Dua for the Evil Eye (Nazar): Authentic Supplications and Protection in Islam
The evil eye — al-'ayn in Arabic, nazar in Urdu, Persian and Turkish — is affirmed in the Sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ said plainly: "The evil eye is real" (Sahih al-Bukhari 5740). What follows is the set of duas for the evil eye that are actually established in the Quran and authentic hadith, with their sources, plus what the tradition teaches about protection, treatment, and the limits of both.
Medical disclaimer. This article is educational and describes a religious practice. It is not medical advice. Illness, pain, fatigue and low mood have medical causes that need medical assessment. Supplication accompanies treatment; it does not replace it.
What the Evil Eye (Nazar) Means in Islam
Al-'ayn is harm that reaches a person through a look — usually a look carrying admiration or envy, whether or not the person looking intended harm. Two points from the tradition matter here:
- It can come from a loving glance, not only a hostile one. This is why the Sunnah encourages blessing what you admire rather than only praising it.
- It causes no harm except by Allah's permission. The eye is a means, not a power. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Nothing that has been decreed will overtake the evil eye" — and in the same narration, "if anything were to overtake the divine decree, it would be the evil eye" (Sahih Muslim 2188), which is a statement of its reality, not of independent power.
Hasad (envy) is the related but distinct concept named in Surah al-Falaq: "…and from the evil of an envier when he envies" (Quran 113:5). Envy is of the heart; the eye is its effect.
The Core Duas for Nazar
1. Surah al-Falaq and Surah an-Nas (the mu'awwidhat)
These two chapters are the primary Quranic protection. Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported that the Prophet ﷺ would seek refuge from the jinn and the evil eye of humans until the mu'awwidhat were revealed, and when they came down, he used them and left everything else (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2058, graded hasan).
Recite Surah al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq and an-Nas three times each in the morning and evening, blowing lightly into the cupped hands and wiping them over the head, face and body — the method Aisha described of the Prophet ﷺ (Sahih al-Bukhari 5017).
2. The dua of refuge in Allah's perfect words
Arabic: أَعُوذُ بِكَلِمَاتِ اللهِ التَّامَّاتِ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْطَانٍ وَهَامَّةٍ وَمِنْ كُلِّ عَيْنٍ لَامَّةٍ
Transliteration: A'udhu bi kalimat-illah at-tammati min kulli shaytanin wa hammah, wa min kulli 'aynin lammah.
Meaning: "I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from every devil and poisonous creature, and from every evil eye."
The Prophet ﷺ used this to seek protection for Hasan and Husayn, saying that Ibrahim used it for Isma'il and Ishaq (Sahih al-Bukhari 3371). It is the classic dua for protection from the evil eye for children.
3. The ruqyah of Jibril
Arabic: بِاسْمِ اللهِ أَرْقِيكَ، مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ يُؤْذِيكَ، مِنْ شَرِّ كُلِّ نَفْسٍ أَوْ عَيْنِ حَاسِدٍ، اللهُ يَشْفِيكَ، بِاسْمِ اللهِ أَرْقِيكَ
Transliteration: Bismillahi arqik, min kulli shay'in yu'dhik, min sharri kulli nafsin aw 'ayni hasid, Allahu yashfik, bismillahi arqik.
Meaning: "In the name of Allah I perform ruqyah for you, from everything that harms you, from the evil of every soul or envious eye — may Allah cure you. In the name of Allah I perform ruqyah for you."
Jibril recited this over the Prophet ﷺ when he was unwell (Sahih Muslim 2186). It names the envious eye directly and is the most commonly used dua to remove nazar from another person.
4. The supplication for the sick
Transliteration: Allahumma Rabb an-nas, adhhib al-ba's, ishfi anta ash-Shafi, la shifa'a illa shifa'uk, shifa'an la yughadiru saqama.
Meaning: "O Allah, Lord of mankind, remove the harm and cure — You are the Curer. There is no cure but Your cure, a cure that leaves no illness behind" (Sahih al-Bukhari 5675).
5. Ayat al-Kursi and the last verses of al-Baqarah
Ayat al-Kursi (Quran 2:255) recited at night is reported to bring protection until morning (Sahih al-Bukhari 5010), and the last two verses of Surah al-Baqarah (2:285–286) are recited nightly for the same reason.
For the full Arabic text, transliteration and audio of these supplications in one place, see the Ruqyah section of the Islamic Remedies app.
Preventing Nazar: What the Sunnah Actually Teaches
The Prophetic emphasis falls at least as much on the one who looks as on the one who is looked at.
- Invoke blessing on what you admire. The Prophet ﷺ taught that when you see something in yourself, your wealth or your brother that pleases you, you should ask for blessing on it — barakallahu fih or masha'Allah, la quwwata illa billah. In the well-known incident of Sahl ibn Hunayf, the Prophet ﷺ rebuked the one who had looked, saying: "Why does one of you kill his brother? If you see something you like, invoke blessing for it" (Sunan Ibn Majah 3509, and Muwatta Malik).
- Keep the morning and evening adhkar. Consistency in the daily morning and evening supplications is the ordinary, unglamorous form of protection the Sunnah prescribes.
- Exercise modesty about blessings. Classical scholars advised discretion about wealth, children and good fortune — not secrecy or superstition, but restraint.
Where Scholars Urge Caution
Classical Sunni scholarship — across the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools — distinguishes carefully between practices, rather than dismissing everything customary. Three points are widely agreed:
- Objects believed to repel harm in themselves. Blue eye beads, charms, horseshoes and similar items are criticised because of the belief attached to them: that the object itself wards off harm. The hadith on amulets (Musnad Ahmad 17422) is understood by the jurists as addressing precisely this belief in independent causation.
- The ta'wiz of Quranic verses is a point of genuine difference. Many classical jurists — including a majority within the Hanafi, Shafi'i and Maliki schools, and reports from Aisha and other Companions — permitted writing Quranic verses or established supplications and carrying them, provided the wearer believes the benefit comes only from Allah. Others, including a number of Hanbali scholars, discouraged it as a precaution. Both positions sit within Sunni orthodoxy, and a Muslim following either is following recognised scholarship.
- Unknown script, invented rituals and paid "guaranteed" removal. Talismans whose wording cannot be read, secret recitations, and fees promised against results are rejected by scholars of all four schools, and are the standard signs of exploitation described in our guide to what ruqyah is.
Local customs — burning rue seeds, circling bread or money over a person — are cultural rather than Prophetic. Where they carry no belief in independent power, jurists have generally treated them as permissible but empty of religious merit; where they do, they fall under the caution above.
The heart of the matter is where reliance is placed: recitation, dua and trust in Allah are the substance, and no object is a substitute for them.
Treating Nazar When It Is Suspected
Where the eye is genuinely suspected, the Prophetic treatment is twofold: recitation (ruqyah, using the duas above) and, in the specific case where the person who cast the eye is known, ghusl — the classical practice in which that person washes and the water is poured over the affected person, as described in the narration of Sahl ibn Hunayf (Sunan Abu Dawud 3880).
Two cautions that the tradition itself supports:
- Do not diagnose nazar by symptom checklist. Fatigue, headaches, poor sleep, low mood, appetite change and unexplained pain are the everyday presentation of anaemia, thyroid disorders, depression, sleep apnoea and dozens of treatable conditions. Get assessed.
- Do not accuse people. Naming a relative or neighbour as the source of the eye has broken families and is not something the tradition permits on suspicion.
The Balance
The Sunnah affirms the evil eye and gives a plain remedy for it: Quranic recitation, a handful of authentic supplications, blessing what you admire, and trust in Allah. Where the schools of law differ — as they do over written Quranic ta'wiz — that difference is part of the tradition, not a departure from it. What all four schools warn against is fear, exploitation, accusation, and placing reliance in an object rather than in Allah.
For related reading, see our guides on ruqyah, Prophetic duas for anxiety, mental wellness in Islamic practice, and the full Prophetic medicine hub.