The fifteenth vice is jealousy (hasad).
“Hasad” means to be jealous. A person inflicted with this disease wants others
not to keep blessings (nimat) bestowed upon them by Allâhu ta’âlâ or in other words he wants them to lose
those blessings. Desiring that others should not have harmful things would not
be jealousy but would be ghayrat. Desiring that those who use religious
knowledge to obtain worldly gains should lose their knowledge is also ghayrat.
Wishing destruction of the wealth and possessions of those who use them to
promote forbidden or oppressive things or to spread “bid’at”
or to destroy Islam, would not be jealousy, but it would be religious ghayrat.
One who bears jealousy in his heart although he does not like it or does not
want to bear that vice would not be sinful. Things that come to the heart,
e.g., thoughts or memories are not considered sins because controlling these
things is not within the power of one’s self. However, if one does not worry
about or regret having jealousy in one’s heart or one desires to be jealous,
that would be a sin and a forbidden act. Also, if a person’s jealousy is
reflected in his actions and words, then that would be a graver sin. Our
beloved Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’
states as follows in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “Human beings cannot
free themselves from the following three things: ‘Sű-i zan’, ‘Tayara’ and
‘Hasad’. When a person has a bad opinion about someone else (Sű-i zan), he
should not act according to his bad opinion. Do the things that you think may
be ominous by placing your trust (tawakkul) to Allâhu ta’âlâ, and, if you are
jealous of a person, never hurt him.” “Tayara” means
believing in ill-omen. “Sű-i zan” means one’s thinking a particular person as
an evil person. It can be derived from this hadîth-i-sherîf
that having jealousy in one’s heart is not prohibited but one’s being gratified
of its existence in one’s heart or desiring its continuance is prohibited. The
following passage is from the book Hadîqa: “A thought which comes to the
spiritual heart fits one of the following five categories: The first one is the
kind which does not have staying power; therefore it is repelled right away and
is called
‘hâjis’.
The second one stays in the heart for a while and is called ‘hâtir’. The third
one is the kind which causes doubt in the heart, e.g., whether it should be
done or not; it is called ‘hadîth-un-nafs’. The fourth one is one which the
heart prefers to do and is called ‘hemm’. The fifth one differs from the fourth
category only when the preference becomes stronger and the heart decides to do
it with strong will; it is called “Azm” and “Jazm”. The first three categories
are not recorded by the angels. The fourth state, e.g., “hemm” will be recorded
as a reward if it is one of the good deeds. Also, it will be recorded as a
reward if it is one of the evil deeds and one does not commit it. As for the
fifth state “Azm”: if it is one of the prohibited actions and is carried out
then one sin will be recorded.” If it is not carried out it will be forgiven.
Our beloved Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sal-lam’ states as follows in a hadîth-i-sherîf:
“Evil
thoughts received by the heart will be forgiven unless they develop into
practices or are said to others.” When some ideas causing
unbelief or heresies or corrupt thoughts come to your heart, if you become
upset because of these and reject them right away, this short lived state will
not be disbelief. However, if a person plans to become a disbeliever years
later, even if he makes it conditional upon something else, he becomes a
disbeliever the moment his plan develops into a decision. Likewise, a woman who
decides to marry a disbeliever years later, will become a disbeliever the
moment she makes the decision.
[The sin of committing a certain
religious prohibition (harâm) is graver than the sin of the decision to commit
it. “Harâm”
means something which Allâhu
ta’âlâ has prohibited. Sin is a noun, which means the
punishment that will be given to those who commit the prohibited acts.
Committing a sin means doing something which will invoke punishment. It means
committing harâm. “Thawâb” means the rewards that will be given in the next
world for the actions, i.e., worships and goodnesses performed during worldly
life. Allâhu ta’âlâ has
promised us He will give rewards in the next world to those who performed
goodness and worships in this world. It is not necessary (wâjib) to give rewards for the goodness done or worships performed but Allâhu ta’âlâ with His infinite Mercy and
Magnanimity has promised to do so. Allâhu ta’âlâ will never renege on His promise and will certainly do whatever
He has promised.]
Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “If a person forms a
decision in his heart to commit a prohibited thing (harâm) but does not perform
it because of the fear of Allâhu ta’âlâ, it will not be
recorded as a sin; but one sin will be recorded if he commits that forbidden
act.”
It is forbidden to intend to become
a disbeliever or a heretic (ahl-i-bid’at). For, these intentions are evil in
essence. However, the thought of committing a forbidden act is evil because it
causes one to commit that forbidden act. The thought in itself is not evil but
the execution of that evil thought is evil and ugly. When the contemplated
forbidden act is not committed, it is no longer forbidden or sinful. This
tolerance is a blessing of Allâhu ta’âlâ for the followers of Prophet Muhammad ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’.
