The Disease Of Envy
Contributor:
Coverage:
Creator: Imam Ibn Taymiyyah
Date:
Description:
Format: text
Identifier: http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=627
Language: en
Publisher:
Relation:
Rights:
Source:
Subject: character
Title: The Disease Of Envy
Created on: Wed Dec 26 13:34:49 -0500 2007
Updated on: Wed Dec 26 13:34:49 -0500 2007
Version: 1
Abstract: ... ves in charity night and day." ...So the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, forbade hasad, with the exception of two cases which are referred to as al-ghubta, meaning that a person love the condition of someone else and dislikes that this person be superior in this way (without his wishing that it be removed from that person). So if it is asked: 'Then why is this (ghubta) called envy when he loves only that Allah bestow these blessings upon him?' It is said, 'The starting point of this love is his looking towards the favors Allah has bestowed upon someone else and his disliking that this person be favored over him. So if this other person were not present then he would not have desired these blessings. So because the starting point of this love is this dislike that someone else be made superior to him, then this is called envy due to the love following the dislike. As for desiring that Allah bestows favors upon him without consideration of people's material conditions then this is not envy at all.' This is why the generality of mankind have been tried with this second type of envy that has also been called al-munaafasah (competition) because two people compete in a single desired matter, both of them trying to attain the same good. The reason for their trying to attain it is that one of them dislikes that the other be blessed with this matter over him just as any one of two competitors dislikes that the other beat him. Competition is not considered blameworthy in general, rather it is considered to be praiseworthy when competing for righteousness. The Exalted said, "Indeed the pious will be in delight. On thrones, looking on. You will recognize in their faces the brightness of delight. They will be given to drink pure sealed wine. The last thereof (that wine) will be the smell of Musk, and for this let those compete who want to compete." [Al-Mutaffifeen (83):22-26] So one is commanded to compete for these delights and not compete for the delight of this fleeting world. ...The souls do not envy the one who is in severe hardship and this is why the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, did not mention it even though the mujaahid, fighting in the Way of Allah, is superior to the one who is spending wealth.... Similarly, the Prophet, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, did not mention the one who prays, fasts and performs the pilgrimage, because there is no tangible benefit attained from the people for these actions by which the person can be exalted or disgraced, as can be attained in teaching and spending. Fundamentally, envy occurs when someone else attains power and authority; otherwise the one who is performing these actions is not normally envied, even if this person be blessed with far more food, drink and wives than others, as opposed to these two blessings of power and authority, for they cause a great deal of envy. .. Allah praised the Ansaar with His saying, "And they have no jealously in their breasts for that which they have been given (the muhaajiroon), and give them preference over themselves even though they were in need of that." [Al-Hashr (59):9] As for the jealousy that is totally blameworthy then Allah has said with regards to the Jews, "Many of the People of the Book wish that if they could turn you away as disbelievers after you have believed, out of envy from their own selves even after the truth has become clear to them." [Al-Baqarah (2):109] 'They wish' meaning that they hope to make you aspostisise from your religion out of jealousy. So jealousy was the deciding factor behind their wish even after the Truth had been made clear to them. This because when they saw you attain what you attained of blessings - in fact they saw you attain that which they themselves had never attained - they became jealous of you. Similarly this is mentioned in another verse, "Or do they envy men for what Allah has given them of His bounty? Then We have already given the family of Abraham the Book of Wisdom, and conferred upon them a great kingdom. Of them were (some) who believed in him (Muhammad) and of them were some who averted their faces from him and enough is Hell for burning (them)..." [An-Nisaa' (4): 54-55] "Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of the Daybreak. From the evil of what He has created. And from the evil of the darkening (night) as it comes with its darkness. And from the evil of the witchcrafts when they blow in the knots. And from the evil of the envier when he envies." [Al-Falaq (113):1-5] ...So the one who is jealous, hating the favours bestowed by Allah upon someone else is an oppressor, going beyond bounds due to this. As for the one who dislikes that someone else be blessed and wishes to be blessed in the same way, then this is forbidden for him except in that which will bring him closer to Allah. So if he were to wish for something that has been given to someone ... [Full Article...]
