Envy and Jealousy
الحسدResenting another person's blessing and wishing for it to be removed
Qur'an
القرآن الكريموَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ أَبَىٰ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ
And [mention] when We said to the angels, "Prostrate before Adam"; so they prostrated, except for Iblees. He refused and was arrogant and became of the disbelievers.
Translation: Saheeh International
وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ ابْنَيْ آدَمَ بِالْحَقِّ إِذْ قَرَّبَا قُرْبَانًا فَتُقُبِّلَ مِنْ أَحَدِهِمَا وَلَمْ يُتَقَبَّلْ مِنَ الْآخَرِ قَالَ لَأَقْتُلَنَّكَ قَالَ إِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ اللَّهُ مِنَ الْمُتَّقِينَ لَئِنْ بَسَطْتَ إِلَيَّ يَدَكَ لِتَقْتُلَنِي مَا أَنَا بِبَاسِطٍ يَدِيَ إِلَيْكَ لِأَقْتُلَكَ إِنِّي أَخَافُ اللَّهَ رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ إِنِّي أُرِيدُ أَنْ تَبُوءَ بِإِثْمِي وَإِثْمِكَ فَتَكُونَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّارِ وَذَٰلِكَ جَزَاءُ الظَّالِمِينَ فَطَوَّعَتْ لَهُ نَفْسُهُ قَتْلَ أَخِيهِ فَقَتَلَهُ فَأَصْبَحَ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ
And recite to them the story of Adam's two sons, in truth, when they both made an offering [to Allah], and it was accepted from one of them but was not accepted from the other. Said [the latter], "I will surely kill you." Said [the former], "Indeed, Allah only accepts from the righteous [who fear Him]. If you should raise your hand toward me to kill me - I shall not raise my hand toward you to kill you. Indeed, I fear Allah, Lord of the worlds. Indeed I want you to obtain [thereby] my sin and your sin so you will be among the companions of the Fire. And that is the recompense of wrongdoers." And his soul permitted to him the murder of his brother, so he killed him and became among the losers.
Translation: Saheeh International
إِذْ قَالُوا لَيُوسُفُ وَأَخُوهُ أَحَبُّ إِلَىٰ أَبِينَا مِنَّا وَنَحْنُ عُصْبَةٌ إِنَّ أَبَانَا لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ اقْتُلُوا يُوسُفَ أَوِ اطْرَحُوهُ أَرْضًا يَخْلُ لَكُمْ وَجْهُ أَبِيكُمْ وَتَكُونُوا مِنْ بَعْدِهِ قَوْمًا صَالِحِينَ
When they said, "Joseph and his brother are more beloved to our father than we, while we are a clan. Indeed, our father is in clear error. Kill Joseph or cast him out to [another] land; the countenance of your father will [then] be only for you, and you will be after that a righteous people."
Translation: Saheeh International
Hadith
الحديث النبويعَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ إِيَّاكُمْ وَالْحَسَدَ فَإِنَّ الْحَسَدَ يَأْكُلُ الْحَسَنَاتِ كَمَا تَأْكُلُ النَّارُ الْحَطَبَ أَوْ قَالَ الْعُشْبَ
Abu Huraira reported:
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Beware of envy, for it devours good deeds just as fire devours wood or grass.”
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " إِيَّاكُمْ وَالظَّنَّ، فَإِنَّ الظَّنَّ أَكْذَبُ الْحَدِيثِ، وَلاَ تَحَسَّسُوا، وَلاَ تَجَسَّسُوا، وَلاَ تَحَاسَدُوا، وَلاَ تَدَابَرُوا، وَلاَ تَبَاغَضُوا، وَكُونُوا عِبَادَ اللَّهِ إِخْوَانًا ".
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Beware of suspicion, for suspicion is the worst of false tales; and do not look for the others' faults and do not spy, and do not be jealous of one another, and do not desert (cut your relation with) one another, and do not hate one another; and O Allah's worshipers! Be brothers (as Allah has ordered you!)"
