Jealousy

اعوذ باللہ من الشیطٰن الرجیم
بسم اللہ الرحمٰن الرحیم
الحمد لله رب العالمين ، أرسل رسوله بالهدى و دين الحق ليظهره على الدين كله و كفي بالله شهيدا ، و أشهد ألا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ؛ له الملك و له الحمد ، يحيى و يميت و هو على كل شئ قدير

In the name of Allah SWT the most beneficient, the most merciful, the one who blessed us with this life and the one who will give eternal life in the hereafter. Salutations be upon Prophet Mohammad SAW and his companions who showed the way to practice Quran in our life.

My Dear respected brothers and sisters,
Assalam o allaikum Wr. Wb.

Among the spiritual sicknesses and spiritual diseases in a person is Hasad, Jealousy. Jealousy is defined as Tamanni Zawaley Naimatil Ghair'. It means Allah SWT has blessed a person with several naimat and bounties, provided him with all luxuries of life, wealth and happiness and everything is going well in his life. A jealous person cannot stand that. He cannot bear that. He cannot tolerate that. Why is that person enjoying all those comforts and luxuries in life that I cannot see in my life. He has a burning desire in his heart that the naimat and comfort this person is experiencing should be taken away from him. This is called Hasad.

If that person see another person with all these naimas and wealth and comforts and he also wishes that Allah SWT blesses me with all these bounties as well without wishing that they be taken away from the other person then that is called ENVY (ghitta).

If it is for a worldly issue it is called Ghitta and if it is for the religious issue, in case where one sees that Allah SWT has given somebody the taufeeq to follow the commandments of Allah SWT such as regularly praying salah, fasting etc and one wished that may Allah SWT give me that taufeeq and blessing as well, then that feeling is called Tanafus, where one competes with another in the matter of religious goodness.

In our shreeat, Hasad is Haram. Ghitta, in the worldly issue without wishing that the naimat be taken away from the other person, is permissible. And to compete with one another on religious issues, if one has a naimat of deen and you also want to compete to get that naimat without wishing the other person to be deprived of this naimat, that is Wajib.

Hasad is a very bad thing, It is Haram and it is said that The first sin that took place in the skies was Hasad and the first sin that took place on the face of the earth was also Hasad.

Allah SWT created Adam AS and told all the malaika to make sajda to Adam AS. The Shaitan refused. So what thought came in the mind of Shaitan that I am Namoosul Malaika. I made so much of sajda before Allah SWT, I made so much Ibada and Allah SWT took me out of the ranks of the Shayateen and put me to the ranks of Malaika. All my life I worshipped Allah SWT and this Adam is just created and he is worthy of prostrated before?! I am more worthy of that. That Hasad made him to feel that Why Allah SWT has bestowed the bounty on Adam AS and not on him. So that Hasad came to him and becasue of that

aba wastakbar wakana minal kafireen

He Showed Pride and became a kafir.

This is what makes a person do.

Likewise the first sin that took place on earth, Habeel was to marry Qabeel Sister, and Qabeel was to marry Habeel Sister. Now Qabeel's own sister from his own birth was more beautiful and Hasad came over him and he thought how come Habeel will get more beautiful wife. Because of this Hasad he was ready to kill his own brother.

Stated in the books of ahadeeth that at the time of Rasulallah SAW there were three groups of people. One were Yahood, they were regarded to be the Ahlul Ilm ( the Ulama ) of the time. If people were to find any answers to religious problems, then they would go to Jews. Then there was a second group who were the Nasara ( Christians) who had their own distinct way of life and then there were Mushrkikeen of Makkah.

The Yahood had Taurat. They were known as the people of knowledge and because of that they used to say that since knowledge is with us We are the sons of Allah SWT and we are most beloved in the sight of Allah SWT. In the Taurat it was written about the final messenger who would be coming to bring a complete shreeat of Allah SWT. All the signs and indications were mentioned there and they really thought that the final messenger will come among them.

In the taurat it was written that when the Red Star will shoot in the sky that will be the time when the final messenger will be expected to come.

When the Jews saw this shooting star they were very happy and they carried out an investigation that which woman is about to give birth in Madina Munawarrah. Many women were pregnant but there was no woman who was about to give birth. Then they expanded their investigation, and tried to find out in Makkah if there was any woman who was about to give birth. There were many women who conceived but there was only one woman who was about to give birth and that was AMINA , the mother of Rasulallah SAW.

When the Jews when they heard about this, the whole happiness now turned into dissapointment and dismay that the final messenger and prophet will come from Banu Ismail. Ibrahim AS had two sons, Ismail and Ishaq. Jews and Muslims they are cousins. So Nabi Kareem SAW is from the progeny of Ismail AS and Jews are from the progeny of Ishaq AS. The jews were expecting the last messenger to be from the progeny of Ishaq AS but when when they found out that the last messenger will be from Banu ismail , their happiness turned into jealousy.

