Envy is among one of the major diseases of the heart and it is also a great fitnah for the believers - such that ALLAH Most High revealed a Surah as a means of protection against the envier - Surah Falaq.

According to Imam Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah hasad (envy) has been defined in numerous ways including:

1. Envy is a grievance that befalls one due to knowledge of the good condition of the wealthy.
2. It is a desire to have the blessings removed from the one who is envied even if the one who is jealous does not attain the likes of these blessings. But this is different from ghubta (also meaning envy) because it refers to a desire to possess the blessings bestowed upon the one who envied without the desire to see them removed from him.

Envy of another - and here I am referring to the haraam type not the permitted type - is such a disease that it burns at the heart and causes nothing but resltessness and perpetuates a state of agitation.

Sometimes Shaytan decieves us and makes a thing look so alluring and attractive to us that we burn at it being in the possession of another - this is from love of the world and indicates a highly diseased heart. The one who envies is consumed with thoughts of how to deprive his brother of the blessing ALLAH has given him - to such an extent that thoughts of physical assault, false allegations and even murder enter the minds.

It is well-known that in the subcontinent disputes arising over lands inherited from elders, or over the rejection/acceptance of a marriage proposal some parties resort to violence and and slander and exceed all limits. This is rooted partly in envy - the one deprived of the land envies the one who has gained it, the one who has been rejected for marriage feels a rage against the rejectors and envies them for their decision.

If people continue on this path of envy where can it lead? Iblees Mal'oon envied Sayyidina Adam alayhis salaam - it lead him to kufr; the Quran informs us that the Jews recognised Nabi salallahu alayhi wa sallam as they recognised their own sons yet they rejected Him salallahu alayhi wa sallam because they envied that the Final Messenger salallahu alayhi wa sallam should be born from the blood of Sayyidina Isma'eel alayhis salaam.

And what of those who overcome jealousy and envy? They are the Sahaabah Karaam.

Allah Most High says regarding the Ansar:

[color=green]"And have no jealousy in their breasts for that which they have been given (the Muhaajiroon), and give them preference over themselves even though they were in need of that"[/color]
Surah al Hashr - Ayah 9

SubhanALLAH!! The Ansar Sahaabah alayhim ridhwaan sacrificed everything for Nabi salallahu alayhi wa sallam and for the Muhajireen Sahaabah - they provided them with homes, with wealth, with food, with clothing, with wives, with a new life. Imagine it - the Muhajireen alayhim ridhwaan entered Taybah with nothing - and lived as the inhabitants of the city lived. And despite ALL the sacrifice of Ansaaar alayhim ridhwaan still the Muhajireen have afzaliyah over the Ansaar - but did this lead them to anger and jealousy and envy?

SubhanALLAH! Can we imagine such a people - such character. ALLAH Himself bears witness that they concealed NO JEALOUSY and what did the Ansaar do - they gave the Muhajireen PREFERENCE over themselves.

The ulama have written that this is the way for one to overcome jealousy of another.

If a person feel jealousy for his brother over the bounties that ALLAH has gifted him then the cure is to follow the sunnah of the Sahaabah Karaam and to prefer that brother over yourself. But how is this achieved?

There are a number of ways including:

- make du'a that ALLAH put barakah in that thing of your brothers - so if you covet his wealth or his looks or his status or his wife then make du'a that ALLAH Most High puts barakah and rahmah in those things
- another way is to practically aid or assist that brother. so for example if it is over land then assist him in tilling his land - practically assist him in his belonging; or if it is regarding his status then speak well of him infront of others and ALLAH will remove the envy from your heart; or if you covet his wife then give wealth on the husband and wifes name and make dua that ALLAH grant them pious offspring. ALLAH removes the malice from us when we make effort.

To be honest this is an extensive topic - one that could be written abt for many pages but I'll end here with Surah al Falaq translation:

[color=green]Say I seek refuge with the Lord of Daybreak
From the evil of what He has created
And from the evil of the darkening as it comes with its darkness
And from the evil of the witchcrafts when they blow in the knots
And from the evil of the envier when he envies.[/color]
ameen.