The belief in envy is widespread in many cultures, especially in ancient societies. Despite humanity entering the twenty-first century and the tremendous technological development, the belief in the harm of envy is still widespread in societies that have adopted special teachings, searching for ways to avoid being affected by the effects of envy.
While some believe that envy is an illusion, others believe that it is a negative energy that affects people and things, while others consider it a harmful psychological state. In the past, people used spells, incantations, and charms that they believed would protect them from the evil of the envious.
Dr. Ahmed Abdul Aziz Al-Najjar, a professor of psychology at the United Arab Emirates University, defines envy as “a negative psychological state that drives the envious person to think in a way that makes him compare and hate the reality he lives in. He believes that what others get he does not deserve, and that the one who originally deserves it is himself. Therefore, whatever good happens to him is the best, and he is not satisfied with that for others.” He confirms, “This thinking is very harmful because of its great impact on the psyche, and its contribution to the growth of feelings of anxiety and hatred towards the reality he lives in, and sometimes leads him to anger, selfishness, and hatred.”
“Psychological studies have shown that those who have a higher than average degree of envy of others are more susceptible to psychological illnesses and mental disorders, because they provoke negative feelings in their hearts. Over time, envious people lose their ability to build their society, so they do not move towards achieving their goals and become preoccupied with solving their internal problems,” he added, noting that studies have shown that “envy is one of the reasons for the collapse of nations.” He added that “envy leads to what is called the ‘evil eye’, which, as our Islamic religion has stated, causes harm to the other party.”
Characteristics of the envious
Al-Najjar says, “The envious person has several traits, the most important of which is high narcissism represented by excessive self-love, exaggerated self-confidence, and unjustified confidence in abilities accompanied by a deficiency in social and artistic skills. He cannot succeed through his own efforts, but rather through his own thoughts.” He adds, “Studies have begun to show that the envious person is emotionally distant from others. His personality feels socially and psychologically alienated, and sometimes has aggressive and negative tendencies, to harm others or love to harm others. They are happy when their competitor fails, and sad when he succeeds. Sometimes they resort to deception in order to succeed and see nothing wrong with that.”
An envious person can be identified, as Al-Najjar mentions, through “his behavior or reactions to the successes of others, represented by slips of the tongue, looks, signals, or movements, through which we can know the loving person who wishes good for others or otherwise.”
He says, “To avoid envy, Muslims usually follow the teachings of their true religion by reciting the legal incantation (the Mu’awwidhat) that protects against envy, and repeating the phrase ‘What God wills’ and ‘God is Great’.”
treatment
Regarding the methods of treating envy, Al-Najjar says, “There is a treatment for both sides of envy. If the envious person realizes his illness, he is treated to change his wrong thought paths, and this is done through psychiatry. As for the envied person, he is treated with parapsychology, which is energy treatment.”
The Senior Mufti and Supervisor of the Fatwa Website at the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department in Dubai, Dr. Ali Mashael, says that envy is “a disease that people fall into as a result of their disobedience to religion and their love of this world and its concerns. They envy others for what Allah has given them of His grace. If they believed in fate and destiny, they would not have fallen into it.” He explains that “envy is wishing for the loss of blessings from others, which is forbidden and reprehensible, and it is an objection to Allah Almighty: ‘Or do they envy people for what Allah has given them of His grace?’ This verse is a denunciation of envy, which we see as an objection to Allah in the division of provisions and distribution of blessings. He is the All-Wise, the Majestic, who does things for a profound wisdom that many people do not understand.” This verse was revealed about the Jews who envied the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, for the blessing of prophethood and the Holy Qur’an, and because he was from the Arabs and not from the Children of Israel. God chooses whomever He wills, and prophethood, the message, knowledge, and wisdom are all from the grace of God, which He gives to whomever He wills of His servants.
