The evil eye is real as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us, and the way to protect oneself against it is by reciting the ruqyahs that are prescribed in sharee’ah and by reciting the wirds of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), not by using amulets or by using the charms written by liars and charlatans. For more information about the evil eye and the ways of protecting oneself against it, please see question no. 20954 and 11359. 

Carrying amulets and charms for the purpose of protecting oneself against the evil eye and witchcraft comes under the heading of wearing amulets which is forbidden. It was narrated from ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir al-Juhani (may Allaah be pleased with him) that some people came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he accepted the oath of allegiance from nine of them and not from one man. They said: O Messenger of Allaah, you accepted the allegiance of nine and not from one. He said: “He is wearing an amulet.” So he put his hand in (his garment) and broke it, then he accepted his oath of allegiance and said: “Whoever wears an amulet has associated others with Allaah (shirk).” Narrated by Ahmad (16781); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah (492). 

Ahmad (17440) also narrated that ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “Whoever wears an amulet, may Allaah never fulfil his wish and whoever wears a seashell, may Allaah never protect him from what he fears.” This hadeeth was classed as hasan by al-Arna’oot in his commentary on al-Musnad. 

Seashells were worn to ward off the evil eye. 

Al-Khattaabi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Amulets were things that they used to wear in the belief that they could ward off calamity. 

Al-Baghawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The Arabs used to put amulets on their children to protect them against the evil eye, or so they claimed. This was declared invalid by sharee’ah. Al-Ta’reefaat al-I’tiqaadiyyah, p. 121. 

The correct scholarly view is that amulets are forbidden even if they are composed of words from the Qur’aan. See question no. 10543. As for those that contain unknown letters and words, there is no difference of opinion; they are haraam and there is no guarantee that they are not magic or that they are not seeking the help of the jinn. 

Thirdly:

The way to get rid of amulets and magic when they are discovered is by undoing the knots – if there are knots – and separating the pieces, then destroying them by burning and the like, because it is narrated that Zayd ibn Arqam (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: A Jewish man used to enter upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who trusted him. He tied some knots and placed them in a well belonging to a man from among the Ansaar. He suffered because of that for several days – or, according to the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah, for six months – then two angels came to visit him. One sat at his head and the other at his feet. One of them said, “Do you know what is ailing him?” He said: “So and so who used to enter upon him tied some knots for him and threw them into the well of So and so, the Ansaari. He should send a man to him to take the bundle out, and he will find that the water has turned yellow.” Then Jibreel came to him, bringing the revelation of al-Mi’wadhatayn, and he told him that a Jewish man had bewitched him and that the materials used were in the well of So and so. Then he sent a man – according to another isnaad, he sent ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) – who found that the water had turned yellow. He took out the bundle and brought it to him, and he told him to untie it and recite a verse of Qur’aan. He started to recite and untie it, and every time he untied a knot, he felt a little better, until he was fully recovered.” 

Narrated by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 6/615; al-Haakim, 4/460; al-Nasaa’i, 2/172; Ahmad, 4/367; al-Tabaraani. 

Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Efforts should be made to find out what the witch has done. If he has put some hair, for example, in a certain place, or put it in a comb and so on, if it is known that he has put it in a certain place, it should be taken out and burned or destroyed. Then its effects will be cancelled out and what the witch wanted to do will be annulled. Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Maqaalaat al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 8/144. 

So to get rid of the paper that your father has, tear it up and burn it, and remind him to repent to Allaah from having worn an amulet. 

And Allaah knows best.

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