that set the underlying matter in motion; they do not themselves necessitate the occurrence of this condition.” End quote. (1)

Shaykh Atiyyah Muhammad Sālim—may Allah have mercy on him—said: “Determining how the evil eye strikes and uncovering its true operation and cause is no easy task; to this day, it remains obscure. From a methodological standpoint, this is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, because its influence is imperceptible, and what is imperceptible cannot be apprehended by the senses. The senses perceive only its effects and thereby judge whether or not it exists; they cannot perceive the essential nature of its operation and interactions. It is like the spirit within the body, electric current, and modern forms of radiation: their effects reach you, and their existence is inferred from those effects. The scholars of old likewise compared it to the magnet’s attraction of iron, although the essential nature of the magnet itself was unknown. The effect of the eye of one who casts the evil eye upon its victim belongs to this same category.

“Nevertheless, scholars of earlier generations—may Allah Most High have mercy on them—endeavoured to uncover its true nature, and their statements—may Allah have mercy on them—have been transmitted. Some are concise and others lengthy, and their perspectives differ, as is customary in matters open to scholarly reasoning, especially those hidden from sensory perception.” (2)

Dr Fahd ibn Duwayyān al-Suhaymī, an instructor at the Islamic University of Medina, stated in his academic work submitted for a master’s degree: “Nothing has been revealed in the Sacred Law explaining how the evil eye strikes. We are not required to know this, nor has knowing it been made a religious obligation for us. We must believe and submit to everything the Lawgiver has informed us of, even if we cannot comprehend its wisdom or how it occurs. If this does become known, it only increases one’s faith—and that is goodness added to goodness.

“All that can be known about how the evil eye strikes is that when one who casts it sees something he admires but does not invoke Allah’s blessing upon it, Allah may, if He wills, bring upon the person affected whatever harm He wills. As for what some scholars have stated—that the evil eye operates through the emission of a poisonous force from the eye of the one casting it, or through subtle, invisible substances that make contact with the affected person and penetrate the pores of his body—this remains a possibility that can neither be affirmed with certainty nor