Protection from the Evil Eye – Legitimacy of Restricting a Harmful Person to Their Home
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question:
If it is commonly known about a person that his gaze causes the evil eye (nazar), can the state restrict him to his home and prevent him from mingling with people?
❖ Answer:
The evil eye (nazar) is a reality. It is possible that a person may frequently cause harm through his gaze. If it becomes certain that someone’s gaze causes the evil eye, and no other remedy is effective, then the state has the authority to restrict that person to his home and prevent him from mixing with others, so that people may remain safe from his gaze.
Such an action is permissible in order to protect others from harm. However, in this case it is the responsibility of the state or the local community to arrange for that person’s sustenance.
Evidence from Hadith
❀ Sayyidunā Abū Hurairah (RA) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
العين حق.
“The evil eye is real.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 5740; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2187)
Commentary of the Scholars
Many commentators of Hadith have written:
إنه ينبغي إذا عرف أحد بالإصابة بالعين أن يجتنب ويتحرز منه وينبغي للإمام منعه من مداخلة الناس ويأمره بلزوم بيته فإن كان فقيرا رزقه ما يكفيه ويكت أذاه عن الناس فضرره أشد من ضرر آكل النوم والبصل الذى منعه النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم دخول المسجد لئلا يؤذي المسلمين ومن ضرر المجذوم الذى منعه عمر رضى الله عنه والعلماء بعده الاختلاط بالناس ومن ضرر المؤذيات من المواشي التى يؤمر بتغريبها إلى حيث لا يتأذى به أحد، وهذا الذى قاله هذا القائل صحيح متعين ولا يعرف عن غيره تصريح بخلافه والله أعلم
“If someone is known to cause the evil eye, then people should avoid him and protect themselves from him. The ruler (or local authority) should prohibit him from mixing with people and command him to remain in his house. If he is poor, he should be provided with sufficient sustenance, while protecting people from his harm.
His harm is more severe than that of one who eats raw garlic and onions — whom the Prophet ﷺ prohibited from entering the mosque due to causing annoyance to the Muslims. His harm is also greater than that of a leper, whom ʿUmar (RA) and later scholars prohibited from mingling with people. It is likewise more harmful than troublesome animals, which are driven away to a place where they cause no harm.
This ruling is correct and established, and no contrary statement is known from any scholar. Allah knows best.”
(Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī by Ibn Baṭṭāl: 9/431; Ikmāl al-Muʿlim by Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ: 7/85; al-Mufhim by al-Qurṭubī: 5/568; Sharḥ al-Nawawī: 14/173; Sharḥ al-Ṭībī: 9/2973; al-Tawḍīḥ by Ibn al-Mulaqqin: 27/403; Ṭarḥ al-Tathrīb by al-ʿIrāqī: 8/199)
Conclusion:Restricting a person known to cause the evil eye from mingling with people is Islamically legitimate if no other remedy prevents the harm. The state must also ensure his financial needs are met. This ruling is unanimously supported by scholars, with no known opposition.
