they find him exposed and without protection, they inevitably affect him. But if they find him fully armed, leaving no opening for the arrows, they do not affect him and may even rebound upon the one who shot them. This is exactly analogous to physical archery: the former pertains to souls and spirits, while the latter pertains to bodies and physical forms. It begins with the evil-eye caster’s admiration for something. The wicked disposition of his soul then follows upon this and enlists his gaze upon the target to deliver its poison. A man may cast the evil eye upon himself, and he may do so unintentionally, merely by his nature. This is the vilest condition found among humankind.” [End quote.] (1)

Abd al-Raūf al-Manāwī said: “‘The evil eye is real’ means that the harm it causes is actual and common; only an obstinate person denies it. This may be illustrated by a menstruating woman who places her hand in a vessel of milk and causes it to spoil, whereas it would not spoil if she placed her hand in it after becoming pure. She may enter a garden and damage many of its trellised vines without touching them. A healthy person may look at someone suffering from inflamed eyes and then develop the same condition; someone may yawn in his presence, causing him to yawn as well. It has also been stated that there is a species of viper whose gaze kills a human being. Accordingly, the evil eye may arise from a poison that travels through the air from the eye of the one casting it to the body of the afflicted person.

“Allah has established His customary order through the existence of many powers and distinctive properties in bodies and spirits. Thus, when someone is looked at by a person whom he holds in awe, embarrassment may cause an intense redness to appear on his face that was not there before; likewise, a person may turn pale upon seeing someone he fears. This occurs through the effects Allah has created within spirits. Because spirits are so closely connected to the eye, the act is attributed to the eye, though the eye itself is not the true agent; the effect comes from the spirit. Spirits differ in their natures, powers, qualities, and distinctive properties. Some affect the body merely by sight, without contact; some through a face-to-face encounter; and some when the spirit directs itself toward another, as occurs through supplications, healing recitations, and turning to Allah. Other effects occur through mental suggestion and imagination.

“What issues from the eye of one who casts the evil eye is an arrow of the evil eye. If it strikes an unprotected body, it affects it; otherwise, it does not—just like a physical arrow. It may even rebound upon the one who cast it. (Ahmad, al-Bukhārī and Muslim, Abū Dāwūd, and al-Nasā’ī, from Abū Hurayra; Ibn Mājah, from Āmir ibn Rabīa.)

“‘The evil eye is real’ means that affliction by the evil eye is among those things whose occurrence has been established. ‘It brings one down from a lofty height’ means from a high mountain. The philosophers have said that the one who casts the evil eye