What I'm about to share isn't just a single incident, but rather a series of experiences that happened to me and to members of my family and relatives at different times in our lives. Some of these events took place during my childhood, others followed me into adulthood, and my relatives had their own share of equally strange occurrences. Although we are a conservative family, committed to prayer, reading the Quran, and generally living a stable life, these events have left us with questions that, to this day, remain unanswered.
The Mysterious Paper
I remember my mother once telling us, when we were children in Sudan, that while she was cleaning the house or searching for something, she found a carefully wrapped piece of paper tucked away in a corner. When she opened it, she found a strange phrase written on it: "Scarcity and separation..."
We didn't understand what it meant at the time, but finding such a note hidden in our home felt unsettling especially since things like this were completely out of the ordinary for our family.
My Mother's Incident in Saudi Arabia
After we moved to Saudi Arabia, we lived in an apartment building, and that's when some unusual things started happening. I remember one incident from when I was about six or seven years old. I walked into my mother's room one afternoon, holding a bag of chips. She was lying on the bed and looked at me with a confused expression, then stared at what I was holding as if she didn't recognize her surroundings. In a tired voice, she asked, "What is that in your hand?" I thought she had just woken up, so I simply replied, "It's chips."
But what happened next was worrying. Her health began to decline gradually, she showed flu-like symptoms at first, but then her condition developed into clear psychological distress. She became irritable, snapping at people and yelling for no reason. Her anxiety grew, especially when my father was out of the house. She would repeatedly ask, "Where is your father? Bring him home!"
It got to the point where she would go out at dusk or after dinner to look for him herself, clearly not in her right state of mind. My siblings had to stop her from leaving the house.
Later, we started playing Quran recitations in the house, and some relatives came over. I remember my father also brought in a religious healer to recite Quranic verses, either at home or by taking her to see him. After a while, her condition improved completely, and she returned to normal. Thankfully, she never experienced those symptoms again.
A Sudden Fear Interrupted My Prayer
Years later, during middle school, I had an experience I'll never forget. One night after returning from evening prayers, I decided to perform extra prayers at home. I went into the living room, closed the door, and began to pray. But during the first or second unit, I suddenly felt as if something—or someone—was in the room with me. Maybe it was just my imagination, but the fear that washed over me was so intense and real that I stopped praying and rushed out. I sought refuge in God, performed ablution again, and tried to go back, but I was hesitant and afraid to re-enter the room. That night, I couldn't sleep, haunted by the feeling that I was being watched. I kept repeating my prayers and protective verses, and the anxiety lingered for several days before gradually fading.
Visiting the Sheikh and the Strange Tables Book
Years passed, and I later traveled to Sudan, probably at the end of high school or the start of university. There, I heard about a well-known sheikh in the neighborhood, affiliated with a Sufi order, who was sought out for spiritual healing. He used some unusual methods for diagnosis.
I went to see him. The place was crowded with men and women. I waited my turn, then he sat with me privately and asked, "What brings you here?"
I told him about my sudden experience of fear in Saudi Arabia. He simply said, "Alright," then took me outside. We sat down, and he brought out a strange book.
He opened the book to a page filled with tables of names and phrases I couldn't understand. He asked me to place my right index finger on a spot and close my eyes. While I did that, he moved the book around.
When I opened my eyes, I saw him still moving the book, with my finger pointing at a particular spot in the table. He suddenly closed the book and declared, "This is the evil eye! This is the evil eye!"
I wasn't convinced by what he said, so I asked him in front of everyone, "Sheikh, how do you know it's the evil eye?"
He became angry and snapped, "Patients don't question the doctor's work! Please leave. Goodbye!" In other words, he was asking me to go.
I left, unconvinced, and gradually stopped caring much about what he had said. Over the years, those feelings faded, though I did wake up startled from sleep a couple of times. Now, thankfully, I don't feel anything at all.
A Sudden Change in My Cousin's Condition
I wasn't the only one to have these experiences. My younger cousin went through something different, but just as strange.
He was studying in Saudi Arabia before moving to Sudan to continue his university education. At first, he was completely normal, but after a while, his condition suddenly changed.
He told me he was hearing voices and claimed that a tailor had put a spell on his pants. I thought he was imagining things and tried to reassure him.
But then he started skipping classes and visiting various sheikhs for treatment. He also told me that when he opened the Quran, he would see red 'X' marks on some of the pages.
One of our relatives brought him water that had been prayed over, with some sidr leaves added, and told him to wash with it. After that, he said the marks disappeared.
"Don't read!"... A voice only he could hear.
One time, we were sitting together at my house, and I was encouraging him to pray and read the Quran. Suddenly, he whispered to me:
"They just told me: Don't read!... Don't read!"
That was one of the moments I was most worried about him.
Between Sheikhs and Conflicting Explanations
Later, my cousin traveled to our village, where my grandparents live, to seek treatment there. My uncle then took him to a sheikh in a somewhat distant area, but it turned out this sheikh followed a Sufi path and used some unusual methods.
The sheikh told them that my cousin was under a buried spell in a cemetery! My uncle didn't buy this explanation and replied, "Why would anyone cast a spell on him?" He paid the fee and left.
After that, my uncle consulted a sheikh we knew personally, who recited over my cousin in two sessions. There were no typical reactions like screaming or convulsions. In the end, the sheikh said, "I didn't see anything."
Current Situation... and Partial Improvement
These days, my cousin's condition has partially improved. He's living a mostly normal life, though he still experiences some symptoms from time to time. There are more details to his story, but it's a long one. I hope he makes a full recovery.
