[Friday Sermon] O Allah, Protect Us From The Evil Of An Envier When He Envies!

By Imam Murtadha Gusau

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Verily, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, we seek His assistance and we ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Him from the evils of ourselves. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide. Whoever He misguides, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.

Dear brothers and sisters, know that morals and characters have ailments just as bodies have diseases. And some of the diseases of the characters and morals are more dangerous and have more severe effects than physical ailments. And there is no moral disease that afflicts one with bitterness, ignites the fire of their heart, and diminishes their status, like the affliction of the disease of hasad (envy). For it is a disgraceful disease that diminishes the Iman (faith) of the one having it and causes them to live a life of misery, for the feelings that they find within themselves towards those whom Allah has bestowed a blessing from His bountiful favours and great bounties. And whoever is like this, wastes their time while they are gazing longingly at what Allah Almighty has given some others to enjoy of the finery of this worldly life. So such a person strains their eyes in turning and watching and occupies his heart in wishing that the blessings of others are removed or destroyed. And if one occupies their eyes and heart with other than the obedience of Allah, they become scattered, without a foundation and without support. And that is the clear loss.

Respected brothers and sisters, hasad or envy is defined by specialists as a complex psychological feeling of longing for a blessing that others have while wishing for it to vanish out of jealousy that others have been singled out for that blessing. And often, it is towards those around or close to the envier. Because it is specific to someone together with the intention that the person will always be lower than them and not excel. And every malicious envier has shaitan (satan) as an example before the earth was established. For only envy (hasad) prevented him from prostrating. And it was only envy (hasad) that sent Adam and Hawwa (Eve) down from heaven. And the example for the malicious envier after the establishment of the earth is one of the two sons of Adam. Allah Almighty said:

“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].” [Qur’an, 5: 27]

For envy (hasad) was the reason for the first disobedience of Allah in the heavens. And it is the reason for the first disobedience of Allah on the earth. Moreover, it is human nature to barely be free from envy (hasad). But the content suppress it and seek Allah’s help to rid themselves from it. But the discontent unleash it to the point of wishing harm for the envied. And people vary between having a little of that and a lot of that. And the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

“There has come to you the disease of the nations before you, jealousy and hatred.” [Tirmidhi reported it, and Graded as Hasan by Imam Albani]

For that reason, Allah forbid envy (hasad). Allah Almighty said:

“And do not wish for that by which Allah has made some of you exceed others.” [Qur’an, 4: 32]

And some of the righteous predecessors (Salaf) have explained hasad (envy) as coveting a bounty that Allah has given to someone else whereby that bounty moves from that person to them. And this is an objection to Allah’s will, wisdom and justice. Allah Almighty said:

“Or do they envy people for what Allah has given them of His bounty?” [Qur’an, 4: 54]

And the envier’s heart rages towards someone, who has no sin in the view of the envier, other than that Allah bestowed them with a blessing from among His blessings that cannot be enumerated. Therefore, the intelligent person finds that there is similarity between envy and fire. For envy devours good deeds just as fire devours wood. And the envious consume themselves, for what they find in themselves towards the envied. And the bottom line is that fire consumes itself if it does not find something to consume. And it is no wonder that through envy (hasad), iblis (satan) was too arrogant to obey the command of Allah Almighty to prostrate. And envy (hasad) made a brother kill his brother. And it was envy that lead brothers to put their brother at the bottom of a well (Prophet Yusuf). And envy (hasad) is what prevented Abu Jahal from belief in the Prophet (Peace be upon him) as was found in the well-known narrative reported by the commentators of the Qur’an. Al-Akhnas Bin Shuraiq entered the house of Abu Jahal and said: oh Abu Hakam, what do you think of what I heard from Muhammad? He replied, what did I hear? We competed with the Abdul Manaf clan for honour; they fed (the poor) and we fed (the poor), they supported and we supported and they gave and we gave. To the point we were on the same level like two racehorses running neck to neck and they said: among us is a Prophet who receives revelation from the heaven. So when will we attain such an honour? By Allah, we shall never believe in him, nor affirm him. So Abu Al-Akhnas got up and left him.

My great people, whoever ponders upon Surah Yusuf in the Qur’an, that great surah that takes the hearts of those reflecting upon it, finds the best narratives of the stages of scheming and plotting to divide between a father and his son. Until the eyes gush with tears and the throats choke up with humility empathetic with the victim of the deadly envy (hasad). And whoever truly reflects on this Qur’anic verse will find that envy (hasad) blinds and deafens. For the envious do not limit their envy to tangible things only. Rather they go beyond that. For they envy a beautiful vision that someone sees in their sleep. For the envious do not have a limit for their envy at which they stop. Prophet Yakub said to his son, Yusuf, peace be upon them:

“O my son, do not relate your vision to your brothers or they will contrive against you a plan.” [Qur’an, 12: 5]

Surprisingly, the envious only envy over worldly matters. Even if they envy a religious scholar or a righteous person, they envy them for their reputation and not for their knowledge or for their righteous deeds. For the envier through their envy only reaps a wanton heart and a degrading eye and an abusive tongue. And the envier wages a war of envy, and does not know that it is a losing war. Because in reality they are not objecting the one who is bestowed, rather they are objecting the Bestower, Most Glorified, Allah.

And whoever truly contemplates on this Qur’anic verse will see that envy (hasad) veils the heart from the ugliness of any crime that one may commit to realise their aim, even if it is with the closest of people to them. Rather they may see their crime as a praiseworthy act without the least bit of fault. For when the brothers of Prophet Yusuf envied him, they thought of killing him or expelling him. Then their father’s attention would only be for them alone such that they would become the righteous.