The wish to possess blessings
similar to those possessed by others will not be jealousy if it does not worsen
into the malignant desire that others should lose the blessings. This moderate
feeling is called envy (ghipta), which is a virtue. It is necessary (wâjib) to envy a pious Muslim who lives in accordance with the rules of
Islam, e.g., performs the obligations (fards) and who
abstains from committing the prohibited actions. Envy felt for a person who has worldly blessings is slightly
disliked “makrűh tanzîhî” in Islam.
Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf:
“Allâhu ta’âlâ has Ghayrat for a
Mu’min and Mu’min also has ghayrat for other Mu’mins.” Allâhu ta’âlâ has prohibited adultery because of His
Ghayrat. Allâhu ta’âlâ says, “Oh sons of Adam! I
created you for Myself and everything else for your utility but those things I
created for you should not make you forget the meaning of your creation.” In
a hadîth al-Qudsî, Allâhu ta’âlâ declares: “I created you for
Myself. Do not busy yourself with other things! I will provide your sustenance,
do not worry!” Prophet
Joseph’s (Yűsuf) asking a person who was going to see the Ruler (Sultan)
of the time that he should mention his name in the presence of the Ruler caused
Ghayrat
of Allâhu ta’âlâ and therefore caused Prophet Joseph ‘alaihis-salâm’ to stay in prison for
many years. Also, Prophet Abraham’s (Ibrâhîm)
‘alaihis-salâm’ joy upon the birth of his son Isma’il caused
Ghayrat
of Allâhu ta’âlâ and ordered Ibrâhîm
‘alaihis-salâm’ to sacrifice his son Isma’il. Many a very much beloved slave of Allâhu ta’âlâ, e.g. some (of His darlings called)
Awliyâ, has been disciplined with this Ghayrat of Allâhu
ta’âlâ. Ghayratmeans one’s not consenting to share one’s
rights on a person with others. The meaning of Ghayrat
of Allâhu ta’âlâ is His not consenting with
human creature’s committing sins. What devolves on a human creature is not to
lead a life at will, but to be a true slave to Him, which in turn means to obey
His commandments and prohibitions. The right to act at will is confined
uniquely to Allâhu ta’âlâ. As far as human
creatures are concerned, performing their desires or committing sins would mean
violating the right of Allâhu ta’âlâ, i.e.,
having a share from the right of Allâhu ta’âlâ.
A Believer should have ghayrat on himself lest he should commit sins. A strong
feeling of disquietude and a heart palpitating with excrutiation as the sins
are perpetrated, are the symptoms of this ghayrat. A Believer’s heart is a
house belonging to Allâhu ta’âlâ and wherein
lodge virtues. To admit evil and ugly thoughts into one’s heart means to
oppress its beautiful lodgers by forcing them into cohabitation with the ugly
intruders. This oppression stirs the heart into palpitation in protest; hence
the heart’s ghayrat. Sa’d bin ’Ubada ‘radiy-Allâhu
ta’âlâ ’anh’, the chief of the Ansâr, asked Rasűlullah
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’: “Yâ Rasűlallah! If I see my wife in
bed with another man, cannot I kill her without four eye-witnesses?” “No, you
cannot,” replied the Best of Mankind. When Sa’d could not help answering, “I
could not tolerate it for the required four eye-witnesses. I would kill her
then and there,” the blessed Messenger of Allah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sal-lam’ stated: “Hear what your chief says! He is quite ghayűr. I am much more
ghayűr than he is. And Allâhu ta’âlâ has very much more ghayrat than I do.” (‘Ghayűr’
is the adjectival form of ‘ghayrat’.) The Honour of Mankind
meant to say: “This is not the ghayrat approved of. I would not violate the
borders of Islam, more ghayűr than he as I am. Allâhu
ta’âlâ is the most ghayűr; yet He does not hasten to punish for the
fornication,” thus pointing out the unjustifiability of his premature execution
of a punishment deserved! Every Muslim who witnesses another Muslim committing
a forbidden act must apply punishment (taz’îr) immediately. It is not
permissible for the eye-witnesses to execute the punishment
after
the perpetration of the offence. In this case, it is the (Muslim) government’s,
i.e. the (Muslim) judge’s duty to execute the punishment. If a person sees a
fornicator in the act and kills them outright, he will have to produce four
witnesses during the trial. His swearing an oath will not be sufficient. If he
fails to produce four witnesses, the judge will penalize him for murder.
