Envy (hasad)

Envy (hasad) is wishing that a blessing be taken from another; the community agrees it is forbidden. Admiring (ghibta) is wishing for a like blessing without wishing it removed from its owner; it is praised in obedience and lawful in what is lawful. ^{1 2} Its causes are enmity, wanting to be above others, pride, astonishment, fear of losing aims, love of rank, and a grudging soul. ^{1 3} It has four grades: wishing the blessing removed without wanting it for oneself; wishing it removed in order to take it; wishing for its like and, failing that, wishing it removed; and admiring. ^{3 2} Envy is forbidden by the Qur'an, the Sunna and reason, and God commanded seeking refuge from the envier's evil when he envies. ^{2 4} It is excepted when the blessing is in the hands of an unbeliever or a sinner who would use it for disobedience. ⁴ Its cure is knowledge that envy harms the envier in this world and the next and does no harm to the envied, and the Prophetic remedies of refuge, charms and blessing. ^{4 5 6}

Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy counts envy among the sins of the heart, together with hatred, pride and showing off, and others. ⁷ He distinguishes envy, which wishes a blessing removed from its owner, from admiration (ghibta), in which one asks God for the same, and quotes verses by al-Shafi'i against envy (needs_source: the verses are not sourced in the recording). ⁸ He cites a hadith with the Prophet ﷺ's advice to Bilal, and verses of al-Shafi'i on envy and on God's giving (needs_source: the wording of the hadith and the verses are not sourced in the recording). ⁹

He says that envy consumes good deeds as fire consumes fuel, and that its cure is to look at those who have less than you. ¹⁰ He says that the envious person cannot sleep while others prosper, and that envy consumes good deeds as fire consumes wood. ¹¹ He says that envy strips the blessing from a life, and that fear wastes a person's time. ¹² He counsels patience with the envious, since their envy consumes them as fire does. ¹³

He says that envy comes from thinking that God gave to someone else and not to oneself, though God's treasuries are full, and that wealth can come without happiness, health or peace in the home. ¹⁴ He advises the envious to ask God for what He gave others, since God's treasuries do not run out. ¹⁵ He says that envy is refusing God's allotment: the believer admires what others have and asks God for the same, while the hypocrite envies. ¹⁶ The speaker's view: he criticises people who envy others, do not love them and do not show compassion, and sets against them the Prophet's compassion and the tenderness of the Companions. ¹⁷

The speaker's view: giving to one child and not to another sows grudges that last into the children's old age, so giving must be equal. ¹⁸ He cites a hadith that warns against three serious faults: carrying talk between people to set them against one another, separating those who love one another, and seeking out others' faults; he says these lead a person to bear grudges against relatives and colleagues. ¹⁹ He says that the fifth lesson from Hatim is that people envy and backbite one another (needs_source: the identity of Hatim is not given in the recording). ²⁰