Do not be envious of one another
Abu Hurayrah (RA) narrated that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
‘Do not be envious of one another and do not nurse grudge against one another. Do not artificially raise prices against one another; do not hate one another; do not turn your back on each other; do not undercut one another in business transactions. And be O servants of Allaah, brothers. A Muslim is the brother of Muslim. He does not oppress nor wrong him. He does not fail him when he needs him. He does not lie to him. And he does not show contempt for him. Piety is here' - and he pointed to his chest three times. It is enough of evil for a person to hold his brother Muslim in contempt. All of a Muslim is sacred and inviolable to another Muslim: his blood, his wealth and his honour.' (Muslim).
Some Causes of Envy
A Heart that is not healthy
Envy, being a disease of the heart, is an indication of a heart that is unhealthy. An Numaan Bn Basheer (RA) related that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: '
Verily In the body is a morsel of flesh which, if it is rectified then the whole of the body will be rectified and which if it diseased then the whole of the body is diseased, Certainly it is the heart.'(Bukhari).
Being envious is a sign that a person's heart and soul contains some disease or evil and is far away from the level of faith that is desirable for it to achieve. Abu Hurairah (RA) narrated that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
‘Belief and envy do not occur together in the heart of a believer.'(Nasai)
Indeed, he is far from the complete and perfect faith since he dislikes good for his brother whereas Anas bin Malik (RA) related that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
'None of you would have believed until he loves for his brother what he loves for his Own soul.' (Bukhari)
As a Muslim, you should be happy and glad that good things are happening to your brothers in faith. You should not wish to have what is with him, nor should you wish that if you don’t get that good, it should just be destroyed; rather you should ask Allaah for yours. Allaah says:
'And wish not for the things in which Allaah has made some of you to excel others. For men there is reward for what they have earned, and likewise for women there is reward for what they have earned, and ask Allaah of His Bounty .Surely, Allaah is Ever All-Knower of everything(Q4:32)
Envy is discontentment with Qadar. Envy in most cases is an expression of dislike, opposition and discontent for what Allaah has decreed, since the blessings been envied can only come from Allaah alone or by His permission from other people. If a person dislikes what another person has received, he is in reality showing hatred towards Allaah's decree (qadar), And we seek refuge in Allaah from this Allaah says:
"Is it they who would portion out the Mercy of your Lord? It is We Who portion out between them their livelihood in this world, and we raised some of them above others in ranks, so that some may employ others in their work. But the Mercy of your Lord is better than that which they amass (of this life)." (Q43:32)
Competition for the glitters of this life
Most importantly, one of the greatest causes of envy is mutual rivalry in amassing wealth and competition for this dunya. Narrated Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As (RA): Allaah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said 'How would you be, O people, when Persia (Iran) and Rome would be conquered for you?' Abdur Rahman bin Awf (RA) said: 'We would say as Allaah has commanded us and we would express our gratitude to Allaah,' There upon Allaah’s Messenger and blessings of Allah be upon him) said' Nothing else besides it? You would in fall vie with one another.
Then you would feel jealous, then your relations would be estranged and then you will be enemy against one another, or something to the same effect. Then you would go to the poor emigrants and would make some the masters of the others. (Muslim) and it Is as the Prophet had said, A lot of the things that people envy others for are the glitters of this life. These things are from the favour that AIIaah has conferred upon others, because He gives to whomever He wills. Should one envy others because of what they have of the glitters of this world? There are three reasons why you should know the glitters of this life are a test.
Allaah says:
And strain not your eyes in longing for the things We have given for enjoyment to various groups of them, the splendour and glitters of the life of this world that We may test them thereby. But the provision of your Lord is better and more lasting. (Q20:131)
All of these glitters are fitnah - tests and trials for those who have them: so that they may show gratitude by using them in AIIaah's cause or they show ingratitude by the way they use them.
Why then should one envy someone who is going through a trial? Still, if you want some of those glitters, why not ask Allaah - The Bestower -to give yours to you; and at the same time, you do not forget that the best and most enduring provisions lie with Allaah. You also have them: Uqbah bin Amir (RA) reported. "One day, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went out and offered the funeral prayers or the martyrs of Uhud and then went up the mimbar (pulpit) and said: will pave the Way for you as your predecessor and will be a witness for you I see my fountain (Kawthar) Just now and I have been given the keys of all the treasures of the earth. By AIlaah! I am not afraid that you will worship others along with Allaah after my death, but I am afraid that you will fight with one another for the worldly things. (Bukhari)
Why fight over worldly things?
Looking at the enjoyment of the wealthy ones Will not encourage you to be patient and give thanks (or the ones that are with you Abu Hurayrah (RA) related that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
Look at those who are lower than you but do not look at those who Are higher than you, lest you belittle the favours AIlaah conferred upon you.(Bukhari)
The evils of envy
The greatest evil of envy is that it destroys the Muslim community When envy becomes widespread amongst a people, it might eventually cause their destruction because it will irrigate and nurture ill feelings The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of AIlaah be upon him) said ‘Creeping and advancing upon you is the disease and malady of the people and nations before you: envy and hatred And the hatred is the thing that shaves. Am not saying it shaves the hair, but it shaves the religion. By the one on whose hand is my soul- or he said: by the one in whose hand IS the soul of Muhammad - you without enter Paradise until you believe and you will not her love until you love one another? Shall I not inform you about that which will establish such for you? Spread the salaamah (greeting of peace among yourself (Tirmidheeb) The evils of envy can also erupt within blood relatives, which are considered one of the strongest links amongst mankind. When this occurs jealousy and rank hatred will appear between them and the desire to eliminate the envied IS very likely.