It is not permissible (jâiz) for a woman to show ghayrat for the second wife “or for the other
wife”. Rasűlullah,
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ one night left the room of his wife Hadrat
Âisha ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhâ’. The blessed wife of the Messenger of Allâh, Hadrat Âisha,
thought that he had gone to the room of another one of his wives and had
ghayrat about her. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ upon returning back to her room
observed her grief and asked, “Did you have ‘ghayrat’?” She said, “Wouldn’t a poor creature like me to have ‘ghayrat’
about a person like you who is the most honorable among all beings and who is
the most merciful among all creatures?” He answered, “You have followed evil
suggestions (waswasa) of the devil.” She inquired
if there was a devil by her. He answered, “Yes there is.” She further inquired whether there was a devil by Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sal-lam’. He answered: “Yes, there is, but Allâhu ta’âlâ is protecting me from
the evil suggestions of the devil.” He implied
that his devil had become a Muslim and now only suggested good thoughts to him.
Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in another hadîth-i-sherîf: “Allâhu ta’âlâ bestowed upon me two blessings which He has not given to
anybody else: my devil used to be a disbeliever He has made it a Muslim and He
has blessed me with wives who help me in the way of spreading Islam!” The devil of Adam ‘alaihis-salâm’ was a disbeliever and his wife
Eve (Hadrat Hawwa) was deceived by the oath of the devil in Paradise and she
caused Hadrat Âdam ‘alaihis-salâm’ to make the well-known mistake.
People’s ghayrat towards Allâhu ta’âlâ is their disinclination towards
perpetration of prohibited acts.
The opposite of jealousy is to give advice (nasîhat).
It is a desire in one’s heart about another person who has received the
blessings (worldly or other than worldly) that he should keep those blessings
so that he may do good religious or worldly things through them. It is
incumbent (wâjib) for all Muslims to
give
advice to others. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sal-lam’ said, “A person who is instrumental for another person’s
performing good deeds will receive as much reward as the person who performs
the goodness,” and “Any Muslim who asks blessings for himself but
does not ask the same blessings for other Muslims has not had belief,”
and “The
basis of religion is to give advice.” The meaning of giving
advice for the sake of Allâhu ta’âlâ is to
inform others that Allâhu ta’âlâ exists, that
there is only one Allah, that He is the only One Who possesses Attributes of
Perfection and Beauty, that He does not possess any deficiency or any kind of
attributes which are not worthy of Him, that it is necessary for everyone to
worship Him with a pure intention, that everyone should try to earn His favor
and approval as well as one can accomplish, that no one should rebel against
Him, that everyone should love His friends, that everyone should oppose His adversaries,
that everyone should love those who obey His commandments, that everyone should
dislike those who disobey His commandments, that everyone should cite His
blessings and pay their gratitude for them, that everyone should have
compassion toward His creatures and that no one should assert He possesses any
of the attributes He does not possess. Giving advice (nasîhat) for the Qur’ân
is that everyone should believe in the facts written in the Qur’ân; everyone
should perform commandments written in the Qur’ân; no one should attempt to
make translations of the Qur’ân with their limited comprehension; everyone
should read or recite the Qur’ân much in the best and truest way and everyone
should know and let others know that it is not permissible to touch the Qur’ân
without ritual cleansing (wudu). Giving advice for the Prophet Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’ is to let (others)
know that it is necessary for everyone to believe everything taught by him; it
is necessary for everyone to respect him and his name; it is necessary for
everyone to practice and spread his Sunnat; it is necessary for
everyone to assimilate his beautiful morals and ethics, and it is a must for
everyone to love his progeny (Ahl-i-bayt) and his
companions (Sahâba)[1]
and his followers (Ummat). Giving advice (nasîhat)
for the government of a
---------------------------------
[1] Please see the book entitled Sahâba
‘The Blessed’, available
from Hakîkat Kitâbevi,
Fatih-Istanbul, Turkey.
