Envy Series – Episode 01 – The Causes of Hasad

Tony Romo

is an extremely powerful emotion. It's an extremely devastating disease of the heart if it's left unchecked, because all of us, all of us, at some point, will feel a type of jealousy or a type of envy. Right? It's not that we have to be so pious, so, so much like angels that, you know, we will never even feel this emotion, it's not that. But the danger of it is, if it's left unchecked, if it's left untreated, this disease of the heart can really become all consuming, and it can really cause havoc, cause a lot of damage to ourselves and to others. And the blessing of Islam as sisters is that, you know, just as you have the sciences of medicine, that treat the physical ailments of a

human being the physical body, Islam treats the spiritual ailments that human beings have human beings need spiritual cures for the spiritual diseases that they suffer from this disease of the heart, likewise, is is a spiritual element that needs a cure is so powerful, that it has the potential to destroy a person's deeds, as well as poison their own soul. But as believers, we must not allow our emotions, our you know, the negative traits that we find in ourselves, we mustn't allow them to be all consuming, what's it allow them to have a hold on us? As believers, we have to have have a hold over our emotions and our our feelings,

not vice versa. So let's look at hassard. What do the scholars of Islam say about hasip, and its cure.

The word hazard linguistically comes from the root letters hazard, which means to dislike, that someone should possess a blessing. Or it means that you want to have that blessing. And you want it to be removed from that individual, and you want it to be transferred to yourself. So

it could be either that you want to have that blessing yourself. And so you want it to be removed from the person who has that blessing. Or even if you don't want to have that blessing yourself, you want that person not to have that blessing. So hazard is essentially

Okay, desiring that a person loses some blessing that they have, that you've seen in them, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said about hacer, do not be envious of one another, do not cut ties with one another, do not hate one another, and do not turn away from one another, oh, worshippers of Allah be brothers. So this is hazard. Now, there is another type of emotion that human beings feel that is, in some ways related to hazard, but it's actually completely different. And it's not a blame worthy feeling. It's not a blame worthy emotion. And that is good.

Now, if that actually is a positive thing, because what it really means is that you look at somebody a blessing that somebody has, or you look at the state of somebody, and

you regard him with an envious emulation. In other words, you you wish that you had that blessing.

Okay, you wish that Allah subhanaw taala gave you that blessing, a blessing similar to that.

But you don't wish for that blessing to be removed from the person who has that blessing. So you see, you don't have you don't have any ill will towards the person who you see has got that blessing. However, you do have the desire in your heart to have a blessing similar to that or the same as that. Okay? And that's not a blame worthy emotion. And that's not a that's not a disease of the heart that's called hidta has said on the other hand,

the essence of it is to desire to desire that the possessor loses the blessing that

the person is envying. Okay, so what are some of the dangers

of hazard? What are some of the dangers of hazard

It has it is almost like a cancer.

Okay?

It leads to hatred, it leads to a lack of sisterhood. It leads to animosity leads to ill feelings and it actually causes a person to commit lots and lots of sins. Lots and lots of sins.

aboard a lot of the Allahu anhu reported that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that he said, envy, eats away good deeds like fire eats away wood.

And he also sent a lower insulin said, The thing I fear most for my own is that they come to be an abundance of wealth among them. And this leads to them being

envious of one another, and fighting one another. So this is what the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam feared for us, that we would become so engrossed in this world, that we would start competing with one another, and being jealous of one another and envious of one another.

The real problem with hassane, the essence of the problem with this emotion, and this disease of the heart, is that when we are envious of somebody, what we're actually doing is we are doubting the wisdom of Allah, and we're questioning his decision, because who's the one who gave that person that blessing. So whether it's the blessing of beauty, you know, if somebody is more beautiful than you are, or if somebody has more money than you have, or it could be anything, if somebody has more knowledge than you have, somebody seems to be happier than you, somebody seems to somebody has, seems to have a better family than you.

Whatever it is, by having hazard and by indulging in that envy, what a person is ultimately doing is questioning the decision of a lot because all of those things and everything that that person has, is ultimately from Allah subhanaw taala.

Okay, he's the one who chooses, you know, who to favor. A lot of panels that Allah created the whole world and he chose maca as a special place on Earth. A lot of what Allah created the months of the year, and he chose Ramadan as a special month. And in Ramadan, he chose later to other as a special day. And amongst human beings, he chose certain men to be the prophets.

And he chose certain people to be the companions of the prophets. So Allah subhanaw taala. The end at the end of the day is the one who decides these things, right? And so when a person indulges in envy, what they're really doing is questioning a lot.

