Question: Recently, my wife and I have been doing very well, and we got our own apartment. We plan on inviting our friends and family for dinner, as our first guests. We spent much effort decorating it, but we are worried they may cast the evil eye on us because of how nice it looks. We have photos of our travels up on the wall as well. How do we avoid making them jealous during the invite?
Answer:
Assalamu alaykum,
Thank you for your question. May Allah bless you in your new home and fill it with happiness, health, blessings, love, and iman.
New Home
First, please see this excellent answer concerning a new home and apply the tips given about reading Qu’ran, feeding people, and giving charity:
https://seekersguidance.org/answers/general-counsel/prophetic-supplication-for-moving-to-a-new-house/
Remove the Haram
The second thing that you should do is to make sure that you remove any contraventions of Islamic law in the home. It is impermissible to put up pictures of people or animals on the wall, and you should replace them with images of inanimate objects, such as nature or Islamic calligraphy or patterns.
This will allow angels of mercy into the home, for otherwise, they will not enter with the images up. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: “The angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog or an image.“ [Nasa’i] It is also disliked to pray in a room with pictures. This is not a good start to one’s new home at all. Please see the details here:
https://seekersguidance.org/tag/praying-in-a-room-with-photographs/
Trust In Allah
The best weapon of defense against the evil eye is to live a religious lifestyle. Nobody can harm you with anything without Allah’s permission. If your life is pleasing to Allah, this is the best protection that you can ask for. Pray on time, do not miss prayers, read some Qur’an every day with the meaning, ask Allah to help you accomplish all that is obligatory, and remove all the haram and makruh (prohibited and disliked actions) from your life. Learn your religion right here at Seekers with free courses, and apply the knowledge as much as you can.
May Allah give you the best of this world and the next in your wordly home and in your eternal home of the hereafter.
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, tafseer, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She recently moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.