Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Qalam Verse 51

Mufti Taqi Usmani

And indeed the disbelievers seem to trip you up with their glances when they hear the Reminder, and say, “He is a madman indeed.”

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

The disbelievers would almost cut you down with their eyes when they hear ˹you recite˺ the Reminder,[[ This is one of the names of the Quran. ]] and say, “He is certainly a madman.”

Ruwwad Translation Center

The disbelievers would almost strike you down with their malicious gazes when they hear the Reminder, and they say, “He is certainly mad.”

A. J. Arberry

The unbelievers wellnigh strike thee down with their glances, when they hear the Reminder, and they say, 'Surely he is a man possessed!'

Abdul Haleem

The disbelievers almost strike you down with their looks when they hear the Quran. They say, ‘He must be mad!’

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And those who disbelieve well-nigh cause thee to stumble with their looks when they hear the Admonition, and they say: verily he is mad.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

And the Unbelievers would almost trip thee up with their eyes when they hear the Message; and they say; "Surely he is possessed!"

Abul Ala Maududi

When the unbelievers hear this Exhortation, they look at you as though they would knock you off your feet with their (hostile) glances. They say: “Surely he is afflicted with madness”;

Ahmed Ali

But the unbelievers would like to stare you out of balance when they hear the warning, and say: "Surely he is possessed;"

Ahmed Raza Khan

And indeed the disbelievers seem as if they would topple you with their evil gaze when they hear the Qur’an, and they say, “He is indeed insane.”

Ali Quli Qarai

Indeed the faithless almost devour you with their eyes when they hear this Reminder, and they say, ‘He is indeed crazy.’

Ali Ünal

Those who disbelieve would (if they could) strike you down with their looks because of hatred and enmity, when they hear the Reminder, and they say: "Surely he is a madman."

Amatul Rahman Omar

Those who disbelieve would fain have dislodged you (from your God-given mission) with their (angry) looks when they heard the Reminder full of admonition (- the Qur´ân, but you were firm and steadfast). And they say, `He is certainly a mad man.´

English Literal

And if those who disbelieved were about/almost to make you stumble/slip (E) with their eyesights when they heard/listened (to) the remembrance/reminder (the Koran), and they say: "That he truly is mad/insane (E) ".

Faridul Haque

And indeed the disbelievers seem as if they would topple you with their evil gaze when they hear the Qur’an, and they say, “He is indeed insane.”

Hamid S. Aziz

And those who disbelieve would almost smite you with their eyes when they hear the Reminder (Quran), and they say, "Most surely he is mad (or possessed).

Hilali & Khan

And verily, those who disbelieve would almost make you slip with their eyes through hatredness when they hear the Reminder (the Quran), and they say: "Verily, he (Muhammad SAW) is a madman!"

Maulana Mohammad Ali

The sure Truth!

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And those who disbelieve would almost smite you with their eyes when they hear the reminder, and they say: Most surely he is mad.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And lo! those who disbelieve would fain disconcert thee with their eyes when they hear the Reminder, and they say: Lo! he is indeed mad;

Muhammad Sarwar

When the disbelievers listen to you reciting the Quran they almost try to destroy you with their piercing eyes. Then they say, "He is certainly insane".

Qaribullah & Darwish

When the unbelievers hear the Reminder, they nearly strike you down with their glances, and say: 'Surely, he is mad'

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And verily, those who disbelieve would almost make you slip with their eyes (through hatred) when they hear the Reminder (the Qur'an), and they say: "Verily, he is a madman!"

Wahiduddin Khan

When those who deny the truth hear the admonition, they would almost cause you to stumble with their evil eyes; and they say, "He is certainly mad."

Talal Itani

Those who disbelieve almost stab you with their glances when they hear the message, and say, “He is crazy!”

Tafsir jalalayn

Indeed those who disbelieve would almost throw you down [to the ground] (read la-yuzliqnaka or la- yazliqnaka) with their looks, looking at you in a severe way, almost hurling you to the ground or making you fall from your place, when they hear the Reminder, the Qur'n, and they say, out of envy; `He is truly a madman!', on account of the Qur'n that he has brought.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

وَإِن يَكَادُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَيُزْلِقُونَكَ بِأَبْصَارِهِمْ

لَمَّا سَمِعُوا الذِّكْرَ

And verily, those who disbelieve would almost make you slip with their eyes, (through hatred) when they hear the Reminder (the Qur'an),

Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and others have said,

لَيُزْلِقُونَكَ
(would make you slip)

"In order to have some effect on you."

بِأَبْصَارِهِمْ
with their eyes, meaning,

`they will affect you by looking at you with their eyes (i.e., the evil eye).' This means `they are jealous of you due to their hatred of you, and were it not for Allah's protection of you, defending you against them (then their evil eye would harm you).'
The Effect of the Evil Eye is Real

In this Ayah is a proof that the effect of the evil eye and its affliction by the command of Allah is real. Many Hadiths have been reported concerning this through numerous routes of transmission.

