Hasad ( jealousy) and its treatment 

Taken from ‘Usmani Discourses’, an English translation of selected abstracts from lectures given by Hadhrat Mawlana Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (damat barakatuhum). Compiled and translated (& at times paraphrased) by Dr. Syed Ahmer and edited by Albalagh editorial team.

With the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Very-Merciful. Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. Blessings and peace be upon the messenger of Allah, his family, and his companions.

Yesterday I had started talking about the spiritual illness of Hasad and had said that it is a very serious spiritual illness. May Allah Ta’ala keep us all safe from it. Aameen. Sufi saints have likened Hasad to fire, because when a person becomes jealous of someone else, it is as if his heart has been set on fire. For example, when a person sees someone doing well and better than oneself, he starts burning from inside.

An Arabic poet has said some verses about Hasad which mean that Hasad is like fire, and the property of fire is that as long as it has something to burn, it will keep burning it, for example, if wood has caught fire, it will keep burning that wood as long as there is some wood to burn. But when it runs out of wood to burn, then one part of fire starts burning the other part till it completely burns itself out. The fire of Hasad is the same, that the person who is jealous of someone else, first tries to harm that person and tarnish their reputation. But when he fails to harm that person or is unable to do so, then he starts burning himself in the fire of Hasad, and becomes physically and mentally unwell. There have been so many people who harmed themselves much more out of Hasad, than the person they were jealous of.

Hasid is criticizing Allah Ta’ala’s decisions

Imam Ghazali V has said that Hasad is a great sin. If you reflect on it, you will understand that Hasid (the person who is harbouring jealousy towards another person in his heart) is actually objecting on Allah’s Ta’ala Taqdeer (fate) and His distribution of wealth among people. For example, he is objecting that why so and so was granted a higher status than me? Why so and so was given more wealth than me? Allah Ta’ala has said that whatever I have given to different people, I have decided through My perfect authority and wisdom that what should be given to which person, and in what quantity. The person who is jealous of another person is actually objecting why these things were given to this other person, and why was he blessed with more than what I have been given.

Allah Ta’ala says in the Holy Qur’an,

“Do not covet something in which Allah has made some of you superior to others…” (4:32)

What it means is that Allah Ta’ala, in His infinite wisdom, has decided to endow some people with some blessings, and other people with other blessings. In this verse Allah Ta’ala is saying that do not covet what Allah Ta’ala has decided to give to other people but not to you, because it is beyond your control. (For example, Allah Ta’ala has decided to make a person tall and another person short. Now the short person should not start feeling jealous of the tall person and start complaining why this person was made tall and I was made short. He should accept and be content and happy with Allah’s Ta’ala decision. Even if he keeps complaining what can he get out of it, because these matters are beyond the control of human beings.)

Distribution of His blessings is decided by Allah Ta’ala

This is a system created by Allah Ta’ala. He granted good health to someone, but not wealth. He granted wealth to someone, but did not bless him with knowledge. He granted respect and fame to someone, but did not bless him with children. Allah Ta’ala has decided through His own wisdom which blessing to be given to which person. Who are you to object to how Allah Ta’ala has distributed His blessings among His subjects?

Reflect on the blessings bestowed upon you

In Hasad, the Hasid (person being jealous of another person) does not acknowledge the blessings bestowed upon him by Allah Ta’ala. Rather, he keeps focusing on blessings granted to others, and wishes that they lose these blessings. If a Hasid person starts thinking in this way that Allah Ta’ala has granted this other person a certain blessing, while He has granted me another blessing, then this will cure his illness of Hasad.

There is a piece of poetry by an Arabic poet which means that we are happy with the way Allah Ta’ala has distributed His blessings between us, in that He gave the blessing of wealth to the illiterate and the blessing of knowledge to us. Why should a person feel unhappy when he has received one type of blessing from Allah Ta’ala, and someone else has received another type of blessing from Allah Ta’ala? We should remain happy and content with the blessings Allah Ta’ala has granted us. Anyway, the greatest danger in Hasad is that it leads to criticizing Allah’s Ta’ala distribution of His blessings amongst people. One should try to avoid it at all costs.

Involuntary thoughts of Hasad are also dangerous

As I had said earlier, sometimes thoughts of Hasad come to a person’s mind involuntarily. As long as these thoughts are coming involuntarily without the person actively thinking about them, the person is not accountable for these thoughts, and they do not constitute a sin. But these involuntary thoughts are also dangerous, because if a person doesn’t immediately check them and keeps dwelling on such thoughts, they may lead to voluntarily wishing someone bad, and thereby become a sin. That is why it is important to treat these thoughts immediately. The treatment of these thoughts is to believe them to be wrong, and act in opposition to these thoughts.

Therefore, Hadhrat Thanavi V has said that,

“Opposing a voluntary behaviour is also under voluntary control. So, (if you have Hasad in your heart towards someone), and that Hasad compels you to carry out certain behaviours (like doing their Gheebat, wishing that they come to harm and lose their wealth/status), then use your volition and carry out actions that are the opposite of those your Hasad wants you to do, in that rather than perform Gheebat of the person you are jealous of, praise him in public. This may be hard on your Nafs, but you do have authority over your tongue. Interact with him with humility. If he comes to some harm or loss, express sorrow at his loss, both in front of him and in front of others in his absence. When you see him, treat him with respect. Give him gifts from time to time.

When you keep doing this for a long time, insha’allah Hasad will leave your heart. Try to do all of these at least twenty times.”

What it means is that if performing an action is under a person’s voluntary control, then abstaining from and quitting that action is also in that person’s voluntary control. Similarly, performing the opposite action of the action his jealousy is instigating him to perform, is also under his voluntary control. His Hasad is inciting him to commit Gheebat, hit that person, try to bring harm to him. But he should refrain from performing all these actions, and should praise that person, pray for his progress and betterment, and try to help him. All the above actions are voluntary, so resisting them and performing the opposite of these actions is also voluntary.

That is what Hadhrat Thanavi V means by saying that “use your volition to do the reverse of what your heart is compelling you to do under the influence of your Hasad, like rather than performing Gheebat praise the person you are jealous of”. It will be very difficult for your heart to acquiesce to do it, but suppress your feelings and force yourself to do it, no matter how distressing it is for your Nafs.

Or, for example, the jealous person’s heart is telling him to abuse the person he is jealous of, or say such bad things about him which will make him lose respect in everyone’s eyes, but he is now being told to praise that person in front of everyone. And for this remedy to work, this praise shouldn’t be empty, fatuous words. This has to be genuine, heartfelt praise. There is unlikely to be any human being in this world who is all bad, who does not have a single positive attribute in him. So find a true virtue in the person you are jealous of, and then praise him in front of everyone that Masha’Allah he has this great quality in him.

Story of Hadhrat Junaid Baghdadi (may Allah have mercy on him)

Hadhrat Thanavi V has written that Hadhrat Junaid Baghdadi V was once passing through a way when he saw that a person had been hanged, and his right hand and left foot had been amputated. Hadhrat Junaid V asked people why he had this had been done to him. The people told him that when he had stolen something for the first time, his right hand was cut. When he had done it a second time, his left foot had been cut. When he still didn’t quit stealing and committed a theft again, he was hanged. Hadhrat Junaid V progressed forward and kissed the thief’s foot.

Someone asked that “Hadhrat, a great Shaykh like you kissing the feet of an incorrigible thief like him! It doesn’t make any sense.” Hadhrat Junaid Baghdadi V replied, “This person had a great attribute which was ‘steadfastness’. I have respected that attribute of his. Even though he used this attribute in the wrong place, and used it to keep committing sins which was his mistake, but this attribute of steadfastness is commendable in itself. If this person had used this attribute in the right way, who knows how high he may have reached.”

Praise the person you are jealous of

Therefore, find a good attribute, a good quality, of the person you are jealous of, and then praise him in front of everyone. It will be very distressing for your ego, but let it be distressed, because if the illness of Hasad is developing in your mind, then its true treatment is crushing one’s ego. That is why Hadhrat Thanavi V has said, “Rather than commit Gheebat, praise the person you are jealous of with your tongue. It may be very distressing for your Nafs, but you do have control over your tongue.”

Interact with him with humility

The second thing to do is that “interact with him with humility when you meet him”. Even if you feel like insulting the person you are jealous of or being curt to him, suppress your inner impulses, and when you come across him, make yourself humble in front of him, treat him with utmost respect, and talk softly and gently with him.

Express sorrow at his loss

Hadhrat Thanavi V has said that the third thing to do to treat your illness of Hasad is that “express sorrow at his loss.” It means that if the person you are jealous of comes to some sort of harm or suffers some loss, then express sorrow at his loss, both in front of him, and in front of other people in his absence.

The fourth thing to do is “when you see him, treat him with utmost respect.”

Give gifts to the person you are jealous of

The fifth remedy to get rid of Hasad is that “from time to time give gifts to the person you are jealous of”, so that he develops love in his heart for you, and you develop love in your heart for him. For many people it is easy to do good things for someone, but it is really difficult for them to spend money on someone. But to get rid of an illness as severe as Hasad, swallow this bitter pill. When you give him a gift it would mean that you will spend your money and it will go to someone you hate. This will put real strain on your heart, but if you keep doing it this will insha’allah get rid of the illness of Hasad.

Hasad becomes weak after employing these strategies for a long time

Further on, Hadhrat Thanavi V said, “Hasad will become weak after you keep doing all this for a long time. Let me know about this after doing all this about twenty times.” The background of this is that a mentee had written to Hadhrat Thanavi V that “I feel Hasad towards so and so.” In reply, Hadhrat Thanavi V wrote that praise him, treat him with utmost respect, give him gifts, and do all of these at least twenty time. Then the feeling of jealousy you have towards him will become attenuated.

The difference between Hasad and Hiqid (حقد)

In reply to another letter Hadhrat Thanavi V wrote,

“If a person feels happy in his heart upon hearing the news of loss or harm coming to someone, then this is the trait of Hasad, and if he had been hurt by that person (who has come to harm) then this is the trait of Hiqid. A person is not accountable and liable for having these traits. However, if he acts on what these traits entice him to do, then he will be held accountable for those actions. Actions are under a person’s voluntary control, therefore, abstaining from performing those actions is also under that person’s voluntary control. However, it is necessary to try to weaken and attenuate these traits so that they do not grow stronger. The strategies of weakening these traits are to feel ashamed in one’s heart, to perform Taubah (repentance), to pray to Allah Ta’ala to remove these traits from oneself, and to help and assist the person one is jealous of, whether physically, financially, or through prayers. These traits will be suppressed by employing these strategies.”

In this letter, Hadhrat Thanavi V has described the difference between Hasad (jealousy) and Hiqid (harbouring a grudge). He said, “If a person feels happy in his heart upon hearing the news of someone coming to harm”, for example, somebody had a theft at his home or was robbed, then this other person feels happy that he lost his wealth. Or if he suffered a loss in his business and the other person feels happy that it is really good it happened, and he won’t be able to feel proud about his business now. This is all part of Hasad when a person feels happy over another person’s loss.

What is Keenah? (کینہ, harbouring a grudge or malice towards someone)

On the other hand, if someone hurt you, due to which you started hating that person, and consequently his harm brings you joy and his distress brings peace in your heart, then this is called Hiqd, and it means that you are harbouring Keenah in your heart.

Keenah means that someone caused you harm or hurt which gave rise to a desire for revenge in your heart. However, you were unable to take revenge as much as you had desired. This gave rise to an unresolved anger in your heart which made you start hating that person. Now you wish him ill, and whenever he comes to some harm or hardship, it makes you feel happy. This is Keenah. It will be described in detail later but in this post Hadhrat Thanavi V is describing the distinction between Hasad and Keenah that if you feel happy when someone else comes to harm without them having caused any hurt or harm to you then this is Hasad, and if this feeling of resentment towards them has arisen as a result of being hurt or harmed by that person then this is Hiqd and Keenah.

It is important to weaken this trait

Further on, Hadhrat Thanavi V is saying that “there is no accountability for the trait (tendency to become jealous) itself”. It means that if a person has a trait or tendency to become jealous with other people, and a result of this trait develops feelings of jealousy towards another person involuntarily, then he will not be held accountable by Allah Ta’ala for this involuntary feeling. However, if he voluntarily acts on this feeling, for example he tries to harm him in some way which causes distress or suffering to the other person, then he will be held accountable for that action. This action is voluntary, and therefore making an effort to abstain from that action is also under voluntary control.

On the other hand, even though the trait or the tendency to feel jealousy is involuntary, but it is important to attenuate or weaken this involuntary trait so that it doesn’t become any stronger and make a person more likely to act under the influence of his jealousy. “The strategies to attenuate this trait are to feel ashamed and to repent (Taubah) to Allah Ta’ala, pray to Allah Ta’ala to get rid of such tendencies, and to help the person one is jealous of, financially, physically, or with prayers. Insha’allah this trait will go away with this treatment.”

Hasad among scholars

May Allah Ta’ala save us all from Hasad. Aameen. It is a grave spiritual illness, and unfortunately it is quite common among our community of religious scholars. It is because knowledge is such an attribute that it elevates a person’s status. That is why sometimes even religious scholars develop Hasad towards another scholar seeing him making progress in increasing his knowledge and becoming more popular.

My esteemed father (Hadhrat Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi V once saw Satan in his dream in the form of a Banjara (these used to be tradesmen who carried their trade items in a sack on their back). Satan was carrying a number of sacks on his back. These sacks were strange in the sense that one was full of faeces, one was full of pus, one was full of urine, etc. Every sack had a label on it, one label said Hasad (jealousy), one said Keenah (keeping a grudge), one said Hubbe-e-Maal (love of material wealth), one said Hubb-e-Jah (love of status).

Someone asked Satan, “where are you taking all these sacks?” He replied, “these are all my items of trade, and I am going to sell them.” The person asked, “but this is all filth, who will buy it from you?” He replied, “I know my buyers well. I will sell the sack of ‘love of material wealth’ to businessmen, and they will happily buy it from me. The Ulema (religious scholars) are earnest buyers of ‘love of status’ and ‘jealousy’. When I take it to them, they will readily buy these from me.” May Allah Ta’ala protect us all from these spiritual ills. Aameen.

Knowledge can lead to love of status and Hasad

Anyway, if there is no Ikhlas (sincerity of intention) with knowledge, then such knowledge can lead to love of status, and this love of status can lead to jealousy. It is because when such a person sees another person advancing in knowledge, then he starts thinking, “Why did he get ahead of me in knowledge? Why has he become more famous than me? Why are more people going to him?” On the other hand, if a person has Ikhlas along with knowledge that whatever he is learning is to please Allah Ta’ala only, then he will never develop love of status and Hasad. Rather, he would feel very happy that someone has progressed beyond him in knowledge. May Allah Ta’ala grant Ikhlas to all of us through His mercy. Aameen.

Gain knowledge with Ikhlas and an intention of service

Try to develop Ikhlas in knowledge, meaning gain knowledge purely for the sake of pleasing and serving Allah Ta’ala. The purpose of knowledge is not to boast superiority over others. Our Hadhrat Dr Abdul Hai V used to say that has Allah Ta’ala granted this knowledge so that you brag that you are better than others? Knowledge is a blessing from Allah Ta’ala. Use it in its rightful place. The true purpose of knowledge is to bring benefit to others and to serve human beings. You are the servant and other people are your masters. When you learn, learn with the intention that you will be of service to other people, and not with the intention that you will show your superiority over others.

The result of Ikhlas

Once you develop Ikhlas in relation to your intention for earning knowledge, then its result would be that when you see someone else gain superiority in knowledge over you, and see people benefitting from his knowledge, then you will feel happy that your own objective is being served and advanced by another of your colleagues, and you won’t feel sadness or resentment towards him.

Fame is harmful both in this world and the next one

This fame and popularity and love of fame are not only detrimental for a person’s Deen, in reality they are also harmful for the peace and tranquility of his worldly life. Why should a person keep worrying about attaining something which is dependent on something as fickle as other people’s opinion, and spend his valuable time trying to earn it? And why should a person become jealous of other people because of it? If your purpose and intention truly was to spread Allah’s Deen and its knowledge, then you should feel happy if your brother is doing it well and is actually taking some of your burden off you. You should thank Allah Ta’ala for it, rather than feel jealous of your brother.

Summary

So, if a person has Ikhlas in his heart, it eradicates and prevents Hasad. An easy and very important way of keeping oneself safe from Hasad is to develop Ikhlas in one’s intention for everything one does. As Ikhlas grows, Hasad will get weaker. May Allah Ta’ala grant the motivation to all of us to put these teachings into practice. Aameen

وآخر دعوا ان الحمد ﷲ رب العالمين