Consequences
Mashael mentions the dire consequences of envy, as it “destroys good deeds, lowers status, and weakens faith. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘Beware of envy, for envy consumes good deeds as fire consumes wood. ’ It was also said, ‘How just is envy! It begins with its owner and kills him. ’ And, ‘When Allah wants to spread a hidden virtue, He opens the tongue of an envious person to it. Were it not for the fire raging in what is adjacent, the fragrance of the wood would not be known. ’ He emphasized, ‘The generous, well-mannered, and strong in faith are not envied. Rather, the one who envies is the miserly, sick, spiteful, weak-willed, and ill-mannered. Envy, in its origin and reality, is completely incompatible with faith, good morals, and benefiting and striving to benefit others. ’
Envy is permissible
Mashael adds that “envy is similar to jealousy, as the person who is envied wishes to have the same blessings as others, but he does not wish for them to be taken away from him. Envy and jealousy are not permissible except in two matters: understanding the Qur’an, memorizing it and its sciences, and good money and spending it, as the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘There is no envy except in two matters: a man to whom God has given the Qur’an and he teaches it to the people.’ In another narration: ‘A man to whom God has given wisdom and he judges by it and teaches it to the people. And a man to whom God has given wealth and he has the power to spend it justly.’ In another narration: ‘He spends from it like this and like this.’”
mania
Shamsa Mohammed (an employee) says, “At university, I met a friend who believed in envy to the point of obsession, and attributed all the things she was unable to do successfully to it.” She continues, “This became clear to me one time when she changed. She was going through a difficult psychological state and did not want to study and felt that she did not have the ability to complete it. She expressed her fear that she was the victim of envy, so I assured her that the evil eye is real and has been mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah, but we should not attribute all our mistakes and difficult psychological circumstances to it.” She adds, “She did not pay attention to what I said, and I found her gradually distancing herself, avoiding me, and not wanting to talk to me. I tried hard to talk to her, but to no avail.”
Envious relative
“The hardest thing is to discover that one of your relatives, whom you come across on every happy and sad occasion, is envious and deliberately harms you,” says Suad Muhammad (an employee). “I don’t feel that she wishes good for others, and she wants to possess everything that others have, even if she doesn’t need it. If her eyes fall on something in someone else’s hand and she likes it, she doesn’t mention God’s name over it, and she doesn’t say the phrase ‘God willing’, which revealed her envy to me, in addition to her repeated slips in looks and actions, and the effect of her envy, which is often fatal.”
She continues, “If she casts her eyes on something she likes, it does not last long. It either breaks or gets damaged, especially gold. One time, she did not mention God’s name when she saw one of my daughters, which caused damage to her face. Since that day, my family and I have been working to hide them from her as much as possible, and not to show them in their finery in front of her.”
fear
Shama Abdullah (employee) says, “I am very afraid of envy, especially since I am a distinguished employee in my field and I strive hard and diligently to prove myself and develop my skills, and this is clearly evident to everyone.” She continues, “As soon as I hear a word of flattery from my family, friends, and colleagues at work, I immediately find myself muttering to myself, ‘Masha Allah, Allahu Akbar,’ because I am afraid of envy, even though I recite the Mu’awwidhat to avoid it.”
Evil eye
“The evil eye of the envious person has a harmful effect on the envied person, and this is what I personally experienced while studying at the College of Medicine,” says Haifa Abdullah, an employee. “One day, minutes before I took my exam, one of my colleagues saw how many pages I had finished studying. A look of astonishment appeared on her face, and she expressed her surprise to me.” She continues, “Immediately after leaving the exam, I was surprised when my friend asked me about a question that I had not seen on the exam paper, even though my friend assured me that it was the first question and that it carried fifteen marks.”
Burn the name
Ahmed Abdul Aziz Al-Najjar, a professor of psychology at the United Arab Emirates University, says, “All societies, regardless of their religions, believe in envy. They consider the heart of the envious person to be a great danger to them. Therefore, human cultures have worked since the time of the Pharaohs to search for ways to deal with envy and the envious person. The ancient Egyptians would hold wood and point their palm at the envious person, saying, “Five and five.” Christians would hang a horseshoe, a blue eye, or a blue bead. The Babylonians would hang a blue bead, as would the Syrians. The Turks would burn lead on the head of the envied person. The Gulf citizens would tie the envious person’s garment, burn his name, drink water from behind it, hide children from him so that he would not envy them or harm them, and burn “alum.” Pakistanis would tie a black cloth to ward off the evil eye.