:salam2:
What every Muslim is obliged to do is to love for his brother what he loves for himself of good things, and to hate for his brother what he hates for himself of bad things. This does not mean that he cannot like for himself what he likes for others. If he sees that his brother has something that he does not, and he wishes that he had it too, this is ghibtah (envy that is free from malice); if he wishes that the blessing would be taken away from them, this is called hasad (destructive jealousy).
The Muslim needs to strive against his own self (jihaad al-nafs) so that his heart will be free of jealousy towards his Muslim brothers. If he sincerely loves his brothers, most of these problems from which he is suffering will disappear. When the Muslim realizes how great his virtue and status will be when he loves his brothers and loves good things for them, and when he knows how great his reward will be if he treats them well, this will motivate him to treat them well in all ways, and to strive to benefit his brothers instead of being preoccupied with jealous thoughts of what they have and he doesn’t.
Shaykh Muhammad al-Duwaysh.
You have to think long and hard about the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning):
“That is the Grace of Allaah which He bestows on whom He wills
[al-Maa’idah 5:54]
“It is We Who portion out between them their livelihood in this world, and We raised some of them above others in ranks, so that some may employ others in their work
[al-Zukhruf 43:32]
Hasad (destructive jealousy) causes a great deal of harm in this world and in the Hereafter. Al-Tirmidhi narrated from al-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awaam that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“There has come to you the 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 (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 greeting of) salaam amongst yourselves.” (A hasan hadeeth. Jaami’ al-Tirmidhi, 2434).
Concerning the meaning of the phrase “it shaves (destroys) faith”, al-Tayyibi said: “i.e., hatred takes away faith like a razor takes away hair.” (Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi bi Sharh Jaami’ al-Tirmidhi).
Here are some solutions for you to rid yourself of this blameworthy characteristic:
1- Make du’aa’ (supplication) to Allaah and ask Him to rid you of this problem. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say in his du’aa’, “Wa’hdi qalbi wa’slul sakheemata sadri (guide my heart and remove ill will from my breast).” The phrase “guide my heart” means to the straight path, and “remove ill will from my breast” means take away all insincerity, rancour and hatred.
2- Pondering the meanings of the Qur’aan and reading it frequently, especially the verses which speak of hasad (destructive jealousy), because reading the Qur’aan brings one a great deal of hasanaat (reward for good deeds). Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds
[Hood 11:114]
3- Reading the seerah (biography) of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), seeing how he kept away from hasad and how he loved good for others, even for his enemies. Among the useful books on seerah is Noor al-Yaqeen fi Seerat Sayyid al-Mursaleen.
[Translator’s note: a well-known book of seerah which is available in English is “Al-Raheeq al-Makhtoom (the Sealed Nectar) – Biography of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), by Safi-ur-Rahmaan al-Mubarakpuri]
4- Reading the biographies and stories of the Sahaabah in books such as Suwar min Hayaat al-Sahaabah by ‘Abd al-Rahmaan Ra’fat al-Basha)
5- If any such thoughts (of hasad, etc.) cross your mind, then seek refuge with Allaah from the accursed Shaytaan, and keep yourself busy with something that will make you forget these insinuating whispers and thoughts.
6- If the Shaytaan manages to instil hasad in your heart, then beware lest you say or do anything which will show that hasad. Every person has his or her share of hasad. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said: “Nobody is free from hasad, but the noble person hides it whilst the base person shows it.” (Amraad al-Quloob). 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 (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah will forgive my ummah for their mistakes, what they forget and what they are forced to do.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2033).
7- If you feel that you are jealous of a specific person, then buy him a gift and shake hands with him. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Shake hands, for this will dispel rancour, and exchange gifts and love one another, for this will dispel hatred.” (Narrated by Maalik in al-Muwatta’, 1413). Hasad is the result of hatred, whose opposite is love, the way of which is giving gifts and spreading (the greeting of) salaam, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “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 greeting of) salaam amongst yourselves.” (Narrated by Muslim, 81).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said in his book Amraad al-Quloob (diseases of the heart):
“Whoever find in himself any hasad towards another has to try to neutralize it by means of taqwa (piety, consciousness of Allaah) and sabr (patience). So he should hate that (the feeling of hasad) in himself… But the one who does wrong to his brother by word or deed will be punished for that. The one who fears Allaah and is patient, however, is not included among the wrongdoers, and Allaah will benefit him by his taqwa.”
With regard to dealing with the evil eye and hasad (destructive envy), there is no doubt that when a person is close to Allaah, always remembering Him (dhikr) and reading Qur’aan, he is less likely to be affected by the evil eye and other kinds of harm from the devils of mankind and the jinn. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to seek refuge with Allaah for himself, and the greatest means of seeking refuge that is available to the Muslim is reading the Book of Allaah, above all the Mi’wadhatayn (the last two Soorahs of the Qur’aan, al-Falaq and al-Naas), Soorat al-Faatihah and Aayat al-Kursiy [al-Baqarah 2:255].
Among the saheeh du’aa’s for refuge that have been narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) are:
“A’oodhu bi kalimaat Allaah al-taammaati min sharri maa khalaq (I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allaah from the evil of that which He has created).”
(Narrated by Muslim, al-Dhikr wa’l-Du’aa, 4881)
It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to seek refuge with Allaah for al-Hasan and al-Husayn. He said: ‘Your father [i.e., Ibraaheem] used to seek refuge with Allaah for Ismaa’eel and Ishaaq with these words: A’oodhu bi kalimaat Allaah al-taammah min kulli shaytaanin wa haammah wa min kulli ‘aynin laammah (I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allaah, from every devil and every poisonous reptile, and from every bad eye).’”(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, Ahaadeeth al-Anbiyaa’, 3120).
With regard to the meaning of laammah (translated here as “bad”), al-Khattaabi said: “What is meant here is every disease or harm that a person may suffer such as insanity or mental disturbance.”
It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed that Jibreel came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: “O Muhammad, are you ill?” He said, “Yes.” He said, “Bismillaahi arqeeka min kulli shay’in yu’dheeka, min sharri kulli nafsin aw ‘aynin haasid Allaahu yashfeek, bismillaahi arqeek (In the name of Allaah I perform ruqyah for you, from everything that is harming you, from the evil of every soul or envious eye may Allaah heal you, in the name of Allaah I perform ruqyah for you).” (Narrated by Muslim, al-Salaam, 4056)
Undoubtedly, when a person persists in reciting the adhkaar (dhikr) for morning and evening, and the adhkaar for going to sleep, and others, this will have a great effect in protecting him from the evil eye, because it will be like a stronghold for him, by Allaah’s Leave. So everyone should strive to recite these adhkaar. One of the best treatments is the use of ruqyah, which the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) permitted for protection from the evil eye and he instructed people to use it.
It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded me, or he commanded (the people) to use ruqyah to deal with the evil eye.”
(narrated by al-Bukhaari, al-Tibb, 5297)
And it was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “The man who cast the evil eye would be commanded to do wudoo’, and then the man who was affected would wash himself with (the water).”
(Narrated by Abu Dawood, al-Tibb, 3382. Al-Albaani said, in Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood, its isnaad is saheeh. No. 3282)
These are some of the du’aa’s and treatments which offer protection – by Allaah’s leave – from the evil eye and from destructive envy (hasad). We ask Allaah to protect us from that. And Allaah knows best.
See Zaad al-Ma’aad by Ibn al-Qayyim, 4/162.
IslamQA
:salam2:
