Question 602: Does sacrificing an animal and smearing its blood on a newly purchased car or similar items to ward off the evil eye and the like have any basis in narrations?
Answer
✅Answer: There is no narration that supports the performance of the above act, i.e., smearing the blood of a sacrificed animal on a car or any other purchased item. There is no place for this practice.
Furthermore, to ward off the evil eye, various litanies and supplications are mentioned in the narrations, but sacrificing an animal and smearing its blood on the item is not mentioned as one of the ways to ward off the evil eye.
✅However, in the following case, a specific prohibition has been mentioned: 👇
1 عَنْ مُعَاوِيَةَ بْنِ وَهْبٍ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ فِي حَدِيثٍ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: كَانَ نَاسٌ يُلَطِّخُونَ رَأْسَ الصَّبِيِّ بِدَمِ الْعَقِيقَةِ وَ كَانَ أَبِي يَقُولُ ذَلِكَ شِرْكٌ.
📚 Al-Kafi, vol. 6, page 33
Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said in a hadith: 'People used to smear the head of a newborn with the blood of the 'aqiqah (sacrificial animal for a newborn), and my father (Imam Baqir, peace be upon him) used to say: 'This is polytheism!''
2 عَنْ عَاصِمٍ الْكُوزِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ فِي حَدِيثِ الْعَقِيقَةِ قَالَ قُلْتُ: لَهُ أَ يُؤْخَذُ الدَّمُ فَيُلَطَّخُ بِهِ رَأْسُ الصَّبِيِّ فَقَالَ ذَاكَ شِرْكٌ قُلْتُ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ شِرْكٌ فَقَالَ لِمَ لَمْ يَكُنْ ذَاكَ شِرْكاً فَإِنَّهُ كَانَ يُعْمَلُ فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ وَ نُهِيَ عَنْهُ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ.
📚 Al-Kafi, vol. 6, page 33
In the 'aqiqah hadith, Asim said: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): 'Is the blood (of the 'aqiqah) taken and smeared on and soiled with the head of the newborn?' The Imam said: 'That is polytheism!'
گفتم : سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ! شرک است؟!
He said: 'Why should it not be polytheism when this was done during the time of Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance) and was forbidden in Islam!'
✅ Of course, sacrifice in general, and specifically for the day of Eid al-Adha and 'aqiqah, etc., is emphasized by the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), but smearing its blood on a child's head, or on a car, etc., has no evidence: 👇
3 عَنْ ثَعْلَبَةَ بْنِ مَيْمُونٍ عَنْ زُرَارَةَ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ قَالَ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ إِطْعَامَ الطَّعَامِ وَ إِرَاقَةَ الدِّمَاءِ.
📚 Al-Kafi, vol. 4, page 51
Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: 'Indeed, Allah loves feeding people and shedding blood (i.e., sacrificing).'
✅ For building a house, the following narration has been reported, but there is no mention of smearing the house with the blood of a sacrifice: 👇
4 عَلِیُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِیمَ عَنْ أَبِیهِ عَنِ النَّوْفَلِیِّ عَنِ السَّکُونِیِّ عَنْ أَبِی عَبْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَ قَالَ النَّبِیُّ مَنْ بَنَی مَسْکَناً فَلْیَذْبَحْ کَبْشاً سَمِیناً وَ لْیُطْعِمْ لَحْمَهُ الْمَسَاکِینَ ثُمَّ یَقُولُ اللَّهُمَّ ادْحَرْ عَنِّی مَرَدَةَ الْجِنِّ وَ الْإِنْسِ وَ الشَّیَاطِینِ وَ بَارِکْ لَنَا فِی بُیُوتِنَا إِلَّا أُعْطِیَ مَا سَأَلَ.
📚 Al-Kafi, vol. 6, page 299
Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: 'Whoever builds a house, let him slaughter a fat ram and feed its meat to the poor, and then say:'
اللَّهُمَّ ادْحَرْ عَنِّی مَرَدَةَ الْجِنِّ وَ الْإِنْسِ وَ الشَّیَاطِینِ وَ بَارِکْ لَنَا فِی بُیُوتِنَا
Then what he asked for will be given to him!
✅ In summary, although the ruling of polytheism for smearing the blood of the 'aqiqah on a newborn's head cannot be extended to other matters, what is certain and clear is that smearing the blood of a sacrifice on a car or a purchased item to ward off the evil eye and the like has no religious source and there is no place for this practice.
اللَّهُمَّ فَصَلِّ عَلَی مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَجِّلْ لِوَلِیِّکَ الْفَرَجَ وَ الْعَافِیَةَ وَ النَّصْرَ