The dangers of envy

Envy refers to the desire that a person feels for the destruction or
removal of a blessing that another person has – a destruction which
the bearer of this feeling would himself carry out if he had the power
to. This is quite different to wanting such blessings for oneself
while not wishing for them to be removed from others, for that is,
indeed, a positive and commendable desire that leads to competition.
Competition is not considered blameworthy in general, rather it is
considered to be praiseworthy if it is in pursuit of righteousness;
Allaah Says )what means(:"Indeed, the righteous will be in pleasure.
On adorned couches, observing…You will recognise in their faces the
radiance of pleasure. They will be given to drink ]pure[ wine ]which
was[ sealed. The last of it is musk. So for this let the competitors
compete."]Quran 83:22-26[
Allaah mentions in the Quran the envy of the disbelievers, the
hypocrites and people in general. Speaking about the disbelievers,
Allaah Says )what means(:"Many of the People of the Scripture wish
they could turn you back to disbelief after you have believed, out of
envy from themselves ]even[ after the truth has become clear to
them…"]Quran 2:109[
Allaah also Says )what means(:"Or do they envy people for what Allaah
has given them of His bounty?"]Quran 4:54[
Envy is an evil disease of the heart that leads to foul conduct and
bad behaviour. It leads to animosity, thinking evil of the intentions
of others, backbiting, tale-bearing, lying, and the abandonment of
other Muslims. It may lead its possessor to inflict physical harm on
the person whom he envies and can even lead to murder. It is
considered to be among the most dangerous and destructive of internal
diseases and is the most destructive to a person's religion and
worldly life.
The Messenger of Allaahsaid:"Do not envy one another; do not hate one
another; do not turn your back on one another )in discontent(; )but(
be slaves of Allaah as brothers."]Al-Bukhaari & Muslim[
Allaah orders the believers to seek refuge from the evil of the
envious person and envy in general when He says )what means(:"And from
the evil of the envier when he envies."]Quran 113:5[
The Messenger of Allaahalso said:"Indeed envy eats up good deeds just
as fire consumes firewood."]Ahmad[
There are many stories in the Quran that highlight the dangers and
evils of envy. When we read the story of Prophet Yoosuf )Joseph(and
his brothers, we realise the danger of envy, how it blinds, how it
snatches mercy away from the heart, and how it drives its possessor to
inflict terrible physical pain on the envied person. Allaah Says )what
means(:"When they ]i.e., the brothers of Yoosuf[ said: 'Yoosuf and his
brother are more beloved to our father than we, while we are a clan.
Indeed, our father is in clear error. Kill Yoosuf or cast him out to
]another[ land; the countenance ]i.e., attention[ of your father will
]then[ be accessible to you, and you will be, after that, righteous
people.'"]Quran 12:8-9[
Another story that shows the danger of envy is the story of Haabeel
and Qaabeel: The Quran tells us about the first son of Aadamwho
murdered his brother out of envy, which constituted the first crime
ever in which blood was spilt. He envied him because Allaah accepted
his brother's sacrifice but not his; Allaah says what means:"And
recite to them the story of Aadam's two sons, in truth, when they both
offered a sacrifice ]to Allaah[, and it was accepted from one of them
but was not accepted from the other. Said ]the latter[: 'I will surely
kill you.' Said ]the former[: 'Indeed, Allaah only accepts from the
righteous ]who fear him[. If you should raise your hand against me to
kill me - I shall not raise my hand against you to kill you. Indeed, I
fear Allaah, Lord of the worlds.'… And his soul permitted to him the
murder of his brother, so he killed him and became among the
losers."]Quran: 5:27-28 & 30[
The blameworthy type of envy is an unrestricted dislike of the
blessings bestowed upon the envied. Therefore, when one despises
something, he is hurt and grieved by its very existence, and this
becomes a sickness in his heart, to the extent that he derives
pleasure from the removal of the blessings from the envied - even if
this does not result in any benefit to him except having the pain that
was in his soul removed.
This pain is not removed except as a result of the envier continuously
monitoring the envied so that he would find relief when the blessing
is removed, but it can become more severe, as is the case of the one
who is suffering from a physical sickness, in that the blessing, or
one similar to it, may return to the envied.
The Prophetsaid:"I swear by the One in whose Hands is my soul! none of
you will believe until he loves for his brother what he loves for
himself."]Al-Bukhaari & Muslim[
Healso said:"There is to be no envy except in two cases: )towards( a
person to whom Allaah has granted wisdom, and who rules by this and
teaches it to the people, and )towards( a person to whom Allaah has
granted wealth and property along with the power to spend it in the
cause of the Truth."]Al-Bukhaari & Muslim[
Ibn `Umaradded to this from his own narration: ")And( a person to whom
Allaah has given the Quran and who recites it night and day, and a
person to whom Allaah has granted wealth and property from which he
gives in charity by night and day."
Envy may occur as a result of enmity, pride, self-admiration, love of
leadership or impurity of the soul. Of these, enmity is the most
serious cause, as it leads to malevolence and this, in turn, causes
man to thirst for revenge and drives him to gloat over any calamity
that may afflict his enemy.
Imaam Al-Ghazzaalisaid in his book Al-Ihyaa': "Be aware that envy is
one of the deadliest diseases of the hearts, and there is no medicine
for the diseases of the heart except through knowledge and deeds. The
knowledge that will treat the disease of envy is to know, without any
doubt, that envy is lethal for a person's worldly life as well as his
religion, and that there is no danger from it to the envied person
regarding his life or his religion; on the contrary, the envied person
will actually benefit from it. The fact is that envy is actually
dangerous for the envier's religion because it is through this envy
that he hated Allaah's predestination and the blessings that He
divided among his slaves; he also hated His justice that He
established in His world due to His Wisdom; therefore, the envier
contested that and objected to it. This is contrary to belief in the
Oneness of Allaah. Additionally, the envier would share with Satan and
the rest of the disbelievers a love for crises to befall the believers
and for blessings to leave them. These are evils in the heart that
devour good deeds and erase them like the night erases the day. The
person who suffers from envy in his life is tortured by it, and will
always be in sorrow every time he sees the blessings of Allaah upon
the envied person."