country is to tell others that it is necessary to help those
government officials who respect Allâhu ta’âlâ and protect His religion and give freedom to people to practice
their religion. It is to advise them about the truth or the correct way and to
tell them that they must observe the rights of Muslims. It is not to rebel
against them and not to violate the laws. It is to pray for them so that they
may serve Islam and humanity. It is to pray for them in their absence and to
help them financially or physically or by praying (duâ) for them when they
perform (jihâd) against disbelievers. It is to
pay the tax and obligatory almsgiving. It is not to attack anyone with guns. It
is to guide and lead them to the right path and justice in a soft manner
without rebelling against them even when they perpetrate oppression and
injustice. It is not to fawn on them and not to cause them to swerve from the
right and correct way. It is to tell everyone that it is necessary not to rebel
against those who are in charge of the government. It is to tell everyone that
it is necessary for everyone to follow the teachings of the religious laws (fiqh); ilm al-hal books and ethics books written by “Ahl as-sunnat
scholars”. Giving advice (nasîhat) for everyone is to
tell them that they should perform the things that are useful for this world
and the next and that they should avoid doing things harmful in this world and
the next and that they should not hurt anybody and should teach others what
they do not know and overlook their mistakes when it is necessary. It is to
tell them that they should perform the obligatory duties and they should not do
the forbidden actions and to tell these things in a soft manner. It is
necessary to tell them that it is necessary to have compassion toward
youngsters and have respect for the elders and treat others the same way you
want them to treat you and not to treat others in such a way that you do not
want to be treated. Finally, it is to tell them that they should help others
financially and physically.
Our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “Those who do not help Muslims and those who do not work for the
welfare and comfort of Muslims are not one of them. Those who do not give
advice for Allah, Qur’ân, Rasűlullah, head of the government and for all
Muslims are not one of them.”
Jealousy
diminishes the reward of worship. Our Prophet
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf:
“Beware of being
jealous. Let it be known that jealousy will destroy rewards (thawâbs) just like
fire destroys wood.” A jealous person will backbite and gossip
about the person whom he is jealous of. He will attack his self and property.
His rewards (Thawâbs) will be taken away from him and given to
the person he attacked, in compensation for the loss he suffered, on the day of
Judgement. When a jealous person sees the blessings (ni’mats)
in a person whom he is jealous of, he feels great distress and loses his sleep.
People who do good deeds will receive ten fold rewards. Jealousy destroys nine
of them and will leave only one behind. There is no sin with the exception of
disbelief (kufr) that will destroy all the rewards of good deeds performed.
Committing prohibited actions by believing that they are not grave sins or by
not paying attention to Islam or committing prohibited acts and other acts that
cause disbelief and apostasy (irtidad) will destroy all
the rewards given for the good deeds performed. Our Prophet
‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf:
“You (Muslims) have contracted two
serious illnesses from past ummats (followers of past prophets): jealousy and shaving. When I say shaving, I
do not mean that they shaved the hair on their heads. I mean that they shaved
their religion from the roots and annihilated it all together. I swear to you
that anyone who has no belief will never enter Paradise. Unless you love each
other, you cannot obtain belief. In order to be able to love each other you
should greet (salâm) each other often.”
[This hadîth-i-sherîf
clearly shows the importance of exchanging greetings (salâm)
and commands its practice. When two Muslims meet each other, it is sunnat for
one of them to say “Salâmun alaikum” and it is obligatory (fard)
for the other one to reply “Wa alaikum salâm”. It is not permissible (jâiz) to
greet each other with other phrases that are used by disbelievers or by hand,
body or other mimicry. When two Muslims see each other from a distance so that
they cannot hear each other, it is permissible for them to repeat the
above-mentioned phrases for greetings (salâm) or to greet each other
by raising their right hands up to their eyebrows. When exchanging greetings
with disbelievers, it is permissible to use phrases used by them, in order to
avoid instigation (fitna). Arousing instigation is forbidden (harâm).
Not arousing
instigation
by following the directions given above with respect to exchanging greetings
with disbelievers is very rewarding (thawâb).]
It is stated (in a hadîth-i-sherîf): “A Muslim possesses
goodness but when he becomes jealous all the goodness departs from him.” Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in another hadîth-i-sherîf: “Those who are jealous,
who do ‘namîma’ and ‘kahânat’ are not with me.” “Namîma” is carrying one’s words to another in order to raise
instigation and cause discord among Muslims. “Kahânat” means practising
divination on the unknown. [Those who try to predict unknown future events are
called soothsayers (kâhin). We must not believe them.] It
is apparent from this hadîth-i-sherîf that those who are jealous will not receive the intercession (shafâ’at) of Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’. They will not have rights to ask
for intercession.
Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf:
“Six
types of people will be questioned from six things, punished at the gathering
place of the Judgment day, and then thrown to Hell: State presidents from
oppression ‘zulm’; Arabic race from their racial ghayrat; leaders of the small
villages from conceit ‘kibr’; businessmen from breach of trust or from deceit;
villagers from ignorance; and scholars ‘âlims’ from jealousy.”
