Is it permissible for a husband to say to his wife, "I seek refuge in Allah from your evil and your mother's evil," if he fears her evil and the abundance of her problems? Is it Islamically sound for a Muslim to seek refuge in Allah from the evil of a specific person or from the tongue of a relative, or from a commercial establishment or a neighbor? And, in contrast, is it legislated for him to ask Allah for the good of a person or a thing?

There is no harm for a person to pray that Allah grants them good from certain people or things, or protects them from their evil. Evidence for this includes what was narrated from the Prophet, peace be upon him, that when acquiring an animal or a woman, he would say: "O Allah, I ask You for her good and the good of her nature, and I seek refuge in You from her evil and the evil of her nature." And when fearing a people, he would say: "O Allah, we place You before them and seek refuge in You from their evils." And when a wind blew, he would say: "O Allah, I ask You for its good, the good within it, and the good with which it was sent, and I seek refuge in You from its evil, the evil within it, and the evil with which it was sent."

However, a person should exercise wisdom in their supplication so as not to harm anyone who hears it. If the supplication is permissible but might harm someone who hears it, then it should be made secretly. Therefore, a man should not say to his wife, "I seek refuge in Allah from your evil and your mother's evil," because this might harm her, and harming a Muslim is forbidden. Rather, he may make this supplication secretly. This is even more prohibited in the case of parents, because their right is greater than the wife's right. And among the general etiquettes of supplication is to make it secretly, as Allah the Almighty said: "Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret."