The quran finishes with two chapters 113 and 114 known as "Al-Mu'awithatayn", which roughly translates into "The chapters for seeking refuge in God". These two chapters talk about the notion of "hasad", or envy, but in Islamic theology hasad has a more nefarious and wicked nature. It is better known by its cultural heritage as "the evil eye" and many eye-like talismans, charms and phylacteries have been created by people to protect from its evil. Whether or not there is any religious foundation to these talismans and if they offer any protection is beyond the point of the discussion here so I will continue describing hasad.
Hasad is not something passive. It is understood to be an effectual act of evil like casting a spell. It works much like magic by no conceivable natural mechanism and requires no agent for it to operate. All that is required is the intention of evil of one person upon another. Once hasad has been cast upon an unsuspecting person, it goes on to harm them in a multitude of ways. Primarily, it is thought to cause the loss of the thing that was envied. Failing that, it would cause them to lose something else dear to them or cause them some other form of physical or emotional distress in the form of disease, loss or seperation.
Since no mention of supernatural beings or natural mechanisms by which hasad operates is mentioned in the Islamic literature, we deduce that it operates by the will of God and no-one makes hasad effective except God. One wonders why in this world abundant with crime, misery and anguish, where there is no more want of ways for a man to do evil to his neighbour, we see that God offers us a supernatural weapon by which to harm an unsuspecting victim.
It is one thing to see evil being done and do nothing about it, but it is something altogether more diabolical to create a violent tool that has no purpose other than evil and place it in the hands of undisciplined people with unlimited potential to do harm. And then He would lay blame to anyone who (mis-)used it! It is inconceivable how a God who claims to be just and good introduces an unnecessary and wholey evil thing into the world, and then goes on to judge and punish people for using it! Would you describe hasad as the creation of a good and loving God?
I see hasad is a tool for fear and control. People are forced to act humbly (at least in front of other people) for fear that they may lose what they have. It keeps a man fearing and dreading what might be said about him by his neighbours and the community and this occupies his mind with feelings of potential harm, loss and seperation at all times. When a mind is filled with such negative thoughts it keeps him low and lacking in self-esteem because he does not take pride in what he worked hard to get. He feels guilty for his success or luck. He does not think about increasing his wealth and benefiting those around him. Hasad has a negative and retarding effect. It reinforces the belief that people do not deserve the good things that they get and leads to people subconsciously falling into self-sabotage. This reduces innovation and development because people hide their inventions and fear the consequences of what they might say or do. It is ultimately a harmful belief.
Hasad as a superstition that can be found in various cultures in the world and often it is actuated by gods, demons or spirits of one kind or another. The Islamic version does not rely on supernatural beings and is effective without boundaries. Yet something so extraordinary and simple seems to only affect the weak. We hear stories about neighbours cursing their fellow neighbours and seeing the victim lose a loved one, something they prized or being thrown into poverty, but yet those who do the most harm to society - the politicians, dictators, generals, criminals and violent thugs - appear to be immune somehow! The people who deserve to lose the most remain unaffected. And what of other people who are popular, rich and successful. They do not seem to be losing their wealth and success either!
The Muslim community needs to look at itself and think. How is it the West seems to be succeeding when the Muslims do hasad against them? They can see that the West have advanced their knowledge and understanding of how the world works and have left behind such harmful, limiting thoughts and superstitions such as hasad. Why has God not made it work against the people He detests? Does hasad really exist? Why do the Muslims continue to be weak-minded and insist on believing in such superstitions? Is it not time to move ahead?