A poet once said, Yeah, how's it an allen MIT attorney? Allah Manasa assata I don't know lie. He hooked me. Leon Nicola turbo Lee my Wahhab that

Oh, you who envies the blessing that I have?

Do you know whom you have wronged. You have wronged Allah for his decision by not being pleased with the gift he has given?

So let's look at some of the causes of envy. Okay, what are some of the things that cause envy.

And just as I don't want you to think you know, that

envy is not something natural, it is something natural can happen to anyone at any time. We see it right from childhood, right? You see your children.

I mean, sibling rivalry is like, one of the most common

traits that children have, you know, there are whole books written on the subject of sibling rivalry. And children who don't resolve their feelings of envy towards their siblings

grow up often to have those enmities in into their adulthood. So, you know, it's really something that comes easily to human beings, what what are some of the causes of hazard? One of the causes of hazard is when a person dislikes somebody else, or has enmity towards somebody, then you know, they, if they indulge in those feelings and those thoughts, what happens is that person might start thinking about the blessings that that person has, right. So, you know, a person doesn't get on with somebody or they just feel a certain level of animosity towards someone. And then because they think about that person so much, they start having

negative thoughts, they start thinking about the blessings that that person has, and wishing that that person did not have those blessings.

Right. So one of the causes is enmity and hatred. Another cause is pride and arrogance. Okay? When a person sees themselves as being better than other people, right? And they see that that person has a blessing that they don't have. And they think to themselves, well, How come he's got that blessing or she's got that blessing, and I haven't, I deserve that blessing more than that person does. Obviously, nobody actually says that. However, that's, that's basically the meaning of, of the feeling that they're feeling, right. And this is similar to the way in which the kurush, the tribe of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam

at the time of the Prophet.

They felt they were arrogant. And they said, to the Prophet, sallAllahu, Alayhi, wasallam. Okay, they said, Why wasn't this Colorado, if only this grant was sent down to a man from one of the two great cities, right? So they were questioning, you know, who is? How could this orphan boy, this, this man, we used to know as an orphan, okay, grow up to become our leader, we can't accept that. We want some of the chiefs of Quraysh, from MCC, and by the two cities, to be our leader. So, because of the pride and arrogance that they had, it led them to reject the message of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and ultimately, it would have led to them to the fire of health.

So in other words, they harm themselves. However, the cause of that hazard was pride and arrogance.

Also, low self esteem can be a cause of hazard, you know, when you have a poverty mindset, when you feel that there's not enough blessings to go around,

then what you start thinking is, well, that person has that blessing. And it's as if you think there are not enough blessings to go around. Right?

Or it makes you feel inferior to see somebody else have a blessing that you don't have, it makes you feel inferior in some way.

Right. And this is probably due to some kind of, you know, underlying, low self esteem.

You feel that your significance is lessened or compromised when somebody else has something that you don't have. Okay? And so this inferiority, the sense of inferiority leads a person to desire the blessing that the other person has, and wish for it to be removed from that person.

Another cause of hazard could be

that a person is kind of astonished, astonished and amazed that others have something that they don't have. So they didn't expect somebody to have a certain blessing. And when they see it, they're like, really, really shocked and surprised.

Okay.

And this is similar to the feeling that the people of Pharaoh or Pharaoh had towards morsani, Salam and Harun when they were sent to them. So they said for pilu, I don't mean holy Bashar any Miss Lina Baku Mallanna, I beat one should we believe in two human beings who are just like us? And their tribal, their people are our slaves. So you know, they're like, surprised how could? In other words, what they're really saying is, why did God Why did Allah choose them to be our leaders? Why did the law choose them to be our Prophet? You know, he should have chosen somebody else's stuff for Allah, you know, that's the, that's the essence of what they're saying.

Another cause of envy is fear of losing one's own

goals, you know, the things that one wants to have themselves. Okay. So This usually happens when a number of people are seeking a common goal. So for example, you know, siblings compete competing with one another for their parents attention and love, right? Or co wives competing with one another to win the heart and attention of the husband. Right? All students even, you know, vying with each other to have a higher status in the eyes of the teacher, right. So this kind of rivalry

can cause a person to have a sense of envy towards their fellow rivals, who they seem to see as their rivals.

Also, a love of leadership and status can cause

hazard. Right? A person, for example, is very talented in their field. And they're used to being praised a lot, and complimented. Now that person would then maybe find it very difficult. If somebody else who's younger than them, or somebody else who's new on the, you know, the new kid on the block, is now coming and, you know, is discovering new things or contributing to that field in a way that that person hasn't. So they might feel sad, and not like it that other people are praising that person. Right. And again, this, this also comes from a poverty mentality, right? When you have an when you have an abundance mentality, when you realize that there's enough praise to go around,

there's enough goodness to go around, is it there are enough blessings to go around right? Then a person would not feel these emotions, well, they would control and keep in check these emotions. And

another cause of hazard is

just generally having

having low Eman and having, you know, an impure souls, okay? When a person is unthankful, when a person doesn't, doesn't recognize the blessings that Allah Subhana, Allah has given them, right? Well, like each and every one of us, there's somebody on this earth who has looked at us at some point, and wish they have something that we have, right. But if we're blind to the blessings that we have, and all we see is that people around us have always got better than us, then we can fall into this hazard, right?

So forgetting that Allah subhanaw, taala has blessed you with so many things that other people don't have. This is one of the causes of acid. Okay, so, so, we've identified some of the causes of acid.

And, you know, I'm sure you, you might recognize the sisters, but if you've ever experienced the feeling of hazard, whether it was, you know, with a sibling, or whether it was with a friend, or any anyone, anyone or anything,

you know that it feels rotten, it's a rotten feeling, it's a rotten state to be in, and you end up feeling worse, you're the one who ends up suffering, right? The more you think about it, and the more you indulge in it, and that's why SR is

the secret to conquering all of these kinds of negative thoughts, you know, even kind of hatred towards other people, or second guessing them and having negative thoughts about what other people are thinking about you and all of these kinds of negative thoughts, okay, that a human being experiences, the core,

or the key cure to them is to uproot them, as soon as they enter into one's mind. That's actually the key. Okay. And you'll see that and one way, if you practice this sisters, you'll see that you will become a very positive person, nothing will faze you in Sharla and nothing will affect you in a negative way. In Sharla, right, you have to become so sensitive that you realize that a harsh chiffon has put or he is encouraged you to have this negative thought, right? So for example, you see a blessing that somebody has, right? And suddenly you start feeling bad about yourself, right? Whether it's okay, let's just say, you see somebody is wearing a very beautiful dress, and maybe you

can't afford to have a beautiful dress like them, right? And you see that blessing on that person. And everyone is looking at them, everyone's praising them. Okay?

Now, shape on will encourage you to have that 14 your head, and he will encourage you to think to yourself,

she's showing off, she's nasty to her. She's just she's just trying to make me look bad by dressing up, right? Or you might start thinking you know,

I hope something bad happens to that person or these kind of thoughts or stuff that a lot.

The first time you start noticing that a certain thought is coming into your head and it's starting to go down the negative route. Okay?

The thing to do at that very point before it even gets any further is to almost like shake it.

Your head, right? It's almost like chiffon puts a little seed in the ground of your mind, right?

Teton puts a seed

into the soil of your mind.

Now, if you allow that seed to stay there, and if you water it, by thinking about it more and more, by adding evidence, you know, to the, to the conspiracy theory that is in your head, the more you think about it, the more you add to it, the more you obsess over it,

that seed starts to

become rooted into your mind, and then it starts to grow. And you know, the more that a seed grows, the more that a plant grows, the deeper its roots get, and the harder it is to uproot it, right? So the more you think about it, and the more you entertain these evil thoughts, these negative thoughts, right towards your sister in Islam or towards anyone,

the more you think about them, and the more you entertain them,

the more the more difficult it will be to remove them now from your mind, and to cure them.

So the key is that as soon as you start seeing that you have that thought or that feeling, you keep it in check. And you say no, I'm not going to allow that thought to get ingrained into my mind. Right, I'm adding a lot of meaning to this situation that does not exist, right? Because that's probably that's usually the cause of most of our issues, isn't it? sisters, I'm sure you will agree that, you know, how many of our disputes how many of our issues are caused by us adding an interpretation to something someone said, or adding an interpretation to something someone did, right? that that person may have had nothing to do with it. It's just all of our mind, because of

the interpretation and the story that we've made up around that thing.

We allow ourselves to get affected negatively. Right, we have to realize it's just a story we've made up around that thing. It's not real.

So

so that's really the key, the key way to uproot envy, and any of the negative thoughts that a person can have, you know, Allah Subhana, Allah doesn't hold us to account for a negative thought entering our mind, you know, even a sinful thought, entering our mind what Amazon does not account us for that. But as the scholars of Islam said, when a thought comes into your mind, that is not going to be sinful, right?

But if you then start entertaining it, you see then start thinking about it and entertaining it and actually, you know,

helping it to grow. That's when it could even become even thoughts could become sinful, you know. So, the key thing is not to entertain those thoughts

by setting up a small village