The Hadith of Buraydah bin Al-Husayb Abu `Abdullah bin Majah recorded from Buraydah bin Al-Husayb that the Messenger of Allah said,

لَاا رُقْيَةَ إِلاَّ مِنْ عَيْنٍ أَوْ حُمَة

There is no Ruqyah except to cure the evil eye and the sting.

This is how Ibn Majah recorded this Hadith.

Imam Muslim also recorded this Hadith in his Sahih on the authority of Buraydah himself, but he did not attribute it to the Prophet. There is a story concerning this incident (as reported by Buraydah in Sahih Muslim), and At-Tirmidhi recorded the Hadith in this manner (like Muslim's version).

This Hadith has also been recorded by Imam Al-Bukhari, Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi on the authority of `Imran bin Husayn, however, he did not attribute it to the Prophet.

Imran's wording is,

لَاا رُقْيَةَ إِلاَّ مِنْ عَيْنٍ أَوْ حُمَة

There is no Ruqyah except to cure the evil eye and the sting."

Muslim recorded in his Sahih from Ibn `Abbas that the Prophet said,

الْعَيْنُ حَقٌّ وَلَوْ كَانَ شَيْءٌ سَابَقَ الْقَدَرَ سَبَقَتِ الْعَيْنُ وَإِذَا اسْتُغْسِلْتُمْ فَاغْسِلُوا

The evil eye is real. If anything were to overtake the divine decree (and change it, then it would be the evil eye. And if you perform Ghusl (to remove the evil eye) then wash well.

Muslim was alone in recording this Hadith, as Al-Bukhari did not mention it.

It is reported from Ibn Abbas that he said,

"The Messenger of Allah used to invoke Allah's protection for Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn (his grandsons) by saying,

أُعِيذُكُمَا بِكَلِمَاتِ اللهِ التَّامَّةِ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ وَهَامَّةٍ وَمِنْ كُلِّ عَيْنٍ لَامَّة

I seek protection for you two by the perfect Words of Allah from every Shaytan, and dangerous creature, and from every eye that is evil.

Then he would say;

هَكَذَا كَانَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ يُعَوِّذُ إِسْحَاقَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَم

Thus, did Ibrahim used to seek protection for Ishaq and Ismail (his sons)."

This Hadith was recorded by Al-Bukhari and the Sunan compilers.
The Hadith of Abu Umamah As`ad bin Sahl bin Hunayf

Ibn Majah recorded from Abu Umamah As`ad bin Sahl bin Hunayf that `Amir bin Rabi`ah passed by Sahl bin Hunayf while he was bathing and he said,

"I haven't seen the skin of a beautiful virgin girl nicer than this that I see today (i.e., commenting on how nice Sahl's skin was)."

So he did not leave before he (Sahl) fell down on the ground. So he was brought to the Messenger of Allah and it was said to him (the Prophet) that Sahl had been afflicted by a seizure. The Prophet then said,

مَنْ تَتَّهِمُونَ بِهِ

Who do you blame (or hold responsible) for this?

The people replied, ""Amir bin Rabi`ah."

Then the Prophet said,

عَلَمَ يَقْتُلُ أَحَدُكُمْ أَخَاهُ إِذَا رَأَى أَحَدُكُمْ مِنْ أَخِيهِ مَا يُعْجِبُهُ فَلْيَدْعُ لَهُ بِالْبَرَكَة

Would one of you knowingly kill his brother? If one of you sees something of his brother that he likes, then let him supplicate for blessings for him.

Then the Prophet called for some water and he commanded `Amir to perform Wudu' with the water.

So he washed his face, his hands up to his two elbows, his two knees, and the inside of his Izar.

Then the Prophet commanded him to pour the water over Sahl.

Sufyan said that Ma`mar related from Az-Zuhri that he said,

"The Prophet ordered him to turn the water pot over (empty its contents over) him (Sahl) from behind him."

An-Nasa'i recorded this Hadith through different routes from Abu Umamah with the wording,

"And he turned the pot over pouring its contents over him (Sahl) from behind him."
The Hadith of Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri

Ibn Majah recorded that Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri said,

"The Messenger of Allah used to seek refuge from the evil eye of the Jinns and the evil eye of humans. Then when the Mu`awwidhatan were revealed, he used them (for seeking protection) and abandoned everything else.

This was recorded by At-Tirmidhi, and An-Nasa'i. At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan."
Another Hadith from Abu Sa`id Imam

Imam Ahmad recorded from Abu Sa`id that Jibril came to the Prophet and said, "O Muhammad, are you suffering from any ailment?"

The Prophet said,
نَعَم
(Yes)."

Then Jibril said,

بِاسْمِ اللهِ أَرْقِيكَ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ يُوْذِيكَ وَمِنْ شَرِّ كُلِّ نَفْسٍ وَعَيْنٍ تَشْنِيكَ وَاللهُ يَشْفِيكَ بِاسْمِ اللهِ أَرْقِيك

"In the Name of Allah I pray over you for healing (Ruqyah), from everything that bothers you, from the evil of every soul and every evil eye that hates you, may Allah cure you, in the Name of Allah I pray over you for healing."