عَنِ الزُّبَيْرِ بْنِ الْعَوَّامِ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ دَبَّ إِلَيْكُمْ دَاءُ الأُمَمِ قَبْلَكُمْ الْحَسَدُ وَالْبَغْضَاءُ هِيَ الْحَالِقَةُ لَا أَقُولُ تَحْلِقُ الشَّعَرَ وَلَكِنْ تَحْلِقُ الدِّينَ وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَا تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ حَتَّى تُؤْمِنُوا وَلَا تُؤْمِنُوا حَتَّى تَحَابُّوا أَفَلَا أُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا يُثَبِّتُ ذَلِكَ لَكُمْ أَفْشُوا السَّلَامَ بَيْنَكُمْ
Al-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwam reported:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Lurking towards you are the diseases of the nations before you. Envy and hatred are the razor. I do not say they shave hair, but rather they shave the religion. By the One in whose hand is my soul, you will not enter Paradise until you have faith, and you will not have faith until you love each other. Shall I tell you what can establish that for you? Spread peace between yourselves.”
لَا يَجْتَمِعُ فِي جَوْفِ عَبْدٍ مُؤْمِنٍ الْإِيمَانُ وَالْحَسَدُ
Faith and envy are not combined within a believing servant.
It is enough to say God-fearingness, which is the path to salvation, has been explicitly declared by the Prophet to be among the inward matters. Thus, if intention, sincerity, and God-fearingness are among the inward matters, they are the very pillar upon which actions and words are based, so consider that. The Hadith has made clear that envy is contrary to faith.
لَا يَزَالُ النَّاسُ بِخَيْرٍ مَا لَمْ يَتَحَاسَدُوا
People will continue to prosper as long as they do not envy each other.
Statements of the Salaf
أقوال السلفDo not become enemies to the blessings of Allah!
People asked, “Who are the enemies of Allah's blessings?” He replied, “Those who envy people for what Allah has bestowed upon them of His bounty.”
Source: Abū Nuʿaym al-Iṣfahānī, Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ 1/130
The envier experiences no rest, the spiteful person has no joy, and the liar has no dignity.
Source: Ibn Abī al-Dunyā, al-Ṣamt wa Ādāb al-Lisān 231
No person is granted a blessing from Allah except that an envier will target him for it; even if a man were as straight and upright as an arrow, people would still contrive faults against him.
Source: Ibn al-Mubārak, al-Zuhd 1/247
I am capable of satisfying every person in the world except the envier of a blessing, for he will never be pleased with anything short of the total loss of that blessing from you.
Source: Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah 8/136
I have never seen an unjust oppressor who resembles a wronged victim more than an envier: he suffers perpetual anxiety, restless breathing, and unrelenting grief!
Source: al-Ibshīhī, al-Mustaṭraf fī Kulli Fannin Mustaẓraf 1/158
I have never envied anyone for worldly possessions. If he is destined for Paradise, why should I envy him over fleeting worldly matters? And if he is destined for the Fire, why should I envy a man heading towards the Fire?!
Source: al-Ghazālī, Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn 3/191
The envier is in reality disputing with his Lord; he despises the bounty that Allah has bestowed upon His servant, and he craves the removal of a gift that Allah decreed to give.
Source: Ibn Abī al-Dunyā, Dhamm al-Ḥasad 23
Statements of Scholars
أقوال العلماءThe envier suffers five punishments before his envy ever harms the person he envies: unending depression, a calamity for which he receives no divine reward, blame from people, the wrath of Allah, and the shutting of the gates of divine guidance.
Source: Abū al-Layth al-Samarqandī, Tanbīh al-Ghāfilīn 1/179
No human body is ever completely free from the potential of envy; however, the noble person suppresses and conceals it, while the vile person openly displays and acts upon it.
Source: Ibn Taymiyyah, Amrāḍ al-Qulūb wa Shifāʾuhā 1/21
The origin of envy is harboring hatred towards Allah's favors being granted to His servants, which is fundamentally an objection to Allah's wisdom and His divine distribution.
Source: Ibn al-Qayyim, Badāʾiʿ al-Fawāʾid 2/458
Envy distracts one from engaging in good deeds, or the envier is not content with the decree of Allah, so perhaps he is overtaken by envy, malice, and enmity until he utters words of ingratitude, thereby invalidating his good deeds.
Source: Ibn al-Malak, Sharḥ al-Maṣābīḥ 5/327