The Evil Eye

Many of the articles that I write for this blog are quite theological and abstract in nature. However, to truly understand people, both their actions as well as their beliefs must be taken into account. Often belief and practice don’t align, whether people are Christian or Muslim. There are often discrepancies between doctrine and praxis, and these aren’t unique to Islam. Nevertheless, to get a fuller understanding of the differences between Christianity and Islam, some less known Islamic practices should be investigated. Many Muslims adopt cultural and superstitious beliefs, some of which gain credibility from the Hadith.

One such superstition that impacts Muslim lives is the evil eye. In English, the term “evil eye” refers to an intense look of anger, but the term has an entirely different meaning in the Middle East. This article in no way discusses the English usage of the term, but rather the Islamic view of the idiom. The evil eye is defined as follows:

The fundamental concept of the evil eye is that precious persons or things are constantly vulnerable to hurt or destruction caused by other people’s envy. Such envy or jealousy is projected through the eye. [i]

The Islamic concept of the evil eye is when anyone looks with covetousness or envy at someone else’s property, family, or even the person himself. This envious look is viewed as causing direct harm to the object envied. Muslims fear its effects and protect themselves against it through a variety of amulets, talismans, and charms. The Internet is littered with questions by Muslims regarding how to ward off the evil eye. [ii] In The Unseen Face of Islam, Bill Musk gives some examples of the effect. One Muslim told a story about how someone had enviously eyed their family’s new cow, and it stopped giving milk from that day forward. Often, medical professionals who cannot make a diagnosis will blame someone’s ailment on the evil eye.

The Qur’an does not talk about the evil eye specifically, but Muhammad does. Sahih Bukhari, book 71 is devoted to medicine. In it Muhammad is reported to have stated that the evil eye is a fact {iii] and he specifically diagnoses some problems as having originated from the evil eye. {iv} The bottom line is that many Muslims live with the idea that a covetous glare from someone else can impact their life, prosperity, or relationships negatively. For this reason, open declarations of envy are to be avoided.

On the surface this aversion to envy would seem in agreement with that of Christianity. In Islam, the Qur’an mentions coveting as a sin in chapter 4, verse 32. In the Bible, in Exodus 20:17, God gives the command not to covet your neighbor’s wife, your neighbor’s property, nor anything that your neighbor has. So it would appear that the religions are similar, in that both would be advocating its adherents not to covet.

However, a deeper investigation reveals something less obvious. The Bible is full of warnings about covetousness, yet some churches rarely preach about it from the pulpit. The Bible is full of admonitions and explanations of the harmful nature of covetousness. Covetous actions have severe consequences, and one such example is in 2 Kings 5, where Elisha refuses a gift from Naaman, but Elisha’s servant Gehazi chases after him to score economic gain. The consequences for Gehazi are swift and severe (2 Kings 5:27).

The New Testament is equally serious about guarding yourself against this attitude of covetousness. God teaches us throughout His Word that covetous people will not have any part in His eternal Kingdom (Ephesians 5:5). That’s a very serious pronouncement. Coveting the world’s treasure creates alienation from God. (Matthew 6:24). It is lumped in with some nasty other sins, including selfishness (2 Timothy 3:2). It can cause us to mock the truth of God’s Word (Luke 16:14). It is wholly unprofitable (Matthew 16:26). It can cause us to miss divine appointments (Luke 14:18). It disqualifies us from positions of ministry (1 Timothy 3:3). In the end, covetousness is the same as idolatry (Colossians 3:5) and because of it, we are deserving of God’s wrath (Colossians 3:6).

So how do Christianity and Islam compare when it comes to covetousness? Remember, in Islam, one of the common practices is to guard oneself against the evil eye of others. The harm done by the evil eye is inflicted on the person whose property is being coveted. In the Bible, the consequences for such envy are inflicted on the one doing the coveting. In Islam, the harm occurs to the victim. In Christianity, the harm occurs to the wrongdoer.

Of course in Christianity, covetous behavior does cause collateral damage. In Islam, envy would also be considered a sin. Yet, when you look closely at how the practice of dealing with envy occurs, a marked difference appears. The Bible makes it clear that harm falls on the one with the evil eye; in Islam, Muslims guard themselves from the harm believed to be transferred from others who exhibit envious behavior. .

[i] Musk, Bill. The Unseen Face of Islam. Grand Rapids, MI: Monarch Books, 1989, p23.

[ii} http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/index.php?page=showfatwa&Option=FatwaId&Id=7151

[iii] http://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=71&translator=1&start=0&number=635#635

[iv] http://www.searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=71&translator=1&start=0&number=634#634

Like or share this post:
This entry was posted in Unraveling_Islam and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

One Response to The Evil Eye

  1. Jeanne says:

    in Islam, one of the common practices is to guard oneself against the evil eye of others. “The harm done by the evil eye is inflicted on the person whose property is being coveted. In the Bible, the consequences for such envy are inflicted on the one doing the coveting. In Islam, the harm occurs to the victim. In Christianity, the harm occurs to the wrongdoer. Of course in Christianity, covetous behavior does cause collateral damage. In Islam, envy would also be considered a sin. Yet, when you look closely at how the practice of dealing with envy occurs, a marked difference appears. The Bible makes it clear that harm falls on the one with the evil eye; in Islam, Muslims guard themselves from the harm believed to be transferred from others who exhibit envious behavior.”

    So once again, we see that in Islam everything is topsy turvy from Christianity!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *