Part 5

The one who envies therefore should know that if the one he envied punishes him, he will not be able to punish him with what is worse than what he is already suffering from. Thus, if he is not cured by any of the previous means he should work hard to attain what the one he envies has attained. One of the righteous predecessors said: “I am afraid of worries even in enviousness. For when a man envies his neighbour for being rich, he travels to do business to be as rich as his neighbour, and if he envies someone for his knowledge, he stays up all night to study. However, people have reached a point where they love idleness, and then dispraise someone who has reached a high status.”

How beautiful is what al-Rida said:

“.1 am the white beautiful pure horse. They all have their eyes on me, because I spent the nights seeking high ranks while they slept. If I had no respect in the eyes of others, my enemies would have not attempted to defame me.’

Having said all that, if he who envies others cannot attain what the one he envies has attained, then he should struggle to prevent his tongue from defaming or criticising him and to confine what is in his heart.

Section One: Dispraise Envy

There are many hadith that dispraise envy; Zubayr ibn al-‘Awam (radiyAllabu ‘anbu) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (2) said, “The disease of the nations before you is creeping towards you: Envy and hatred, it is the ‘shaver’. I do not speak of what cuts the hair, but what severs the religion. By the One in whose hand is my soul! You will not enter paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I tell you about something which, if you do it, you will love one another? Spread salam amongst yourselves.””!

‘Umar ibn Maymiin’ said, ‘Misa (‘a/ayhi as-salam) saw a man at the throne so he envied him [i.e. liked what he saw so he wished it

Reported by Ahmad [1:165,167], al-Bayhagi [10:232], al-Baghawi in Sharb-- Sunnah (12:259) and Al-Tirmidhi 2510.

Umar Ibn-Maymiin; al-Hafiz said in af-Tagrib. He is Yoo-Bahr Ibn-Sa‘d Ibn-u-

Rammah al-Balkhi Abi ‘Ali al-Qadi he is reliable and was blinded. He is from the seventh level. Tirmidhi reported from him.

for himself, without wishing that the blessing be taken away from the man] and asked people about him. They said, ‘Do you want to know about his deeds?’ ‘He does not envy people for what Allah bestowed upon them of His grace, he does not walk about spreading malicious gossip and he is not disobedient to his parents.’

Salim narrated from his father (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) that the Messenger of Allah ($8) said “Envy is not justified except in the case of two individuals only: one who Allah has blessed with the Qur’an, so he prays reciting it during the night and day. And a man who Allah gave weaith, so he spends it rightfully during the night and the day.”?

> Agreed upon, reported by al-Bukhari [2:134, 9:78, 126], Muslim [p.559].

unpleasant actions and words, in the inner self, of the one

was spited. For indeed, the mind decides the traces of others unpleasant deeds to remain as it decides for the traces of others pleasant deeds to remain.

S PITEFULNESS IS THE TRACES remaining of others

‘Abdullah ibn Ka‘b ibn Malik narrated that he heard Ka‘b ibnMalik’s story when he did not join the Messenger of Allah (3) in Tabik and the story of the revelation of the acceptance of his repentance. He said, “I entered the Masjid, while the people were gathered around the Messenger of Allah (4), so Talhah ibn ‘Ubaydillah ran to me, shook my hand and congratulated me. By Allah! He was the only man of the immigrants who did that.” He said, “So Ka‘b never forgot Talhah for this.”

So if it is proven that good deeds and favors are not forgotten, so too are bad deeds not forgotten. Nevertheless it is preferred to

try and remove the traces of any ugly deed from the heart. The

' Reported by al-Bukhari [6:4] and Muslim [53].

DISCIPLINING THESOUL cure of spitefulness is forgiveness and remission.

There are two stages of forgiveness: First is to know the reward of someone who forgives, second to thank the One Who made one be in the position of the forgiver and the other in the position of one who errs. The perfection of forgiveness can be reached through being content and this happens by removing all that is in the heart against the other person.

There is a more precise cure than this that I have mentioned and it is that a person knows that he was harmed because of a sin that he committed, or to wipe away a sin, or to raise his rank, or to test his patience. Yet a more precise cure is to understand that everything that happens to him is from the One who predestines.

nature of a human being so as to keep harm away from him

and so that he can take revenge from the one who harms him. However, what is detested is excessive anger, as it disturbs one’s soundness, makes one imbalanced and immoderate, such a person starts making wrong decisions which may even affect he who is angry more than the person he is angry at.

I HAVE MADE IT CLEAR THAT ANGER is placed in the

Anger is heat that spreads when something provokes one’s anger, it makes the blood of desire boil to take revenge, and may even cause a fever. The main reason for anger is usually arrogance, for a person is never angry at anyone who is higher than him. That said, the cure for this is that the angry person changes his state; if he is talking he should be silent, if he is standing he should sit, and if he is sitting he should lie down, so that he may calm down. If he leaves the place immediately and leaves the one he is angry at, it would be better. He should also reflect on the excellence of repressing anger, for Allah has praised those who repress anger, He said,

Bayt 2 2 ete enter We “Those who repress anger and forgive other people” [Ali Tnorén 3:1 34]

And if he reflects on the fact that this might be happening to him because of a sin that he committed or that it is all predestined then the matter will become easier for him, just as I mentioned in the previous chapter.

Section One: Hadith regarding Anger

There are many hadith that were narrated regarding anger. Abit Huryarah (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) said, “A man came to the Prophet (#8) and said, ‘Advise me!’ He said, ‘Do not get angry!’ The man kept repeating his request and the Prophet (4%) continued to reply, ‘Do not get angry!”

The Messenger (48) said, “The strong is not the one overcomes the people by his strength, but the strong is the one who controls himself while in anger.”*

Bukhari and Muslim also reported that Sulayman ibn Sard (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) said, “I was sitting with the Prophet (4%) and two men were cursing each other, the face of one of them was red and swollen (because of his anger). Thereafter the Prophet (4%) said, ‘I know a word which if he says, what he feels will be gone. If he says ‘I seek refuge in Allah from the damned devil’ What he feels will be gone.” So they said, “The Prophet (4g) said,

' Reported by al-Bukhaei [8:35].

2 Reported by al-Bukhari [8:34] and Muslim [2014].

‘We seek refuge in Allah from the damned devil!’ He said, ‘Am I crazy?!”

Abia Dawiid reported in his Sunan from the hadith of Abi Dhar (radiyAllabu ‘anbu) that the Prophet (3) said, “If any of you gets angry while standing, let him sit down. If his anger does not go away, then he should lie down.”

Al-Khattabi said, “The one who is standing is ready to make

any movement, to hurt anyone and the one who is sitting is less likely to do anything,”

Ibn ‘Abbas (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) narrated that the Prophet (3) said, “If any one of you becomes angry, he should be quiet.”

Al-Ahnaf said, “Anything that prevents one from controlling one’s temper while angry is the devil of hastiness.”

Section Two: Excessive Anger

If an angry person does not become calm when his anger peaks, he may harm himself or the person he is angry at and he would certainly regret any actions he may take afterwards. Many people have killed, hurt, and broken bones for their children while they were angry and regretted what they did for the rest of their lives. Some actually harmed themselves; a man was very angry at one time so he screamed, his blood expectorated instantly and he died

} Reported by Abi Dawid in a/-Adab, chapter 4 [4782], Abmad [5:152], Sharhus-Sunnab (3:162], Mawarid al-Azman 1973. Al-Baghawi said, “He ordered him to sit down and lie down, so as he does not do, while he is angry, what he will regret afterwards. That is because someone who is lying down is less likely to move or to hurt anyone compared to someone who is sitting or standing”

at once. Another angry man punched someone due to his anger and his fingers broke, absolutely nothing happened to the one he punched.

To cure this disease one should envisage what he looks like when he is angry and what he looks like when he is calm, This is when he will know that anger is a state of insanity and immoderation. If the angry person does not change his mind about hitting the one he is angry at but he promises himself to do so but first to change his state (sit down if he is standing etc). If he does that then he will see the ugliness of what he was about to do and therefore he will leave it.

Section Three: The Excellence of Repressing Anger

When our righteous predecessors used to become angry, they would forgive, seeking the excellence of repressing anger. Some of them believed that they were angered because of their sins, and some believed that they were being tested, yet others believed that they were angered for other reasons that I have previously mentioned in the chapter on spitefulness.

It was mentioned in some of the previous revealed books of Allah, that Allah said: “O son of Adam! Remember Me when you are angry, I will remember you when you sin so that I will not destroy you with those I destroy. If you were wronged, be content with My support for My support is better for you than your own victory for yourself.”