Question
What is the reality of magic and the evil eye? Also, does magic actually happen and does the evil eye affect?
Answer
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
I do not know the complete definition and reality of magic and the evil eye from the Quran and Sunnah. However, it is established that magic does happen and the evil eye does affect.
Evidence from the Quran
Allah Almighty says:
﴿فَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مِنْهُمَا مَا يُفَرِّقُونَ بِهِ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَزَوْجِهِ ۚ وَمَا هُم بِضَارِّينَ بِهِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّـهِ ۚ وَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مَا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلَا يَنفَعُهُمْ ۚ ﴾
“Then they learn from them that by which they cause separation between a man and his wife. But they cannot harm anyone through it except by Allah’s permission. And they learn what harms them and does not benefit them.”
Further He said:
﴿ سَحَرُوا أَعْيُنَ النَّاسِ وَاسْتَرْهَبُوهُمْ (١١٦) ﴾
“They practiced magic on the people and caused them to have fear.”
And He said:
﴿يُخَيَّلُ إِلَيْهِ مِن سِحْرِهِمْ أَنَّهَا تَسْعَىٰ (٦٦)﴾
“Moses began to think that their ropes and staffs were moving by the power of their magic.”
The incident of magic on the Holy Prophet ﷺ
Labid bin A’sam cast a spell on the Messenger of Allah ﷺ which had some effect on him ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ prayed to Allah, and Allah removed that effect. The details of this are found in
.
Hazrat Aisha رضي الله عنها narrates:
“When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was bewitched, he ﷺ reached a state where he thought he had done certain things, while in reality, he had not done them. Then one day, he ﷺ prayed a lot. After that, he ﷺ said to me:
O Aisha! Do you know that today Allah Almighty has revealed to me the reality of my illness and in it lies my cure. Two men came to me. One asked the other: What is the disease of this person? The other said: He has been bewitched. The first asked: Who bewitched him? The answer came: Labid bin A’sam, the Jew. He then asked: In what is the magic? The other said: In a comb, your ﷺ blessed hair, and the skin of a male date cluster. Then he asked: Where is it kept? The answer was: In a well called Zarwan.”
After that, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went to that well. On the way back, he ﷺ said to Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her):
“The dates in this well are like the heads of devils.”
Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) asked: O Messenger of Allah! Did you have it removed?
He ﷺ said: “No, Allah has cured me, and I fear that if I have it removed, it will cause corruption among the people.” Then the well was sealed.
The Reality of the Evil Eye
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said about the gaze:
«اَلْعَیْنُ حَقٌّ»
“The gaze is a right.”
