Part 7: Hasad (Envy)- Heart Therapy

Read the Table of Contents of Heart Therapy

Read Part 6: Namimah (Tale Carrying)

Concepts and Terms

Linguistically, hasad comes from ha-sa-da which is ‘to dislike that someone should possess a blessing and/or happiness and to want that blessing and/or happiness to be removed from that individual and/or to be transferred from him to oneself.

Hasad is the desire that a blessing, or a cause of happiness, may depart from its possessor and become transferred to oneself.

Hasad is a severe disease that can have devasting effects on individuals and societies. It is manifest when one desires that another person loses a blessing that he has, whether it be tangible or intangible. It is a state wherein someone desires that something good be removed from its possessor, the object that excited this hasad could be material one or the likes of knowledge, etc.

To wish a blessing be removed from a person and we be granted that blessing, this is Haram.

Proof

The Prophet (SAW) said, “Do not be envious of one another, do not cut ties with one another, do not hate one another and do not turn away from one another. O worshippers of Allah, be brothers!”

Ghibtah

As mentioned previously, things are understood by their opposites.

Linguistically, ghibtah is ‘a good state or condition’; a state of happiness; and of enjoyment, or well being.’ It is derived from the root word gh-ba-ta which means ‘to regard him with un-envious emulation.’ i.e. to regard a person ‘with a wish for the like of his [good/blessed] condition, or for the like of that which he attained, or for a blessing’ this desire is one which accompanies the hope and that the ‘admired blessing/virtue’ might not pass away nor be removed from the one who (originally) possessed it.

Hasad versus Ghibtah

If a person merely desires similar blessings for himself, without hoping that the person who has them loses them, this is known as ghibtah. The essence of hasad, on the other hand is to desire that the possessor loses the blessing that he is envied for.

The Danger of Hasad

Hasad is cancerous in its effects and leads to hatred, animosity, as well as ill feelings and often further disobedience towards Allah. It is condemned in many ahadith. Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (SAW) said, “Envy eats good deeds like fire eats away wood.” (Abu Dawud)

He (SAW) also said, “The thing I fear most for my nation is that there comes to be an abundance of wealth among them and this leads them to be envious of one another and to fight one another.”

The First Sin

Iblis was a jinn who used to be in the company of the angels because of his high status and abundance of worship. However, he was envious of Adam (AS) because the latter had been made the successor on earth instead of Iblis. This envy evolved into arrogance and he consequently refused to obey Allah’s command to prostrate to Adam. After this sin of disobedience, he refused to seek forgiveness and, instead, argues that he was better than Adam, being created form clay while he himself was created from fire.

The First Sin on Earth

Adam (AS) and Hawwa were given children in pairs, sets of twins, and from the Shari’ah that was specific to them the male from one set of twins was permitted to marry a female from the other set. Adam’s son, Haabeel was to marry Qaabeel’s twin and vice versa. However, Qaabeel wanted to marry his own twin who, he said, was more beautiful than Haabeel’s twin. They went o Adam seeking arbitration and were both told, each to sacrifice something to Allah and the one whose sacrifice would be accepted would be the one who would get to marry Qaabeel’s twin sister. The sacrifice of Haabeel was accepted, enraging Qaabeel yet further, to the point that his envy escalated and he struck down his brother, killing him.

The Reality of Envy

In reality when a person is envious of another, he is actually doubting the wisdom of Allah and questioning His decision. This is because, ultimately, it is Allah who decided which favours to bestow on which people. Thus, a poet said:

O You who envies the blessing I have,
Do you know whom you have wronged?
You have wronged Allah for His decision,
by not being pleased with the gift He has given.

Read the next Part 7 (a): The Causes of Envy