called the darkening one because its dominion is at night. His words, “from the evil of the darkening one when it sets in,” are conjoined to “from the evil of what He has created,” as a specific instance following a general statement, since the darkening one is among the things created by Allah, Mighty and Majestic. His words “when it sets in” mean: when it enters. Thus, when night enters with its darkness, it is a darkening one. Likewise, when the moon shines with its light, it is a darkening one, and this occurs only at night.
“And from the evil of those who blow upon knots.” “Those who blow upon knots” are sorceresses. They tie knots in cords and other things, then blow upon them while reciting cryptic incantations containing the names of devils. With every knot, they tie and then blow, tie and then blow, tie and then blow. Each sorceress, through her own wicked soul, targets a particular person, and this magic then affects the person bewitched. Allah used the feminine plural form “those who blow” rather than the masculine because those who most commonly practice this kind of magic are women. Hence He said, “those who blow upon knots.” It may also be said that “those who blow” means souls that blow, in which case it includes both men and women.
“And from the evil of an envier when he envies.” An envier is someone who hates to see Allah’s blessing bestowed upon another. You therefore find him distressed when Allah grants someone wealth, status, knowledge, or some other blessing, and so he envies him. Envious people, however, are of two types. One type feels envy and inwardly hates Allah’s blessing upon another, but does nothing to the person envied. You find him troubled and grief-stricken by the blessings Allah has bestowed upon others, yet he does not harm the person concerned. Evil and affliction arise only when the envier envies. Hence He said, “when he envies.”
One manifestation of an envier’s envy is the evil eye, which strikes its target. Such a man harbors dislike for Allah’s blessings upon others. When he senses within himself that Allah has bestowed a blessing upon so-and-so, there emanates from his wicked soul (something) that we cannot describe because it is unknown, and he strikes with the evil eye. Whoever falls under its power may sometimes die, sometimes become ill, and sometimes lose his mind. An envier’s influence can even affect iron and stop it from functioning. His evil eye may strike a car, causing it to break, or—