This Hadith has been recorded by Muslim and the Sunan compilers except for Abu Dawud.

Imam Ahmad also recorded from Abu Sa`id or Jabir bin `Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah was bothered by some illness, and Jibril came to him and said,

بِاسْمِ اللهِ أَرْقِيكَ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ يُوْذِيكَ مِنْ كُلِّ حَاسِدٍ وَعَيْنٍ اللهُ يَشْفِيك

In the Name of Allah I pray over you for healing (Ruqyah), from everything that bothers you, from every envious person and evil eye, may Allah cure you.
The Hadith of Asma' bint `Umays

Imam Ahmad recorded from `Ubayd bin Rifa`ah Az-Zuraqi that Asma' said, "O Messenger of Allah! Verily, Bani Ja`far are afflicted with the evil eye; should I seek to have Ruqyah "

The Prophet replied,

نَعَمْ فَلَوْ كَانَ شَيْءٌ يَسْبِقُ الْقَدَرَ لَسَبَقَتْهُ الْعَيْن

Yes, for if anything could overcome the divine decree, it would be the evil eye.

This Hadith has been recorded like this by At-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, and An-Nasa'i. At-Tirmidhi said concerning it, "Hasan Sahih."
The Hadith of `A'ishah

Ibn Majah recorded from `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, that

the Messenger of Allah ordered her to have Ruqyah performed as a cure against the evil eye.

This was reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.

The Hadith of Sahl bin Hunayf Imam Ahmad recorded from Abu Umamah bin Sahl bin Hunayf that his father informed him that;

the Messenger of Allah went out on a journey in the direction of Makkah and they (the Companions) accompanied him until they came to the valley of Kharrar from Al-Juhfah. They stopped there and Sahl took a bath. He (Sahl) was a white man, with a handsome body and nice skin. So the brother of Bani `Adi bin Ka`b, `Amir bin Rabi`ah looked at Sahl while he bathed and he said,

"I haven't seen the skin of a beautiful virgin girl nicer than this that I see today."

Then Sahl suddenly had a seizure and fell to the ground. So he (Sahl) was brought to the Messenger of Allah and it was said to him,

"O Messenger of Allah! Can you do anything for Sahl By Allah, he has not lifted his head nor has he regained consciousness."

The Prophet then said,

هَلْ تَتَّهِمُونَ فِيهِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ

Do you all blame (or hold responsible) anyone for what has happened to him)?

They said, "`Amir bin Rabi`ah looked at him."

So the Prophet called `Amir and he was very angry with him. He said,

عَلَمَ يَقْتُلُ أَحَدُكُمْ أَخَاهُ هَلَّ إِذَا رَأَيْتَ مَا يُعْجِبُكَ بَرَّكْتَ

Would one of you knowingly kill his brother? Why don't you ask Allah to bless your brother when you see something (of him) that you like? Then the Prophet said,

اغْتَسِلْ لَه

Bathe for him.

So he (`Amir) washed his face, his hands, his elbows, his knees, his feet and the inside of his Izar (waist wrapper) in a drinking vessel. Then that water was poured over him (Sahl). A man poured it over Sahl's head and his back from behind him, then the container was turned upside down and emptied behind him. This was done, and afterwards Sahl recovered and left with the people having nothing wrong with him."
The Hadith of `Amir bin Rabi`ah

Imam Ahmad recorded in his Musnad that `Ubaydullah bin `Amir said,

"`Amir bin Rabi`ah and Sahl bin Hanayf went off together intending to bathe. So they went about their business using coverings (to cover their nakedness). So `Amir removed a cloak of wool that he (Sahl) was using to conceal himself. He (`Amir) said, `I looked at him and my eye fell upon him while he was pouring water on himself bathing. Then I heard a loud splash in the water coming from where he was. So I went to him, and I called him three times, but he did not answer me. So I went to the Prophet and informed him. Then, the Prophet came walking, and he was wading in the water. I can still picture the whiteness of his shins. When he came to Sahl (who was unconscious), he hit him on his chest with his hand and said,

اللْهُمَّ اصْرِفْ عَنْهُ حَرَّهَا وَبَرْدَهَا وَوَصَبَهَا

O Allah! Remove from him its heat, its cold and its pain.

He (Sahl) then stood up, and Allah's Messenger said,

إِذَا رَأَى أَحَدُكُمْ مِنْ أَخِيهِ أَوْ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ أَوْ مِنْ مَالِهِ مَا يُعْجِبُهُ فَلْيُبَرِّكْ فَإِنَّ الْعَيْنَ حَق

If one of you sees in his brother, or himself, or his wealth that which pleases him, then he should ask Allah to bless it, for verily, the evil eye is real.
The Accusation of the Disbelievers and the Reply to Them

Allah says,

وَيَقُولُونَ إِنَّهُ لَمَجْنُونٌ




and they say;"Verily, he is a madman!"

meaning, they cut at him with their eyes and attack him with their tongues saying, "Verily, he is a madman." They say this because he came with the Qur'an.

Allah then says,

وَمَا هُوَ إِلاَّ ذِكْرٌ لِّلْعَالَمِينَ