without rancor, nor does rancor give rise to anything but envy. Experience bears this out. Let no one object that a man may unintentionally cast an envious eye without harboring rancor—as when he does so to his own wealth, child, or relative. We reply: that is the evil eye, not envy. Allah Most High knows best.

Ibn Manzūr said: “Ghill, pronounced with an i-vowel, and ghalīl mean deceit, enmity, spite, rancor, and envy. In the Noble Revelation, Allah says: ‘We shall remove all rancor from their breasts.’ Al-Zajjāj said: Its true import—and Allah knows best—is that none of the people of Paradise will envy another for his higher rank, because envy is rancor.” (1)

Definition of the Evil Eye

The evil eye is envy taking effect, without rancor, through a power that Allah Most High has placed in the eyes of some of His servants. It may proceed from a righteous man whose soul is not wicked. Such a person is not called an envier, but one who casts the evil eye. Although the former designation may be applied in a broad sense, making this distinction is more accurate. An example is the account of Āmir ibn Rabīa—may Allah be pleased with him—when he affected Sahl ibn Hunayf—may Allah be pleased with him—with the evil eye. Allah Most High decreed that such an incident should occur in that earliest era so that we might learn its rulings, notwithstanding the brotherhood, love, affection, and selflessness that prevailed among the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—qualities the like of which we have known in no age after theirs.

Is There a Difference Between Envy and the Evil Eye, or Are They the Same?

Yes, there is a difference between them, even though their effects are alike. Envy and the envier have become widely condemned among people—and rightly so—for envy proceeds only from an envious soul. Yet it is established in the Sunnah that the evil eye may proceed from a righteous man, as occurred with Āmir ibn Rabīa when he saw Sahl ibn Hunayf al-Ansārī—may Allah be pleased with them both—whereupon Sahl became feverish and his condition grew severe. Does this impugn Āmir—may Allah be pleased with him? Certainly not. He should merely have invoked Allah’s blessing upon Sahl—may Allah be pleased with him—when he saw something about him that impressed him.

Thus, this matter requires a distinction indispensable to its proper understanding, and whoever equates the two has erred.