Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Jack Goody, Islam in Europe (Cam-

bridge: Polity Press, 2004); Shireen Hunter, ed., Islam, 

Europe’s Second Religion: The New Social, Cultural and 

Political Landscape (Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publish-

ers, 2002); Salma Khadra Jayyusi, ed., The Legacy of 

Muslim Spain (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994); María Rosa 

Menocal,  The Arabic Role in Medieval Literary History: 

A Forgotten Heritage (Philadelphia: University of Penn-

sylvania Press, 1987); Tariq Ramadan, Western Muslims 

and the Future of Islam (Oxford: Oxford University 

Press, 2004).

Eve

  See a

dam

 

and

 e

ve

.

evil eye

Belief that the eye has the power to cause evil or 

misfortune is found in many cultures. It forms 

but one part of a magical worldview that attempts 

to explain the accidents and illnesses that afflict 

people. Rather than being a generalized theory of 

misfortune, it is always concerned with explain-

ing specific instances: What caused a particular 

person or possession to suffer harm at this or 

that time and place while others nearby or in a 

similar situation remained unaffected? In other 

words, belief in the evil eye is but one way of 

trying to account for why bad things happen to 

good people, and it may even conflict with other 

explanations. Religious conservatives object that 

it contradicts the belief that ultimately it is God 

who determines what happens for good and evil. 

People with a modern scientific outlook, on the 

other hand, may refute evil eye beliefs as irratio-

nal superstitions. But for the many who hold to a 

magical worldview, identifying the evil eye as the 

cause of an affliction allows them to take steps to 

deflect it or minimize its effect, even if it cannot 

be completely eliminated. The fact that people 

think that they can take preventive measures 

against it provides them with a sense that they 

can exercise control over otherwise unpredictable 

and painful events in life. This helps explain the 

acceptance and persistence of evil eye beliefs in so 

many parts of the world.

In Islamicate cultures, evil eye beliefs are espe-

cially pronounced among peoples living in lands 

from  m

orocco

 to i

ndia

, including the eastern 

Mediterranean region and the Arabian Peninsula. 

Many non-Muslims living in these areas also share 

these beliefs, including Christians, Jews, and Hin-

dus. There are several names given to the evil eye 

Evil eye poster, with medallions containing the name 

of God (r.) and Muhammad (l.), framed by protective 

verses from the Quran 

(printed poster)

K  220  

Eve

---

in the languages of these cultures. In Arabic, it 

can be al-ayn, “the eye,” al-nazra, “the look,” or 

al-hasad, “envy.” In Persian, it is known as chashm 

zakhm, “the eye that wounds,” or chashm shur,

“the salty eye.” A child, a nursing mother, a valu-

able farm 

animal

, a fruitful agricultural field, a 

plate of good food, or a valuable possession (such 

as a car or truck, a machine used in making a liv-

ing, a business, or a home) can provoke feelings of 

jealousy or inadvertently attract envious glances 

from passersby, neighbors, friends, or competitors 

and opponents. Once such a person’s envious eye 

looks at or “hits” its target, it can cause it serious 

harm. If the victim is a person, especially a male 

child, it can cause illness, an accident, or even 

death. The milk of a lactating woman, a goat, or 

a cow may stop flowing. A field can suffer crop 

damage. A car or machine might be destroyed or 

damaged in an accident or suffer a breakdown. 

One’s business or home might burn down. Prais-

ing someone or something, even with the best of 

intentions, is thought to make the object of praise 

even more susceptible to the malevolent effects of 

the envious eye.

Within such a belief system, a number of 

preventive devices and remedies are available. 

The most common is to place a colorful piece 

of jewelry, often a blue and white bead, on the 

person or possession to deflect “the look.” An 

amulet containing the name of God or a verse 

from the q

Uran

 also has apotropaic power. 

Many people hang or paint verses of the Quran 

in their businesses and homes or on their cars 

and trucks. Among the parts of the Quran usu-

ally employed for such purposes are the 

basmala

(Q 1:1), the F

atiha

 (Q 1), the Throne Verse (Q 

2:255), and the last two chapters of the Quran, 

known as “the protection-seeking ones” (Q 113 

and 114). In fact, Q 113 implores God’s protec-

tion “from the evil of the envier when he envies.” 

A copy of the whole Quran is also believed to 

offer protection.

Similarly, in everyday speech, people utter 

formulaic phrases containing God’s name, such 

as smallah, “in the name of God,” ma shaa Allah,

“whatever God wills,” or Allah akbar, “God is 

greater.” One popular incantation used against the 

evil eye states, “In the name of God I cast a spell 

to protect you from everything that may harm 

you; from every envious eye. In the name of God 

I cast a spell to protect you, and may God heal 

you from every harmful person or eye.” There 

are many other methods used for deflecting the 

eye. Among them is “dispraise.” For example, 

instead of praising a cute or beautiful baby, well-

wishers instead will tell the parents how ugly the 

child is. Proud parents will interpret such expres-

sions as compliments. Other protective measures 

include disguising male infants as females, leaving 

them unwashed, and calling them by unflatter-

ing names. Images of outstretched hands are also 

thought to provide protection. With a new home, 

business, vehicle, or machine, it is not unusual for 

the owners to sacrifice an animal and make hand 

imprints with its blood in a visible place on the 

new possession. Burning incense and consulting 

with male and female magicians are other mea-

sures people use for protection from the evil eye.

See also 

amUlets

 

and

 

talismans

; 

animals

; 

baraka

; 

children

.