Can the evil eye afflict a person by looking at their picture or hearing their voice, or must one see them directly for the affliction to occur?
Affliction by the evil eye is established both religiously and customarily. It does not depend on seeing the person afflicted; rather, it can occur through description, narration, or imagination. The very soul of the envier can affect something described to them, even if they have not seen it. Thus, a person can be afflicted by the evil eye merely by someone seeing their picture or hearing their descriptions. Nevertheless, one must beware of succumbing to obsessive thoughts concerning the evil eye, for a believer possesses weapons to fortify themselves against evils, such as reliance on Allah and persistence in remembrance (dhikr).
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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