Hasad and Jealousy is a fire in the heart and it burns the inside of the heart making a void between a person and those around him. It makes it devoid of any peace and comfort and happiness.

Allah Swt gives his bounties to whomever he wishes:

نَحۡنُ قَسَمۡنَا بَيۡنَہُم مَّعِيشَتَہُمۡ فِى ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَا‌ۚ وَرَفَعۡنَا بَعۡضَہُمۡ فَوۡقَ بَعۡضٍ۬ دَرَجَـٰتٍ۬ لِّيَتَّخِذَ بَعۡضُہُم بَعۡضً۬ا سُخۡرِيًّ۬ا‌ۗ

We have apportioned among them their livelihood in the life of the world, and raised some of them above others in rank that some of them may take labour from others

When Allah SWT gives somebody more and somebody less in different quantities, then we must accept that. When a person develops Hasad in the heart, then he is actually fighting with Allah SWT.

When a person sees around, all kinds of bounties are being showered upon. In one family somebody is being proposed for marriage, in one family somebody is having children, in one family somebody is preparing for hajj, in one family somebody is about to open a business... so if a person start thinking that who so and so blessed and I dont have anything then this hasad can put him into a category that are going against Allah SWT. Allah SWT says:

أَمۡ يَحۡسُدُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ عَلَىٰ مَآ ءَاتَٮٰهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مِن فَضۡلِهِ

Or are they jealous of mankind because of that which Allah of His bounty hath bestowed upon them?

That is why Nabi Kareem SAW warned us hen you good amal performing salah, making zikr, then a noor is generated into the hearts due to these good deeds, then preserve that. One thing that will eat all that up is Hasad.

Rasulallah SAW is reported to have said, that Hasad eats up all your good deeds like fire eats up dry wood. When you see the burned dry wood, there is only ashes and no sign of wood, so similarly no sign of good that you have committed if you fall into the Hasad.

Another hadeeth mentions, Two things can never stay in the heart together, Iman and Hasad.

You cant have iman and hasad in the heart at the same time and if a momin has the two in the heart, then there is a problem with this person.

Muawiyah RA mentions about Hasad that From All evil qualities, there is no evil quality more JUST than the evil quality of Hasad, Why is that so? Becasue the Hasad first kills the Jealous person before his kills the victim of Jealous person.

Muawiyah RA also mentions that you can never make a jealous person happy. When the Hasad is deeply entrenched in the heart of the person then nothing can make him happy except one thing. It is ZAWALU Naimaltil Ghair. .... that is the bounties of others must be taken away from them.

What are some of the things that Hasad can lead to?

Raza Bil Qawa ---- Person will not be content with the decree of Allah Swt... Allah has given something to somebody and a Hasid will always be discontent for not receiving the same.

Tabaghuz – Another reason for having Hasad is because of Bughz or enmity for a person. You have a disagreement with someone and you develop this enmity towards him. Now all the bounties that the other person has becomes a burden on your heart and you start to wish that those bounties be taken away from them. You fall into the trap of Hasad.

Ishtiraq Fi Amal Wahid – People mostly have same type of profession and you see that they start competing with eachother for all the perks and benefits they get. If one person receive more of something, then the other would develope Hasad for him.

What are the nuqsanat of this Hasad?

1. A jealous person is deprived of the happiness of Allah SWT. If you did not get the pleasure of Allah SWT then you are the most unfortunate person. But if you got the whole worlds displeasure but you received Allah's pleasure, then you are most fortunate person.
2. Harm of Hasad and Jealousy, the person is harming his ownself. He is depriving himself of all the happiness. He is spending more time to think about other peoples lives rather than concentrate the problems of his own life, family and children.

How to overcome this Jealousy?

Ta'awuzz – See refuge in the protection of Allah SWT.

Istighfar

If you are under the influence of Hasad, then never practice under the dictate of the Hasad rather go against you feeling. If you feel enmity for someone, go against your emotion and be kind and humble to the person, if you feel the other is deprived of something, then give him a gift or hadiya. The best thing you can do is to make dua to Allah SWT and say that you have blessed so an so with so much bounties and I cannot tolerate it but increase in his bounties.

Once you will do that often, you will see you will come out of Hasad.

May Allah SWT give us all tofeeq to understand this evil of spirituality and make us strong to fight against this feeling and emotion.. amiin

Original Speech by Mufti Ebrahim Desai

Khutba delivered at MANB - April 19, 2013