will bless you.

Do not think that you are being punished or that Allah (s.w.t) does not care. Your reward will come. Stay patient and keep the faith. Do not let the worldly desires cause us negative emotions that will cost us our good deeds.

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Article is written by: 

Fatin Najwa binti Daud, is a medical student studying at IMU Malaysia. She is a freelance writer of this blog at Zaahara. Interests include music, art, sports and travel.

-Photos are taken from google images

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