The evil eye in the Islamic world: ayn, envy and words of protection
From the saying that the evil eye is «real» to the suras of refuge, from mashallah to the hand of Fatima: belief in the ayn in Islamic history.
In the Islamic world the evil eye is called ayn, simply «eye», and it is closely tied to envy, in Arabic hasad. Unlike many popular beliefs that remained on the margins of official religions, the ayn finds a foundation in the texts of the religious tradition, which acknowledge its existence and indicate how to defend oneself against it through prayer. Alongside this doctrinal framework a very rich heritage of popular objects and customs developed, from Morocco to Indonesia.
The religious sources
The collections of the Prophet's sayings regarded as most authoritative, those of al-Bukhari and Muslim, compiled in the ninth century, report the statement that the evil eye is a reality. The tradition discussed the meaning of this statement at length, but it gave the belief a religious legitimacy that is not found with the same force elsewhere. Several sayings also recommend invoking God's blessing when admiring something, so as not to turn admiration into harm.
In the Quran, the penultimate sura, al-Falaq, the Daybreak, asks for protection, among other things, «from the evil of the envier when he envies». Together with the last sura, an-Nas, it forms the pair known as the mu'awwidhatayn, the two suras of refuge, traditionally recited for protection. Some commentators have also read as an allusion to the envious eye a verse of the sura al-Qalam, which speaks of hostile looks that could almost make the Prophet stumble.
Mashallah and the courtesy of the gaze
In everyday speech, from Arabic to Turkish, from Persian to Urdu, people use the expression mashallah, «what God has willed», to accompany a compliment paid to a child, a new house or a success. By saying it, the one who praises acknowledges that the good comes from God and escapes any suspicion of envy. It is an example of how a religious formula becomes a rule of courtesy: to praise without adding it may seem rude or even unsettling.
The hand of Fatima and popular amulets
Alongside formulas, popular culture produced very widespread amulets. In the Maghreb the open hand, called khamsa, meaning «five», is known in Europe as the hand of Fatima, after the Prophet's daughter. It appears on jewellery, doors, door knockers and ceramics. In Turkey and Central Asia blue glass eyes are used, while in Iran, Afghanistan and many other regions people wear talismans bearing written verses, kept in cases of metal or leather.
The relationship between these objects and orthodoxy has often been debated. Many scholars judged it unlawful to rely on amulets and pointed to prayer as the only legitimate protection; others tolerated written texts containing Quranic verses, distinguishing them from objects of pagan origin. This tension between popular practice and religious norm is a recurring feature in the history of the evil eye, in the Islamic world as in the Christian and Jewish ones.
The Islamic case shows how a belief spread throughout the Mediterranean and beyond could be integrated into a religious system, regulated and partly transformed. The ayn is not a tolerated pagan survival, but a subject discussed by jurists and theologians for centuries, and at the same time an everyday experience, present in the words used to greet a newborn, to celebrate a wedding or to enter a house for the first time.