The Difference Between Praiseworthy Envy and Blameworthy Envy
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
I ask Allah for you, Your Eminence, father. The questioner says: Is there such a thing as blameworthy envy and praiseworthy envy? And if I envy a person for his steadfastness in his religion and the abundance of his righteous deeds, have I committed a sin in doing so?
Answer:
Praiseworthy envy is ghibtah (envying without wishing the other to lose what he has). It is when you wish to be like so-and-so in seeking knowledge, in standing in night prayer, or in giving charity. You wish to be like him. This is good. This indicates a desire for good. This is called ghibtah. What is envy? As for blameworthy envy, it is when you wish for the removal of the blessing that is with a person. You wish for it to be taken away from him. This is blameworthy envy. Yes.
I ask Allah for you, Your Eminence, father. The questioner says: Is there such a thing as blameworthy envy and praiseworthy envy? And if I envy a person for his steadfastness in his religion and the abundance of his righteous deeds, have I committed a sin in doing so?
Answer:
Praiseworthy envy is ghibtah (envying without wishing the other to lose what he has). It is when you wish to be like so-and-so in seeking knowledge, in standing in night prayer, or in giving charity. You wish to be like him. This is good. This indicates a desire for good. This is called ghibtah. What is envy? As for blameworthy envy, it is when you wish for the removal of the blessing that is with a person. You wish for it to be taken away from him. This is blameworthy envy. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [1497- 4717] الفرق بين الحسد المحمود والحسد المذموم - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.