“Kill Yusuf or cast him out to [another] land; the countenance [i.e., attention] of your father will [then] be only for you, and you will be after that a righteous people.” [Qur’an, 12: 9]

And whoever contemplates this Qur’anic verse properly, will see that envy (hasad) makes the envier reluctant to give the envied their proper description. So in the narrative of the brothers of Prophet Yusuf, they referred to him only by his name and not that he was their brother. So they used to say:

“Kill Yusuf or cast him out to [another] land;”

And they used to say:

“Yusuf and his brother are more beloved to our father than we.”

And they used to say:

“O our father, why do you not entrust us with Yusuf.”

And since they did not envy their other brother to the extent that they envied Yusuf they used the term brother to refer to him and they were not reluctant in doing so. They said:

“O our father, [further] measure has been denied to us, so send with us our brother [that] we will be given measure. And indeed, we will be his guardians.” [Qur’an, 12: 63]

Respected servants of Allah, know that, wallahi, hasad (envy) is killing without a knife and burning without fuel and drowning without water. May Allah relieve us and you from its boiling and protect us from its evil, ameen.

Allah Almighty said:

“Say, “I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak. From the evil of that which He created. And from the evil of darkness when it settles. And from the evil of the blowers in knots. And from the evil of an envier when he envies.” [Qur’an, 113: 1-5]

Dear brothers and sisters, know that, envy (hasad) and happiness can never be together in a person’s heart. Because the reason for happiness is being content with Allah Almighty. And envy (hasad) is the enemy of contentment. For it is not surprising that the envied are like the sun, and only the blind wish for it to be extinguished. And if the envier was able to prevent oxygen from reaching the envied, they would have prevented it. But envy is a fair disease, it does to the enviers what they do to the envied. Sufficient for them from that is that they are saddened by the joy of others. And the outcome of envy is that there is no envier except that they will reap five punishments before their envy reaches the envied. They are:

1. The wrath of their Lord,
2. Grief that presses their hearts,
3. An affliction for which they are not rewarded,
4. A fault for which they are reproached,
5. And the closing of the door of happiness in their faces.

And although reprehensible envy is death, praiseworthy envy is life. Because determination only bears fruit with praiseworthy envy, which is expressed though admiration for blessings that befall others, and one wishes the same or better without wishing for its removal from them. Herein lies the difference between the praiseworthy and the blameworthy envy. And no one succeeds in this except the one with a sound heart, in which there is no malice or envy. And that is the bounty of Allah, He gives to whomever He wills, and Allah is the Possessor of great bounty.

And the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

“Envy (hasad) is not allowed except in two cases. A man to whom Allah has given (knowledge of) the Qur’an, so he recites it during the hours of the night and during the hours of the day, and his neighbour hears him and says, I wish I had been given what has been given to so-and-so, so that I might do what he does. And a man to whom Allah has given wealth, so he spends it on what is right, whereupon another man says, I wish I had been given what so-and-so has been given, for then I would do what he does.” [Bukhari]

I ask Allah Almighty to make our hearts sound and protect us from the envy of the enviers. Indeed Allah is All Hearing, Answering.

Dear brothers and sisters, know that we are in the BEST days of the year, the first 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

“There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days.” The people asked, “Not even Jihad for the sake of Allah?” He (Peace be upon him) said: “Not even Jihad for the sake of Allah, except in the case of a man who went out, giving himself and his wealth up for the cause (of Allah), and came back with nothing.” [Bukhari]

The first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah have been especially singled out for great merits and excellences like no other days in the Islamic calendar.

Allah, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, has chosen to dispense infinite spiritual blessing and rewards.

And our team in the Islamic Center would like to take this blessed occasion to pray that Allah Almighty bestows the Muslims Ummah in Nigeria and across the globe a safe, secure, and blessed Dhul-Hijjah and Eid-ul-Adha.

May Allah Almighty have mercy upon those who are suffering, grant them patience, victory, and bring them justice in this world and the hereafter, ameen.

I conclude with this and send prayers of blessings and peace upon our beloved Prophet as your Lord commanded:

“Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace.” [Qur’an, 33: 56]

O Allah, guide us with those whom You have guided, grant us well-being among those You have granted well-being, be an ally to us along with those whom You are an ally to, and bless what You have bestowed upon us, and save us from the evil of what You have decreed. For verily You decree and none can decree over You. He whom You support can never be humiliated. Glory is to You, our Lord, You are Blessed and Exalted.

O Allah, We ask You for all that is good, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know.

O Allah, we seek refuge with You from all evil, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know.

O Allah, we ask You for the good that Your servant and Prophet has asked You for, and we seek refuge with You from the evil from which Your servant and Prophet sought refuge.

O Allah, we ask You for Paradise and for that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed, and we seek refuge in You from Hell and from that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed. And we ask You to make every decree that You decree concerning us good.

Dear servants of Allah, indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.

Remember Allah, the Great – He will remember you. Thank Him for His favours – He will increase you therein. And seek forgiveness from Him – He will forgive you. And be conscious of Him – He will provide you a way out of difficult matters. And, establish the prayer.

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation; may Allah extol the mention of our noble Prophet Muhammad in the highest company of Angels, bless him and give him peace and security―and his family, his Companions and all those who follow him correctly and sincerely until the establishment of the Hour.

Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com or +2348038289761.

This Jumu’ah Khutbah (Friday sermon) was prepared for delivery today, Friday, Dhul-Hijjah 05, 1444 AH (June 23, 2023).