A word from the Shaykh on the disease of envy.

The Shaykh : The most prominent of these is what spreads among people, among peers such as students of knowledge, or merchants, or those engaged in the same profession: envy. Envy is hating what Allah has bestowed upon a servant; it is not wishing for the removal of Allah's blessing from another, but rather simply hating what Allah has bestowed upon others. This is envy, whether one wishes for its removal or wishes it to remain but hates it. As the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) clarified, saying: "Envy is a person's hatred of what Allah has bestowed upon someone else." Envy may not be absent from souls; that is, it may be an unavoidable impulse of the soul. However, it is stated in the hadith: , meaning that a person must, if he finds envy in his heart toward another, not commit wrongdoing against him in word or deed, for that is among the characteristics of the Jews about whom Allah said: . Furthermore, the envious person falls into prohibitions. The first prohibition is his hatred of what Allah has decreed; for his hatred of what Allah has bestowed upon this person is hatred of what Allah has decreed in existence, and a contradiction of the decree of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Second: envy consumes good deeds just as fire consumes fuel, because the envious person usually transgresses against the one he envies by mentioning him in a way he dislikes, driving people away from him, belittling his status, and the like. Third: the regret, torment, and fire that consume the envious person's heart; whenever he sees a blessing from Allah upon the one he envies, he becomes sad, his chest tightens, and he watches this person closely. Whenever Allah bestows a blessing upon him, he grieves, becomes distressed, and the world becomes narrow for him. Fourth: there is a resemblance between envy and the Jews, and it is known that whoever adopts a characteristic of the disbelievers becomes like them in that characteristic, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . Fifth: no matter how strong his envy is, it is never possible to remove Allah's blessing from another; it is never possible to remove Allah's blessing from others. If this is impossible, how can envy enter his heart? Sixth: envy contradicts the perfection of faith, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . Just as you hate for Allah's blessing to be removed from you, if you do not hate for Allah's blessing to be removed from others, then you have not loved for your brother what you love for yourself, and this contradicts the perfection of faith. Seventh: envy causes a servant to turn away from asking Allah the Exalted for His bounty. You will find him constantly preoccupied with the blessing Allah has bestowed upon others, without asking Allah for His bounty, even though Allah has guided the envious person to ask Him for His bounty, saying: , . Eighth: envy causes one to belittle Allah's blessing upon oneself, upon the envious person; that is, he sees that he is not in a state of blessing, and that the one he envies is in a greater state of blessing. Consequently, he belittles Allah's blessing upon him and does not give thanks for it, but rather becomes lazy. Ninth: envy is undoubtedly a despicable character trait, because the envious person, with this despicable trait, is found tracking Allah's blessings upon the people in his community, and trying, as much as possible, to stand between people and the one he envies, sometimes by belittling his status, and sometimes by belittling the good he does, among other things. Tenth: if the envious person commits wrongdoing against the one he envies, the one he envies will take from his good deeds on the Day of Resurrection; this one takes from his good deeds and that one from his good deeds. If any of his good deeds remain, otherwise his bad deeds will be taken and placed upon him, and then he will be thrown into the Fire. In summary: envy is a despicable character trait, and unfortunately, it is most found among scholars and students of knowledge, among merchants, among leather workers, among carpenters, among blacksmiths, and among builders, without a doubt. Every person with a profession envies those who share it with him. But the problem is that it is more severe among scholars, more severe, and more severe among students of knowledge, even though it should be that the people of knowledge, scholars and students, are the furthest people from envy and the closest to the perfection of character. And you, my brother, if you see that Allah has bestowed a blessing upon His servant, strive to be like him. Do not hate what Allah has bestowed upon him. Say: "O Allah, increase him from Your bounty and give me something better than it," . Envy does not change a thing from its state, but as we mentioned earlier regarding these harms or these ten prohibitions, perhaps one who reflects will find more.
