Explanation of the words of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "
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The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) stated, in what he quoted from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: : meaning, do not envy one another. Envy is: “that a person dislikes what Allah has bestowed upon another”. This is envy: that a person dislikes what Allah has bestowed upon another. An example is that you dislike that Allah has bestowed wealth, or sons, or a wife, or knowledge, or worship, or any other blessing upon this man, whether you wish for it to be removed from him or not.
And although some scholars say that envy is wishing for the removal of Allah’s blessing from another, that is the more evil and severe form. Otherwise, merely disliking that Allah bestows a blessing upon a person is envy. Envy is one of the characteristics of the Jews, so whoever envies is imitating them, may Allah protect us from that. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Baqarah 2:109], and He said about them: [An-Nisa 4:54]. There is no difference between disliking what Allah has bestowed upon another so that the thing returns to you, or so that it is removed from your brother, even if it does not return to you.
Know that envy has many harms:
Among them is that it is imitating the Jews, the most evil of Allah’s servants and the most wretched of Allah’s servants, whom Allah turned into apes and pigs and who worshipped the taghut.
And among them is that it is evidence of the evil nature of the envious person, and that he does not love for his brothers what he loves for himself. For whoever loves for his brothers what he loves for himself does not envy people of anything; rather, he rejoices when Allah bestows a blessing upon another and says: “O Allah, give me the like of it.” As Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nisa 4:32].
And among them is that it contains objection to the divine decree and destiny of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). For who is it that bestowed upon this man? Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So if you dislike that, you have disliked the decree and destiny of Allah. It is known that if a person dislikes the decree and destiny of Allah, he is in danger in his religion—may Allah protect us from that—because he wants to compete with the Lord of Lords (Exalted and Majestic is He) in His management and determination.
And among the harms of envy is that whenever Allah bestows a blessing upon His servants, the fire of envy burns in his heart, so he is always in regret and always in sorrow. For the blessings of Allah upon His servants are innumerable, and he is a wicked man; whenever Allah bestows a blessing upon His servant, that envy intensifies in his heart until it burns him.
And among the harms of envy is that it consumes good deeds just as fire consumes firewood:Sunan Abi Dawud 4903Da'if (Al-Albani).
And among its harms is that it hinders a person from striving in beneficial things, because he is always thinking and in sorrow: how did this man get wealth? How did this man get knowledge? How did this man get a child? How did this man get a wife? And so on. So you find him always withdrawn and curled up on himself, with no concern except tracking the blessings of Allah upon the servant and being grieved by them. May Allah protect us from that.
And among the harms of envy is that it indicates an evil, narrow soul that does not love good, but is rather a selfish soul that wants everything to be for itself.
And among the harms of envy is that it cannot change anything of what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has decreed, ever. No matter what you do, no matter what you dislike, and no matter how you strive for your brothers to remove the blessings of Allah from them, you cannot do anything.
And among its harms is that it may lead a person to reach the level of the one who casts the evil eye, the one we call: “al-nahut”, who casts the evil eye on people. For the one who casts the evil eye is originally one whose soul is evil, envious, and hateful. So when he sees what pleases him, something shoots out from this wicked soul like an arrow until it strikes with the evil eye. So if a person envies and there is a type of envy in him, the matter progresses until he becomes one of those who harm people with their eyes. And there is no doubt that the one who casts the evil eye bears calamity and retribution to the extent of the harm he caused to the servants. If he harmed them in their wealth, he bears the sin of that; or in their bodies; or in their community. For this reason, many scholars held that the one who casts the evil eye is liable for everything he destroys, meaning if someone casts the evil eye and destroys something of his wealth or his children or others, he is liable for it.
As they also said: if one becomes known for that, it is obligatory that he be imprisoned unless he repents, that he be imprisoned to ward off his harm, because he harms and hurts people, so he is imprisoned to prevent his harm.
And among the harms of envy is that it leads to the division of the Muslims, because the envious person is disliked by people and hated. And the person with a good heart who loves for his brothers what he loves for himself, you find him loved by everyone. For this reason, people always say: So-and-so, by Allah, is a good man with no envy in his heart, and so-and-so is a wicked, envious, and hateful man, and so on.
So these are ten harms, all in envy. And by this we know the wisdom of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) where he said: meaning: do not envy one another.
So if someone says: perhaps a person finds in himself that he loves to be ahead of others in good. Is this from envy? The answer is: No, this is not from envy, but rather it is from competing in good deeds. Allah the Exalted said:, and He said: . So if a person loves to be ahead of others in good, this is not from envy in any way. Envy is disliking good for others; disliking good for others, that is envy.
Know that envy has signs:
Among them is that the envious person always loves to hide the virtues of others. So if a man has wealth and spends his wealth in good, such as charity, building mosques, repairing roads, buying books to endow for students of knowledge, and so on, you find that when people talk about this benefactor, he conceals it and remains silent, as if he heard nothing. This is undoubtedly envy in him, because the one who loves good loves to spread good to others. So if you see a man who, when speaking about a doer of good, speaks with fairness and praises him and says: “There is good in him,” this indicates the goodness of his heart and his safety from envy. May Allah protect us and you from envy, and from the evil of morals and deeds.
The reader: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) quoted: “And from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:, Muslim narrated it”.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) stated, in what he quoted from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Do not envy one another.
