Section: Envy is of varying degrees
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1 A person wants the blessing to be taken away from his Muslim brother/ sister even if it does not come to him; rather he does not like Allah (ﷻ) to bless anyone else as that upsets him. This person may actively work to remove the bounty from another person without necessarily destroying the bounty itself. He may do this with his speech or actions and may do whatever it takes to bring an end to the blessing from the envied person.2 Where a person wants a blessing to be taken away from someone else because he hopes that it will come to him. This person does not just seek to remove that bounty from another person but also works to get the bounty for himself.3 Where he wishes for himself a blessing like that which someone else has without wanting it to be taken away from the other person. This is permissible and is not called hasad rather it is called “Ghibtah” (envy that is free from malice).The worst are those who simply wish to destroy the bounty regardless of whether they themselves get it or if it is simply destroyed. They only want to destroy that blessing because it was not given to them in the first place. Then there are those who cannot remove the feeling of envy from their souls. They cannot control it but they do not like it and they wish they could remove it from themselves. Those people, Allah willing, are not sinful for their state that they cannot control.People who have Hasad sometimes don’t know that they have hate towards others. They are in denial to themselves but their actions and speech are obvious to others. Hasad needs to be rectified by a person looking into their soul. Umar (RA) said, “Bring yourselves to account before you are brought to account. Don’t become superstitious or paranoid but get in touch with your soul and purify it as the soul is the doorway to your heart. The soul and heart are interconnected with each other, therefore if one is corrupted the other will be corrupted. The soul is like a child that wants to indulge in pleasure all the time. Your brain tells the soul what’s right and wrong. The heart feeds off whatever the soul indulges in and gets affected by whatever the brain tells it to do. Once a person taps into this then he becomes someone who is in control.Hasad (destructive jealousy) causes a great deal of harm in this world and in the Hereafter. Narrated from Az-Zubayr ibn al-A’waam (RA), the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “There has come to you a disease of the nations before you, jealousy and hatred. This is the ‘shaver’ (destroyer); I do not say that it shaves hair but that it shaves (i.e destroys) faith. By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, you will not enter Paradise until you believe and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I not tell you of that which will strengthen love between you? Spread the greetings of peace amongst yourselves.” (Tirmidhi, 2434).Concerning the meaning of the phrase “it shaves (destroys) faith”, At-Tayyibi (RA) said: “hatred takes away faith like a razor takes away hair.” (Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi bi Sharh Jaami’ al-Tirmidhi)Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (R) said in his book Amraad al-Quloob (diseases of the heart):“Whoever finds in himself any hasad towards another has to try to neutralise it by means of attaining taqwa (piety, consciousness of Allah) and Sabr (patience). He should hate that the feeling of hasad is in himself… But the one who does wrong to his brother by word or deed will be punished for that. However the one who fears Allah (ﷻ) and is patient is not included amongst the wrongdoers and Allah (ﷻ) will benefit him by his taqwa.” Nobody is free from hasad, but the noble person hides it whilst the base person shows it.” A person will not be brought to account for whatever crosses his mind but he will be brought to account for what he says and does. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Allah will forgive my nation for their mistakes, what they forget and what they are forced to do (through coercion).” (Bukhari - 2033)The envious that doesn’t try to remove the envy from his own heart, there is a difference of opinion whether this type of person is sinful or not.According to Ibn Rajab (R), those that remove hasad from their hearts, pray for the person whom they have hasad towards and tell others of their goodness, they remove the hasad so much so they begin to love the person and love that Allah (ﷻ) has bestowed them with this bounty. These people are amongst the highest level of faith as they love for their brother what they love for themselves and this is what everyone should strive for.