Understanding The Prophet's Life
From Issue: 875 [Read full issue]
Hasad to Hatred
"Do not be envious of one another." [Muslim]
The word translated here as "envy" is al-hasad. Ibn Rajab states that hasad is something that is firmly embedded in the nature of man. It is where a person hates to see anyone else being superior or better off than him. Ibn al-Qayyim and al-Qaasimi have defined hasad as disliking a bounty that another has received and wishing that the other person would lose that bounty. Al-Bugha and Mistu as well as Abdul Maalik al-Qaasim define it simply as the wishing that another person would lose a bounty that he possesses. Al-Haitami defines hasad as a person wishing that another's bounty would be lost and wishing that he would get it himself.
It seems that hasad is inclusive of a number of cases, some being worse in degree than others. It includes the case where a person dislikes that Allah should bestow a bounty upon somebody else, even if he himself has more of that same bounty. For example, Allah may have blessed a certain individual with a large amount of knowledge yet, at the same time, he hates it when Allah bestows any amount of knowledge upon others. This is hasad. It is not necessary that the person wishes that the bounty be removed from the other person or that he himself receives that bounty. It is sufficient to constitute hasad that he hates that the other person has even received the blessing in the first place.
This disease of the heart and the sin which is known as hasad was one of the first sins ever committed. It was one of the main things that drove Satan away from his Lord. In fact, two aspects drove Satan to the horrendous situation that he is in today: pride and envy. Both of these terrible diseases are touched upon in this hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
When hasad spreads among a people, it is very destructive. It strikes at the very core of the love and compassion that believers should have toward one another. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said concerning hasad,
"Creeping upon you is the disease of the peoples before you: envy and hatred. And the hatred is the thing that shaves. I do not say it shaves hair, but it shaves the religion. By the One in whose hand is my soul, you will not enter Paradise until you believe. And you do not believe until you love one another. Certainly, let me inform you of that which will establish such for you: spreading the greetings (of peace) among yourselves." [Ahmad, Tirmidhi]
According to ibn Taimiya, hasad is always accompanied by hatred. This is one of the evils of hasad. First the person is envious of the other person. After some time, this envy develops into hatred.
Compiled From:
"Commentary on the Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi" - Jamaal al-Din Zarabozo