The second issue is one that occurs among students of knowledge, or among some of them, which is that when they see someone who is deviant in character, thought, or practice, they dislike him and turn away from him and keep their distance, and they never attempt to reform him, except for those whom Allah wills among the students of knowledge, those whose hearts Allah has illuminated. They see that boycotting him, disliking him, keeping their distance from him, and making people averse to him is a means of drawing near to Allah. This is undoubtedly an error, and it is obligatory for students of knowledge to advise and look into the matter. How many people are in heedlessness, and when they are advised, they respond? How great is the impact of the group of people of da'wah in their word, those who call themselves the people of da'wah and tabligh? How great is their impact on people? How many open sinners have been guided and obeyed, and how many disbelievers have been guided and embraced Islam at their hands, because they were generous with people through good character? Therefore, we ask Allah to grant our brothers who have been given knowledge some of the character of these people so that they may benefit people more. And although there are things to be criticized in the group of da'wah and tabligh, no one denies their merit in good character and their impact due to their character; no one denies their virtue. I have seen a book by Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Baz (may Allah preserve him) that he addressed to a person who wrote to him criticizing this group. In his reply, the Shaykh said: "Be less critical of them. May your father have no father from blame, or fill the place they have filled." Yes? The truth is that good character undoubtedly has a tremendous impact on people's response to the caller. But if they see a person as rough, they curse him and disparage him for what he has of the Shari'ah character. They curse him and disparage him for what he has of the Shari'ah character. You will find, for example, that they curse him for his beard, and the beard is a Shari'ah character. They curse him for shortening his garment, they curse him for walking barefoot. Yes? Why? Because he is not good in character among people. He does not call with character; he calls with harshness and roughness, and he wants to reform all people in one hour. This is an error. It is impossible to reform people in one hour, ever. Did not the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) remain in Makkah for thirteen years, thirteen years calling people? And in the end, he was driven out, driven out of Makkah. They conspired against him to bind you, meaning: to imprison you, So it is not possible to reform people with just one or two calls, especially if you have no standing among them. But be patient, lengthen your patience, call with wisdom, and be good in character, and the matter will become clear to you later. And there is no doubt that good logic has a tremendous, profound impact. It is narrated that a man from the market inspectors passed by a farmer who was driving his camels. A farmer driving his camels. Do I know, do you know what "sani" means or not? Ah? The camels are "sani": meaning they are drawing water from the well. It was the time of the Maghrib adhan, and this man was singing. He was singing while calling the Maghrib adhan, because when the camels hear singing, they walk as if they are mad, because they are delighted. So he was singing and driving, and perhaps he did not hear the adhan. So a man from the market inspectors came to him and said: "Hey you, hey you who are not there," and he spoke to him with severe words. "Hey donkey, hey you," the point is, the mu'adhdhin is calling the adhan and you are singing the voice of Satan. He said, "I am singing, and if you don't go away... the stick... I will break this stick over you," ... he said to the market inspector, "Why?" Because he came to him with violence. This poor man, perhaps he was thinking about his children's dinner at night, and he was driving and singing. So the market inspector went to the Shaykh, the judge, and said, "I went to so-and-so, and I heard him singing over his camels while he was calling the Maghrib adhan, and I advised him, and I said, 'By Allah, if you don't... I will break it over you.'" The Shaykh said, "Okay." When the next day came, the Shaykh went to this place and began to perform wudu' because the time of Maghrib was near. The Maghrib adhan was called, and this man was walking, driving his camels, drawing water for them. When the adhan was called, he came and stood by the worker who was driving the camels and said to him, "My brother, look, the Maghrib adhan has been called. If this mosque is near, go and pray. After the prayer, return. For Allah says: If you go to pray, this is one of the causes of provision. Perhaps Allah will grant you more provision." He said, "May Allah reward you with good. May Allah reward you with good," and he put down the stick he was using to drive the camels, performed wudu', and walked with him. And what happened? The intended result happened. If the first one had persisted with him, he was a worker who did not care, whether he broke the stick over him or not, it did not matter to him. But this one came to him with what is best, so he submitted completely. So I say that some of our brothers, students of knowledge, have zeal but they do not know how to handle things properly. It is obligatory for a person to handle things properly. There is much benefit in this, especially the book by Ibn Jama'ah (may Allah have mercy on him) on the etiquette of the listener in seeking knowledge, for this is very important. And if it were not for the time being short, we would have made a reading session for us and you, meaning a simple reading through,

The questioner : Can envy be involuntary in the souls?

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : As the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , meaning do not transgress against the envied person by word or deed, or diminish his status, or the like of that. Speak the truth. And the second thing: know that envy, meaning reflect and think, does your envy harm him? And does your envy benefit you? No. Walk in your path, and let people walk in their path. Yes? So the sensible person reflects that no one can benefit from this envy. In reality, it is regret for the person, and fatigue, and fire in his heart, and it eats up good deeds as fire eats wood. Walk in your path, and perhaps it will become better than... Yes?