As examples of how envy can have negative effect of the family, Allaah informs us about the brothers of Yusuf (peace be upon him) and the two sons of Aadam (peace be upon him).
The envy of the brothers of Yusuf
The brothers of Yusuf envied their paternal brothers tor the deep love and affection that father Yaqub (peace be upon him) had for them. So they became Jealous and sought to eliminate Yusuf (peace be upon him). AIIaah says, ‘the brothers said: 'Truly, Yusuf and his brother are loved more by our father than we, while we are a strong group. Really, our father is In a plain error.
"Kill Yusuf or cast him out to some other land, so that the favour of your father may be given to you alone, and after that you will be righteous folk. One from among them said: "Kill not Yusuf, but if you must do something, throw him down to the bottom of a well, he will be picked up by some caravan of travellers. "(12:8-10)
The envy of Qabil
Allaah says:
'and recite to them the’ story of the two sons of Aadam [Habil and Qabil] in truth; when each offered a sacrifice (to Allaah), it was accepted from the one but not from the other. The latter said to the former: "I will surely kill you." The former said: "Verily, Allaah accepts only from those who are pious "If you do stretch your hand against me to kill me, I shall never stretch my hand against you to kill you, for I fear Allaah; the Lord of the all that exists. Verily, I intend to let you draw my sin on yourself as well as yours, and then you will be one of the. Dwellers of the Fire, and that is the recompense of the wrongdoers. So the soul of the other encouraged him and made fair seeming to him the murder of his brother; he murdered him and became one of the losers." (Q5:27-30)
It seems obvious from the above that the one who murdered his blood brother did so mostly out of envy. He was jealous because his own sacrifice was rejected while Allaah accepted his brother's. So he committed the first grievous sin on earth - murder -and till the end of the world, he will continue to have a share of the punishment in every unjust killing. Abdullah bin Mas'ud (RA) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"No human is killed or murdered unjustly, but a part of responsibility for the crime is laid on the first son of Aadam who invented the tradition of murdering on the earth." (Bukhari)
This is what envy can cause so let's beware!
When it is permissible to envy
Can it ever be permissible to envy anyone? Yes! It is permissible to envy righteous people who excel in doing good deeds. It is okay to wish to be like them in being capable of doing those good deeds without wishing that the blessings that Allaah has, given them should be withdrawn or that it should vanish. This is called al-Ghibtah. Competing to excel one another in good deeds should be because of the rewards of the hereafter. Allaah says:
"And for this (reward of Paradise) let all those strive who want to strive (i.e. hasten earnestly to the obedience of Allaah)." (Q83:26)
The Prophet (peace and blessing of Allaah be upon him) prohibited envy at all times, but made it permissible to envy people for the deeds of the hereafter. Abdullah bin Mas'ud (RA) narrated that: "I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saying:
'There is no envy except in two: a person whom: Allaah has given wealth and he spends it in the right way, and a person whom Allaah has given wisdom (i.e. religious knowledge) and he gives his decisions accordingly and teaches it to the others."'(Bukhari)
In another narration, he said:
"There can be no envy except in two cases: A man whom Allaah has taught the Qur'aan, and so he recites it during the hours of the night and during the hours of the day, and his neighbour listens to him and says; 'I wish I had been given what has been given to so- and -so, for then I would do what he does; and secondly, a man whom Allaah has given wealth, and thus, he spends it on what is just and right, whereupon another man says; 'I wish I had been given what so-and- so has been given, for then I would do the same as what he does." (Bukhar)
Be free of envy and Gain Allaah's Paradise. If you strive as hard as you can to free yourself from the evil of envy, and may Allaah strengthen you in that effort, your reward will be His Paradise! Anas bin Malik (RA) narrated that: "We were sitting with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he said: "Just now a man of Paradise is coming to you." Immediately, a man from the Ansar came there. His beard looked dishevelled from the water of ablution, and he was carrying in his hand his shoes. Similarly on the second day, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) repeated the same words, and the same man again appeared before them, in the same condition. On the third day also, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) repeated the same thing and the man of Ansar again appeared in the same condition.
When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stood up, Abdullah bin 'Amr (RA) went after that man, and said to him: "I have had a quarrel with my father, and I have sworn not to go to my house for three days. If you give me shelter, it would be most desirable." He said: "It is all right.”.... Anas (RA) said: "Abdullah bin 'Amr (RA) said that he spent three nights in the company of that man, but he did not find him praying in the night, but whenever he went to bed, he used to remember Allaah till he used to get up for the prayer of the morning. But Abdullah bin Amr (RA) says that he did not hear anything from his mouth except words of goodness."
Abdullah (RA) said: "When three nights passed, and in my eyes his conduct did not hold any importance, I told that man: "0 Slave of Allaah! I have neither quarrelled with my father, nor have I severed relation with him. The fact is that I have heard the Prophet of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saying that a man of paradise is coming before us, three times, and you appeared before us. Then I desired to stay with you and to see what act of yours is that - so that I may follow the same, but I did not see you doing any extra-ordinary work.
What is the reason that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has said such a nice thing about you? He replied: "The reality is what you have seen." When I turned back and was returning he called me and said: 'The reality is the same that has been witnessed by you; however, I find in my soul no act of deception towards any Muslim nor do I keep any spite against any of my Muslim brother, and if Allaah has blessed someone with any good thing, I am not envious and jealous of him." Abdullah (RA) said:
"This quality of yours must have reached the Prophet of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). "(Ahmad)
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited