Envy

This is a serious behavioral defect that arises from devotion to worldly life. Allah tells us that such an emotion is lodged in the human soul in this verse of the Qur'an: "Or do they in fact envy other people for the bounty Allah has granted them? ..." (Surat an-Nisa': 54).

We are told that for human salvation, it is necessary to cleanse the soul of such evil: "He who purifies it has succeeded" (Surat ash-Shams: 9). The contrary, that such an evil in the soul drives people to destruction, is made clear in the verse, "He who covers it up has failed" (Surat ash-Shams: 10).
The damage and torment that envy brings down on people in this world clearly demonstrate the form which the failure referred to by the verse may take in this world.

Among the ignorant, the view of envy is very different from that given in the Qur'an. People assume that envy is a natural human characteristic, present in everybody to a greater or lesser degree. They regard as strange people who say, "I am not at all envious." As for themselves, they are jealous of almost everything possessed by the people they live near: their intelligence, appearance, goods, children, houses, jobs, and so on.

Instead of sharing in their pleasure, envious people feel uncomfortable at others' virtue, beauty and success. Their resentfulness leaves them deeply saddened by the blessings that others enjoy.

This inward emotion can even make them want to harm others. Because of this, in the Qur'an Allah warns the faithful:

Say: "I seek refuge with the Lord of Daybreak, from the evil of what He has created and from the evil of the darkness when it gathers and from the evil of women who blow on knots and from the evil of an envier when he envies." (Surat al-Falaq: 1-5)

The faithful know that this characteristic, harbored by ignorant people, is basically bad. In contrast, they praise others' good characteristics and pray to Allah for the good and the benefit of one another.

Actually, anyone who knows the Qur'an and lives out its morality cannot contemplate doing otherwise. But in spite of this, some people say they do believe, but cannot achieve this moral approach. Such people do not regard envy as natural, as in the community of the ignorant who defend it openly.
Yet they are driven in this direction by the blandishments of their own lower selves. Some deceive themselves by thinking that in certain situations, feeling this emotion is natural and not contrary to the Qur'an.

For example, as a natural desire—and one which is in accordance with the Qur'an—they want to be foremost amongst the faithful in matters of affection, friendship and reliability. Of course, any believer wants to gain the affection, friendship and trust of Allah and His faithful followers, as much as possible.

But to the same extent, he also wants other believers to acquire these blessings. If another can demonstrate morality superior to his own, then he should praise and admire him. Envy has no place in the morality of the faithful. But envious people may confuse admiring others with being jealous of them.

For every one of these people, becoming familiar with religious morality brings an understanding of the clear distinction between good and evil and right and wrong. The verses of the Qur'an show people and their consciences what arises from envy, and what from natural desires.

Despite this, some go on deceiving themselves by methods all based on their insincerity towards Allah. Although they could live in the tranquil morality of the believers, their insincerity forces them to secretly experience the torment of living out the morality of the ignorant.

People who keep envy alive in their hearts live in a world that's perpetually unhappy. The very existence of others who are more attractive and more talented, and the praise and affection granted to those people by others, cause them sorrow and suffering—because they do not know how to be satisfied with the blessings Allah has given them, nor how to be grateful and consequently, happy.

The only way to be rescued from these secret torments is to cleanse one's soul of such bad characteristics and evaluate everything according to the verses of the Qur'an.

Anyone who can do this knows that the real owner of all the good things of life, of all goods and property, is Allah; and that in the world, Allah tests people's morality by granting them these things in different measures. Because he acts in the light of this truth, every beautiful thing can become a pleasant blessing for him.