Within families, and between siblings, there can exist a certain amount of jealousy and or envy. For some time I have considered the possibility that someone could have put the ayn (evil eye) on another within our nuclear family. I ensure that hasad (envy) in its various forms is clearly explained to the childen in their Islamic studies classes, however I recently had a brainwave, al hamdul'Illah.
After the subject of giving wudhu water to remove the ayn from an afflicted person was raised in a lesson, later in the day it was decided that we all give each other our wudhu water, to eradicate any ayn that could be on us. This ended up being a really positive and fun family activity. We all ended up with a big yogurt bucket each with the wudhu water of all the other family members wudhu water to fling over ourselves before our evening shower.
It was kind of funny, as everyone was trying to check themselves to see if they noticed a difference after the activity. It was an excellent reminder of how important it is to say maa shaa Allah, Allahumma baarik. There is a heightened awareness of the importance of saying maa shaa Allah, with far more reminders if it is forgotten, and a genuine desire to avoid giving anyone the ayn intentionally or unintentionally. We have decided to make this part of a yearly "maintenance program" within out Islamic curriculum. Al hamdul'Illahi Rabb il aal ameen!
