The honorable Shaykh, I am a committed woman—praise be to Allah—and I do not praise myself, but the problem I am suffering from is that I am tormented by what I feel, which is

The questioner : A questioner says: The honorable Shaykh, I am a committed woman, praise be to Allah, and I do not praise myself, but the problem I am suffering from is that I am tormented by what I feel, which is: First: I feel that Allah does not accept my deeds. Second: If I see someone who has a blessing that I do not have, I wish for it to be removed, and this is not within my control; rather, I constantly call upon Allah to remove this feeling from me at all times. May Allah reward you with good?

The Shaykh : In reality, this is from Shaytan: for a person to perform an act in accordance with what the Shari'ah has brought, sincerely for Allah, following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), hoping for Allah's reward and fearing Allah's punishment, and then to say: "Allah does not accept it from me." This is nothing but from Shaytan: Who else? This is despair of Allah's mercy. And I say to this woman and others: Be glad, O my Muslim brother. If Allah has granted you the ability to act in the manner He has prescribed, then be glad that Allah will accept it, because doing what Allah and His Messenger have commanded is a form of taqwa (mindfulness of Allah). And Allah the Exalted said in His Book: From whom? If we were to say every time we do good, "Allah did not accept it," we would not be able to walk, and despair of the spirit of Allah would take hold of us. Rather, it is obligatory for a person, when he performs worship in the prescribed manner, sincerely for Allah and following the Messenger of Allah, to be optimistic about good and to say: "O Allah, just as You have granted me the deed, grant me its acceptance." He should not despair; he should be happy. And it has come in the hadith: The Messenger (may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him). Be glad, O my brother, do not despair of Allah's mercy, do not lose hope in the spirit of Allah. As for envy, Shaytan also casts it into the hearts of the children of Adam, and it is one of the worst of morals. The envious are most like the Jews, the Jews. Are you pleased to be similar to the Jews? No. Allah Mighty and Majestic says: What? So envy, even if it were only that it is the character of the Jews, would be sufficient as a deterrent, whereas envy is the character of the wrongdoer among the two sons of Adam, not of the children of Adam in general. Of the two sons of Adam. What is the story? Habil and Qabil. They brought offerings, and Allah accepted from one of them and did not accept from the other. So the second one, from whom Allah did not accept, said: "I will surely kill you." Why? Out of envy. Why does Allah accept from you and not from me? And what happened happened; he killed him, but he was punished by carrying him and being unable to dispose of him, until Allah sent a crow that scratched in the earth. How little is your wisdom, O son of Adam? Who taught you to bury the dead? The crow. We now bury our dead following the example of the crows, yes, but by the permission of Allah . So envy is a despicable character, a Jewish character. Then, if the envious person wishes for the removal of Allah's blessing from his brother, or hates that Allah blesses others, does that prevent Allah's blessing from reaching the one who is envied? Answer? No. Does that increase Allah's blessing for the envious person? Absolutely not. By Allah, the envious person's heart is burning as if it is on a coal. Every time he sees a blessing, he is grieved; he finds no peace, and yet he will not attain any good. Allah Mighty and Majestic said: If you see that Allah has blessed someone else with wealth, or knowledge, or health, or status, or children, or anything else, say: "O Allah, I ask You of Your bounty, as You said Mighty and Majestic: As for remaining grieved and sorrowful, being grieved every time you see a blessing from Allah upon someone, you will burn yourself. So I say to the sister questioner: Whenever you feel something of envy, say: "I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan. O Allah, I ask You of Your bounty, just as You have given these people, do not deprive me of blessings."