It is necessary for a businessman to learn the meanings of terms such as lying,
interest, deceit, and appropriating others’ funds with non valid business
practices and to learn how to protect himself from these forbidden acts.
Villagers and every Muslim must learn knowledge of “Ahl as-sunnat faith” and
knowledge which teaches how to do things that are necessary in the religion
(’ilm al-hâl knowledge). This hadîth-i-sherîf
informs us that jealousy exists more among men who hold religious positions in
society. The book Tafsîr-i-kebîr provides the following information:
“Jealousy is ten parts and nine of them exist in men of religion. Worldly
difficulties are ten parts and nine of them exist in pious men ‘sâlih’. Abasement
‘zillat’ is ten parts and nine of them exist among Jews. Humility ‘tawâzu’ is
ten parts and nine of them exist among Nasârâ (Believers in the undefiled
religion revealed to Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’). Appetite ‘shahwat’ is ten parts and
nine of them exist in women and one part exists in men. Knowledge ‘’ilm’ is ten
parts and one part is
in
Iraq. Belief (îmân) is ten parts and nine of them are in Yemen. Wisdom ‘’aql’
is ten parts and nine of them are in men. Blessings ‘barakat’ of the world is
ten parts and nine of them are in Damascus.” What Hadrat Fakhr-ud-dîn Râzî
wrote in this book of exegesis (Tafsîr) of his referred to facts in his time.
Before Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sal-lam’ honoured the world with his presence, it used to be a Jewish custom to
say the following prayer before going out for a war: ‘O our Lord! For the sake
of Thine honourable Prophet, whom Thou hast
promised to send and Thou lovest very much, ...” Their prayers would be
accepted and Allâhu ta’âlâ would help them. When
Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’
started to invite people to become Muslims, they knew that he was the promised Prophet but because of their jealousy they denied him.
Their jealousy lead them and all their progeny to endless disasters, calamities
and punishments.
Allâhu ta’âlâ commands us to protect ourselves from the wickedness (sharr) of the devil as well as from the wickedness of a jealous person.
Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “Ask for your necessities
or needs from the rich (ahl-i-ni’mat) in a secret manner because others will be
jealous of those who possess blessings (ni’mats).” When others realize that your necessities or needs are being
taken care of, you will be exposed to their jealousy. A person who has a secret
has an option; he may hide it or reveal it. Most of the time, a person who
reveals his secret will live to regret it. A person has control over his speech
until they come out of his mouth. He has the option either tell or don’t tell but
once the words come out of his mouth he is a slave of his words. People are
mostly not so firm with their secrets as they are with their property. The
saying goes: “Keep your ‘Zahab’, ‘Zihâb’ and ‘Madhhab’ secret.” [In this
context “Zahab” means gold; “Zihâb” means belief; and “Madhhab” means your line
of conduct in your daily transactions.]
A person’s jealousy will not change the
decree of Allâhu ta’âlâ. A jealous person
worries and tires himself needlessly and the sins he will accumulate will be an
additional loss. Hadrat Muawiya ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ
’anh’ advised his son, “Avoid jealousy very much! The damage which you will in
incur on yourself by being jealous will manifest itself much faster and
more
dramatically than that which you will inflict on your enemy.” Sufyân al-Sawrî,
‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’aleyh’ said that those who were not jealous would have a
clear mind. No jealous person has obtained his desires, not counting the
all-pervasive disesteem jealousy has always incurred. Jealousy frays the nerves
and pares down the life-span. Asma’î ‘rahimahullâhu ta’âlâ’ relates: “I met a
villager who was a hundred and twenty years old, and asked him the secret of
his long life. He said he had never been jealous.” Abu-l-lays Semerqandî
‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’aleyh’ observes: There are three people whose prayers
will never be acceptable. A person who makes a living on harâms; one who
backbites; and one who is jealous.”
The person who is being the
subject of jealousy will never see any loss from it in both worlds. On the
contrary, he will benefit from it. The jealous person will spend his life in
misery. When he sees that the person whom he is jealous of does not lose those
blessings he has had and, on the contrary, his wealth starts to increase, he will
have a nervous breakdown. A jealous person, in order to get rid of his
jealousy, should send presents, give advice (nasîhat) to and praise the person whom he is jealous of. He should show
humility toward him and should pray for him so that his blessings should
increase.
Deserted in forlorn lands,
I wander around, weeping ceaselessly;
Once my heart has tasted love,
It bleeds, and I cauterize it ceaselessly.
Love has been offered, in divine finesse,
Heaven and earth suffused in its essence;
Should there be anyone, of it witless,
Weep, O my eyes, alas, O My Goodness!