The Evils of Envy

The Shaykh : Envy has several evils. Among them is that it consumes a person's good deeds just as fire consumes firewood. Among them is that it involves a person objecting to the divine decree and destiny of Allah, for he dislikes what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has chosen. Among them is that it burns the heart of the envious person; so whenever he sees a new blessing upon the one he envies, his worry and grief increase until some people, may Allah protect us from that, do not get sleep due to envy and grief over what Allah has granted of His favor to others. Among them is that, in most cases, it is not free from aggression. In most cases, the envious person is not free from aggression against the one he envies. How? Either by concealing his virtues, or by tracking his mistakes, or by turning people away from him, or otherwise. Thus, his envy involves objecting to the divine decree and destiny and transgressing against his brother. Look at the result of envy in the story of the two sons of Adam. The two sons of Adam offered sacrifices, and it was accepted from one of them and not from the other. So the one from whom it was not accepted said to the one from whom it was accepted, "I will surely kill you. Why does Allah accept from you and not from me?" His brother said to him, "Indeed, Allah only accepts from the righteous. If you had feared Allah, He would have accepted from you. But And the result of his envy was that his reputation was disgraced in the noble Book of Allah, which is recited until the Day of Resurrection. The outcome is that Moses (peace be upon him) did not weep out of envy for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Ummah, but rather he wept out of sorrow and grief for his Ummah. He also wept out of exalting Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and acknowledging His wisdom in granting His favor to this Messenger and his Ummah.