Section: The Difference between the Evil Eye and Jealousy
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Jealousy is more general than the evil eye. A person with an evil eye is a specifically jealous person. Therefore, every person with an evil eye is a jealous person, but not every jealous person is a person with an evil eye. Hence, the seeking of refuge with Allah mentioned in the Qur'an (Chapter 113) refers to the jealous. Therefore, if a Muslim seeks refuge with Allah from the evil of the jealous, the request includes people with evil eyes This is indicative of the comprehensiveness, inimitability and rhetoric of the Qur'an. [See Bada’i “u Al-Fawa id: 2/232 and Zad Al-Ma'ad: 4/167]Jealousy is caused by resentment, hatred and the desire to see a person stripped of his blessing the evil eye, on the other hand, is caused by admiration and approval. Jealousy and evil eye share the concept of influence: both of them can affect a target. However, they differ in their source: whilst jealousy stems from the heart's burning desire to see the targeted person have a lot of blessings, then see him deprived; the evil eye, on the other hand, emanates from the gaze of the eye Therefore, a person with an evil eye may affect a target from which he is not jealous; inanimate things, animals, crops or money. He may even affect himself with his own evil eye. This is a stare of admiration, followed by a certain disposition that affects the targeted person. A person may be jealous of something predictable, whilst a person with an evil eye may only affect what is actually present .Man does not get jealous of his own self or his wealth, but he may affect these with his evil eye.Jealousy only comes from an evil, resentful soul; but evil eye may come from a righteous person who admires something without having the desire to see it taken away 'Amir Ibn Rabi'a (RA) affected Sahl Ibn Hunayf (RA) with the evil eye, despite the fact that he ('Amir) was among those who not only embraced Islam at an early period, but participated in the Battle of Badr.Among the scholars who dealt with the difference between jealousy and evil eye, are: Ibn Al-Jawzi, Ibn Al-Qayyim, Ibn Hajar and An Nawawi (R).It is recommended that if a Muslim sees something he likes, he should invoke Allah to bless it, whether it belongs to him or to someone else; according to the Prophet's (ﷺ) advice to Sahi Ibn Hunayf (RA): "Why don't you invoke Allah to bless it "; that is, to ask Allah to bless whatever he had, for the invocation of Allah thwarts the influence of the evil eye.