Dishwater to ward off harm? Fear of evil eye clouding thinking

The abnormal and obsessive fear of the evil eye, or envy, makes many people in this country act in strange and irrational ways to ward off harm, say experts.
This includes not wanting to wear new clothes, moving to a new home, or buying a new car. A common practice among some women is to collect the water left over after washing dishes at weddings to protect themselves.
They then run advertisements selling
this water as a first line of defense against those who harm others with the envy in their hearts. Date pits are also commonly collected, say the experts.
Ali Zairi, a psychology consultant at Al-Nakhil Medical Center, said that the fear of the evil eye is often passed down from parents to their children. These adults believe that envy has caused the failures in their lives.
He said there are also uneducated medicine men in villages around the country who reinforce these beliefs, unaware that some conditions are caused by medical problems.
People who have these beliefs can become delusional and suffer from various psychological disorders including depres- sion, obsessive neurosis and introversion.
“Exaggerated fear of the evil eye can deprive men and women of the joys of a normal life, and throw them into a state of
perpetual suspicion and distrust of every- thing. This makes their lives miserable.” Zairi said many also do not realize they need psychiatric treatment.
Sheikh Muhammad Al-Nojaimi, a member of the Islamic Fiqh Academy, said “the woes caused by the evil eye is an undeniable fact established in the Qur’an and the sayings of the Prophet, peace be upon him.”
Al-Nojaimi said the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “The evil eye is a fact and ... could even cause death.” However, he warned that sometimes peo- ple have to seek medical help for mental and other illnesses.
“They deny themselves the pleasures that Almighty Allah made lawful for them. This is against the religious faith,” he said. “A Muslim should believe that he is given only what Allah has destined for him, nothing else.” Al-Nojaimi said that it is obligatory for Muslims to rely on Allah and seek help when they discover
they have an imagined affliction. Mahmoud Kasnawi, a social science
consultant, said that envy and sorcery are mentioned in the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah, including ways to counter them. However, he said that not all mental ill- nesses are caused by the evil eye.
He said that people with obsessive neurosis cannot shake off these incor- rect convictions. They need help from psychiatrists, but often distrust these medical professionals and then seek treatment from charlatans.
Kasnawi said that the media has an important role to play in helping to remove misconceptions about modern psy- chiatry, and must do more to spread cor- rect information about Islam.