لا تحاسدواAnd although some scholars say that envy is wishing for the removal of Allah’s blessing from another, that is the more evil and severe form. Otherwise, merely disliking that Allah bestows a blessing upon a person is envy. Envy is one of the characteristics of the Jews, so whoever envies is imitating them, may Allah protect us from that. Allah the Exalted said:
Many of the People of the Scripture wish they could turn you back to disbelief after you have believed, out of envy from themselves
وَدَّ كَثِيرٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَوْ يَرُدُّونَكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ إِيمَانِكُمْ كُفَّاراً حَسَداً مِنْ عِنْدِ أَنْفُسِهِمْOr do they envy people for what Allah has given them of His bounty? But we had already given the family of Abraham the Scripture and wisdom and conferred upon them a great kingdom.
أَمْ يَحْسُدُونَ النَّاسَ عَلَى مَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ فَقَدْ آتَيْنَا آلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَآتَيْنَاهُمْ مُلْكاً عَظِيماًKnow that envy has many harms:
Among them is that it is imitating the Jews, the most evil of Allah’s servants and the most wretched of Allah’s servants, whom Allah turned into apes and pigs and who worshipped the taghut.
And among them is that it is evidence of the evil nature of the envious person, and that he does not love for his brothers what he loves for himself. For whoever loves for his brothers what he loves for himself does not envy people of anything; rather, he rejoices when Allah bestows a blessing upon another and says: “O Allah, give me the like of it.” As Allah the Exalted said:
And do not wish for that by which Allah has made some of you exceed others. For men is a share of what they have earned, and for women is a share of what they have earned. And ask Allah of his bounty
وَلا تَتَمَنَّوْا مَا فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ بِهِ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ لِلرِّجَالِ نَصِيبٌ مِمَّا اكْتَسَبُوا وَلِلنِّسَاءِ نَصِيبٌ مِمَّا اكْتَسَبْنَ وَاسْأَلُوا اللَّهَ مِنْ فَضْلِهِAnd among them is that it contains objection to the divine decree and destiny of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). For who is it that bestowed upon this man? Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So if you dislike that, you have disliked the decree and destiny of Allah. It is known that if a person dislikes the decree and destiny of Allah, he is in danger in his religion—may Allah protect us from that—because he wants to compete with the Lord of Lords (Exalted and Majestic is He) in His management and determination.
And among the harms of envy is that whenever Allah bestows a blessing upon His servants, the fire of envy burns in his heart, so he is always in regret and always in sorrow. For the blessings of Allah upon His servants are innumerable, and he is a wicked man; whenever Allah bestows a blessing upon His servant, that envy intensifies in his heart until it burns him.
And among the harms of envy is that it consumes good deeds just as fire consumes firewood:
Avoid envy, for envy devours good deeds just as fire devours fuel
إياكم والحسد، فإنه يأكل الحسنات كما تأكل النار الحطبAnd among its harms is that it hinders a person from striving in beneficial things, because he is always thinking and in sorrow: how did this man get wealth? How did this man get knowledge? How did this man get a child? How did this man get a wife? And so on. So you find him always withdrawn and curled up on himself, with no concern except tracking the blessings of Allah upon the servant and being grieved by them. May Allah protect us from that.
And among the harms of envy is that it indicates an evil, narrow soul that does not love good, but is rather a selfish soul that wants everything to be for itself.
And among the harms of envy is that it cannot change anything of what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has decreed, ever. No matter what you do, no matter what you dislike, and no matter how you strive for your brothers to remove the blessings of Allah from them, you cannot do anything.
And among its harms is that it may lead a person to reach the level of the one who casts the evil eye, the one we call: “al-nahut”, who casts the evil eye on people. For the one who casts the evil eye is originally one whose soul is evil, envious, and hateful. So when he sees what pleases him, something shoots out from this wicked soul like an arrow until it strikes with the evil eye. So if a person envies and there is a type of envy in him, the matter progresses until he becomes one of those who harm people with their eyes. And there is no doubt that the one who casts the evil eye bears calamity and retribution to the extent of the harm he caused to the servants. If he harmed them in their wealth, he bears the sin of that; or in their bodies; or in their community. For this reason, many scholars held that the one who casts the evil eye is liable for everything he destroys, meaning if someone casts the evil eye and destroys something of his wealth or his children or others, he is liable for it.
As they also said: if one becomes known for that, it is obligatory that he be imprisoned unless he repents, that he be imprisoned to ward off his harm, because he harms and hurts people, so he is imprisoned to prevent his harm.
And among the harms of envy is that it leads to the division of the Muslims, because the envious person is disliked by people and hated. And the person with a good heart who loves for his brothers what he loves for himself, you find him loved by everyone. For this reason, people always say: So-and-so, by Allah, is a good man with no envy in his heart, and so-and-so is a wicked, envious, and hateful man, and so on.
So these are ten harms, all in envy. And by this we know the wisdom of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) where he said:
Do not envy one another.
لا تحاسدواSo if someone says: perhaps a person finds in himself that he loves to be ahead of others in good. Is this from envy? The answer is: No, this is not from envy, but rather it is from competing in good deeds. Allah the Exalted said:
For such a thing let the workers work.
لِمِثْلِ هَذَا فَلْيَعْمَلِ الْعَامِلُونَAnd in that, let those who compete compete.
وفي ذلك فليتنافس المتنافسونKnow that envy has signs:
Among them is that the envious person always loves to hide the virtues of others. So if a man has wealth and spends his wealth in good, such as charity, building mosques, repairing roads, buying books to endow for students of knowledge, and so on, you find that when people talk about this benefactor, he conceals it and remains silent, as if he heard nothing. This is undoubtedly envy in him, because the one who loves good loves to spread good to others. So if you see a man who, when speaking about a doer of good, speaks with fairness and praises him and says: “There is good in him,” this indicates the goodness of his heart and his safety from envy. May Allah protect us and you from envy, and from the evil of morals and deeds.
The reader: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) quoted: “And from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: