And its rulings will remain in force for as long as Allah Most High wills.

My purpose in this study was not to prove the reality of envy, for the matter is as the poet said:

Nothing can be deemed certain by the mind
if daylight itself should stand in need of proof.

Rather, I wished to clarify the rulings pertaining to this matter that may be unknown to some people, so that a Muslim may have clear insight into the affairs of his religion in an age of ever-renewed estrangement, far removed from fanciful tales, newly introduced innovations, or polytheism that taints the creed—at a time when some have strayed and others have grown heedless.

I should point out here that some ordinary people go too far in attributing many events to envy, while others believe that anyone who attributes such events to envy suffers from obsessive misgivings or something similar. The truth lies between these two camps. Some pursue the methods of innovators, soothsayers, and groups devoted to polytheism and apostasy when seeking treatment—may Allah protect us and our families from that. Others reject treating envy by ruqyah (healing invocations), regarding all of it as charlatanry. This view is widespread among materialists and self-styled rationalists. Both positions are opposite extremes, and here too the truth is contrary to both.

In this modest treatise, I hope to explain the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah and the true approach to believing in the reality of envy and the effect of the evil eye upon the person envied; how a Muslim may protect himself, his family, his wealth, and his friend from them; and how treatment may be conducted according to a sound method and the Sunnah, far removed from remedies based merely on experimentation, religious innovations, herbalists’ prescriptions, and the fraud of charlatans—indeed, without even having to visit a ruqyah practitioner or another healer. I will also bring together statements of the scholars that lie scattered throughout their books. Muhammad ibn Sīrīn—may Allah have mercy on him—said: “Knowledge has passed away, and only fragments of it remain, dispersed among various repositories.” Al-Dhahabī transmitted this from him in his excellent work, Siyar A‘lām al-Nubalā’.

If space permits, I will also identify those hadiths, reports, and stories that have not been established, although the common people believe them to be authentic. I will draw attention to them and to the innovations and newly introduced practices connected with this matter, such as you will not find